vision for the region, serves as a unified voice for its members and the land conservation community, and serves as a central hub by convening people, connecting ideas and resources, and disseminating information.
This is our blog.
This is the weekly Happenings, a weekly round-up of news related to the members and friends of the Open Space Council. Did we miss something? Let us know in the comments.
Thanks to the presenters and all who attended yesterday's Gathering! You can find the presentations on our website here (scroll down to Past Events). And here are some photos from the day:
Our next Gathering will be September 15 from 10am-1pm at the Log Cabin. More information about it coming soon! If you just know you're coming no matter what, click here to register so we get the right amount of food.
12:06am: LUNCH!
11:58am: Jeremy Madsen from Greenbelt Alliance responds to Bob's comments: "The 20th century American dream is over. It was built on unsustainable growth and it doesn't work. We are right now at the cusp of change. Let's create the 21st century American dream. It integrates society and nature. It builds on a diverse society. Yes, we need to think big. We should all embrace that challenge and make it happen."
11:55am: Bob Doyle from East Bay Regional Park District shared: "We need to think big. Think ahead of the negative curve. It's because of this thinking that we have a greenbelt in the Bay Area. People before us had big ideas and we're now implementing them. What are the next big ideas?"
11:52am: Andrea Mackenzie, the Chair of the Open Space Council and General Manager of the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, says: "This has been an excellent panel. This is so complex and fascinating. It feels like this is a watershed moment, whether out of design or necessity. We need to work together across the boundaries of our missions, either through the Open Space Council or other ways."
"There are millions of dollars that have been spent on conservation in the Bay Area. The benefits of those dollars are wide and many - we need to talk about them more and more loudly."
11:48am: Lots of hands going up in the air with questions. We're going to wrap up in the next 10 minutes or so. Lunch is waiting in the back of the room...
11:44am: A question from the audience: "Why are we talking about ecosystem services and biodiversity?" Liz responds that those words are very academic and that eyes often roll or glaze over when they're mentioned. The Nature Conservancy has done a lot of testing and focus groups about these terms and what people care about. There is a national poll that Liz can share with the group. TNC is all about biodiversity but they don't use those words in their communications.
Jeremy Madsen from Greenbelt Alliance responds that he tries to talk in language that can be heard. You have to talk to people where they are.
11:36am: Erich says, "Yes, we may be preaching to the choir but we need the choir to sing a little louder." There are some critical things taking place over the next 6-12 months with OneBayArea that we need to be heavily involved in.
11:36am: Our panel:
Erich Pfuehler, Jim Townsend, Jeremy Madsen, Liz O'Donoghue, and Laura Cohen
11:31am: A question from the audience: Could you describe the difference between a RAMP and a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)? Liz responded that they are very similar. RAMPs are a way of bringing new groups to the table, i.e., transportation agencies. (to see more about RAMPs - Regional Approach Mitigation Planning - click here to see Liz's presentation)
11:24am: Jim and Erich have wrapped up and we're going to start the Q&A portion of the Gathering.
11:22am: The presentation from the EBRPD's team is up on our website.
11:19am: Erich is telling the group about their TIGER II award.
Erich's bio is:
Erich first learn to love the East Bay Regional Park District by working on a local ballot initiative to benefit the District when he moved to the Bay Area in 2003. Prior to coming to the Bay Area, Erich worked on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. with a Michigan Member of Congress for 13 ½ years. Erich has also worked as the state director for Clean Water Action in California and as U.S. Representative Jerry McNerney's district director. In February 2008, Erich began working with the East Bay Regional Park District where he is now the Government Relations and Legislative Affairs Manager. Erich originally grew up near Spokane, Washington and holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle. Erich enjoys running, music and being outside. Erich and his wife have a 2 ½ year-old daughter and live near downtown Pleasanton.
11:11am: Jim Townsend shares with the group: "Integrating walking and biking goals into regional planning is critical for those of us who care about parks and open space. Land that is not paved over for highways is land that can be used for parks, farms, and urban planning efforts that make sense for all of us."
