Posted: May 11th, 2005

Four conferences across the country are coming up in May.

It Takes a Partnership: Urban Parks in the New Century—On May 19-22, 2005, more than 150 city park enthusiasts will converge on Buffalo, N.Y. to attend the national conference: It Takes a Partnership: Urban Parks in the New Century, presented by the National Association for Olmsted Parks, City Parks Alliance, and Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy. From creating innovative partnerships and finding alternative sources of revenue to maintaining historic landscapes, this conference will address issues of particular interest to city and historic park leaders and advocates, and urban planners.

The urban parks conference includes a dialogue, sponsored by the National Park Service, about public ownership of parks featuring panelist Robert García, Executive Director of the Center for Law in the Public Interest. More information on the conference can be found at www.olmsted.org, or www.cityparksalliance.org.

Advancing Regional Equity Summit—On May 23-25, 2005, PolicyLink, and the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities will host Advancing Regional Equity: The Second National Summit on Equitable Development, Social Justice, and Smart Growth. The summit will bring together over 700 peers from across the country who are working on the convergence of regional equity, social justice, and smart growth.

The Center’s Executive Director Robert García will join a panel with Bill Kennedy of the Legal Services of Northern California, and Scott Bernstein with the Center for Neighborhood Technology, to discuss the importance of infrastructure decisions in shaping equitable regional development. For more information visit www.policylink.org/Summit2005/default.html.

California Forest Futures 2005—On May 23-24, 2005, state and local elected officials, forest policy makers and staff, forest owners, foresters, planners, environmental organizations, and land use attorneys will convene in Sacramento, CA, to examine the forces that are dramatically reshaping our future landscapes and explore the strategies and actions necessary to secure an economic and ecologically rewarding future.

Erica Flores Baltodano, the Center’s Assistant Director, will be a speaker on Getting Engaged: Connecting Californians with Our Forests panel, with Assemblymembers Tim Leslie and Loni Hancock among others. For more information visit http://nature.berkeley.edu/forestry/forestfuture/.

Connecting Californians to the Outdoors—On May 25-26, 2005, the California Roundtable on Recreation, Parks and Tourism will host Connecting Californians to the Outdoors, a symposium examining the need to serve California’s diverse and growing population by educating people of all ages and backgrounds in the value of the outdoor experience. The Center’s Executive Director Robert García will join fellow panelists Mary Su, Parks Commissioner, City of Walnut, Charles Thomas from Outward Bound Adventures, and Elsa Lopez, Director, Audubon Center at Debs Park on the need to connect communities to the outdoors. More information can be found at http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=23722.