11:09: And with that Liz concludes. Up to the podium go Jim Townsend and Erich Pfuehler from East Bay Regional Park District.
11:08am: Liz O'Donoghue: "Need to have good relationships and provide transportation agencies with the opportunity to work together."
11:00am: Liz is talking about Sustainable Community Strategies (SCS). The first SCS was done in San Diego. They are mandated by California SB375. You can learn more about the SCS happening here in the Bay Area here. Liz is talking about the important role that Greenbelt Alliance has had in shaping the region's SCS (Go Greenbelt!).
10:56am: Liz's presentation is now on our website.
10:53am: Liz O'Donoghue from The Nature Conservancy:
Here is Liz's bio:
Liz O’Donoghue oversees The Nature Conservancy’s California Chapter’s policy agenda on infrastructure and land use, strategic growth and integration with natural resource protection, and the organization’s national transportation policy agenda. From 2006 – 2009, Liz served as the Director of External Affairs, where she oversaw the Californiaprogram’s engagements with government and stakeholders at the federal, state, county, and local levels. She helped develop and direct the Conservancy’s strategies on public policy, public funding, legislation, bonds, and constituency building.
Before coming to the Conservancy in August 2006, she worked for seven years at the western regional headquarters of Amtrak, first as Director of Communications, Government, and Public Affairs, then as Director of Strategic Planning, where she was responsible for developing and implementing Amtrak’s strategy on developing passenger rail corridors in the West. Previously, she served for seven years as legislativeassistant for U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, specializing in transportation and natural resource policy. Before that, she worked in a public policy firm in Princeton, New Jersey, consulting with major corporate clients on environmental, health care, and transportation issues. She holds a B.A. in government from Oberlin College and a certificate with distinction in Business Administration from U.C. Berkeley Extension.
10:46am: Jeremy wrapped up and hands the mic to Liz O'Donoghue from TNC.
10:45am: I am uploading the speakers' presentations to our website here as they present them.
10:42am: Jeremy making the case for land conservationalists interest and stake in transportation issues:
10:38am: Jeremy Madsen: "2 million more homes could be built within the current urban footprint."
Here is Jeremy's bio:
As Executive Director, Jeremy Madsen sets and implements the organization's strategic goals and manages its operations. He is the leader of Greenbelt Alliance's policy and advocacy efforts to protect the Bay Area's open spaces and promote the creation of vibrant urban places.
Jeremy comes to Greenbelt Alliance from The San Francisco Foundation, where he helped to launch the Great Communities Collaborative and supported social equity, affordable housing, and smart growth efforts around the Bay Area. From 2001 to 2005, Jeremy was Greenbelt Alliance's Field Director, leading the organization's policy campaigns and supervising the work of all its field offices. Previously, Jeremy served as Field Director for Washington state’s Transportation Choices Coalition, coordinated fair trade campaigns for the Washington, DC-based Citizens Trade Campaign, and ran get-out-the-vote efforts for candidate and ballot measure campaigns. B.A., George Washington University. M.S., Environmental Studies, University of Oregon.
10:32am: Laura welcomes Jeremy Madsen up to the podium...
10:24am: We're moving on a summer pace and just getting started. Laura Cohen of Rails to Trails Conservancy is providing the bios of our speakers which I'll share with you in a minute.
10:00am: Good morning! Today we are holding our 3rd Gathering of the year: the Fog Gathering, named after what many of us around the Bay Area associate with July. This is Annie Burke and I'll be blogging this morning with quotes, photos, and links. The program starts at 10am. Ready?
This is the weekly Happenings, a weekly round-up of news related to the members and friends of the Open Space Council. Did we miss something? Let us know in the comments.
Our 3rd Gathering of the year will be this Thursday, July 21, from 10am-1pm at the Brower Center in downtown Berkeley. Entitled Getting From Here to There: Transportation, Open Space, and Climate Change, we have some terrific panelists lined up and an almost full house.
Why should you come? Here are 7 good reasons...
7. The food! Back to Earth will be catering which means that the food we eat will be local and organic and delicious.
6. See friends, meet new ones. With plenty of time built in for networking, our Gatherings are a great way to get outside of the office and still get work done.
5. Art! There's an interesting art exhibit downstairs in the lobby of the Brower Center. Hello Tomorrow responds to Brower's quote: “Have a good time saving the world. Otherwise, you’re just going to depress yourself.”
4. Trains, buses and bikes. We are close to the Downtown Berkeley BART station (exactly half a block in fact) and AC Transit lines. There are bike lanes all around and plenty of bike parking on the street. There's also the Bike Station down the street if you prefer secured parking.
2. Climate change is happening. We won't get into the hows and whys of climate change, but rather focus on the steps we need to take and the funding opportunities available to us to address this major issue.
1. You! Over 60 people are expected to be there with ideas, questions, opportunities and passion for figuring out this transportation-open space-climate change puzzle.
We convene the land conservation community five times a year in what was formerly known as our Members Meetings. We realized last fall that it was more than just our members who were attending these meetings. Consultants, artists, friends, family, partners, funders, and others were coming too. We also realized that they were more than meetings because people were greeting each other with hugs and groups lingered long after the program. These were not boring events in windowless rooms. It was somewhere between a meeting, family reunion, and a party. So we renamed them our Gatherings.
Our next Gathering will be in one week, on July 21, from 10am-1pm at the David Brower Center in downtown Berkeley. We'll be talking about climate change, transportation and how those two things intersect with land conservation and open space. Learn more about it here and register today. The Gatherings have sold out in the past.
Since July in the Bay Area can be associated with fog, freezing tourists, and cold days at the beach, we called this month's Gathering the Fog Gathering.
Introducing the weekly Open Space Happenings on our blog! On Wednesdays we'll share a round up of land conservation news from around the region. We'll include news items, major events, funding opportunities, and more. This region consists of 10 counties, 100s of park agencies/organizations, and at least one event every hour of the day. It won't be a comprehensive list, but just the highlights. We know you have a lot of data inundating you already.
We are making this change based on the feedback you shared in our survey. Thanks to all who took the time to take the survey! Your responses were very positive, informative, and helpful. The feedback loop shouldn't end here... if you have more to say please leave us a comment or drop us an email. Thank you!
One of our goals is to be a central hub for the land conservation community. We want to provide information, inspiration, resources, and connections to our members and all who care about preserving open space in this region. This blog is one way we aim to do that.
Will you share your thoughts about this blog with us?
It's a quick 4-question survey and you'll be done in no time. Even so, your insights and ideas will be long-lasting as they'll shape what we do in this space for the foreseeable future. And for the perspectives you share you will receive our undying love.
Thank you! We'll share the results in the next week or so.
The Brower Center asked Bay Area artists to respond to this quote from David Brower and received over 500 submissions. From traditional painting to installation to the conceptual avant-garde, this show is a powerful indicator of how pervasive social, environmental, and political concerns are among artists and the community at large. The hope is that these 22 works — imaginative, contemplative, and playful — will also inspire our visitors to consider how we will all live in the future.
The Gallery is free and open to the public. The Brower Center is located at 2150 Allston Way in downtown Berkeley.
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Our Fog Gathering will be held here in the Brower Center on Thursday, July 21 from 10am-1pm. You'll walk through the First Floor Gallery and see these interesting works of art. Learn more about the Gathering here and let us know you're coming here.
On June 18th we held the second annual Triple Threat: 3 peaks, 2 wheels, 1 day. You can learn more about it here. Friend, conservationalist, Transit & Trails fan, and professional photographer Lech Naumovich followed the riders all around the Bay Area and captured many beautiful moments from the day. Learn more about him and his work here.
The longest Saturday in 2012 will be June 12 and there will be some folks riding their bikes that day... will you be one?
The Open Space Council was started by a group of people who believed that we could do more by working together. As we celebrate our country's beginnings this long sunny weekend, we want to acknowledge our member organizations and their contributions to this region. Because of them we have redwood forests, organic farms, sprawling ranches, city parks, long trails, tall peaks, beautiful beaches and so much more.
Thank for all that you do. And have a very safe, fun weekend!
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