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 A Message From the President - The Year of Almost?
Some might think that 2009 should go down as the year of "ALMOST" for the California State Parks Foundation and the state parks movement in general.
However, that word "ALMOST" belies the thrilling things that came with these and many other events of the year. These events give the "ALMOST" a sizzle of excitement, a sense of anticipation and an eagerness to get on to 2010.
Because with your enormous help we have built an army of park supporters and enthusiasts who don't want to give up until we find a better way. When I wrote to you last year at this time we had organizations and individuals who wanted state parks to get a better shake. Today the list of Save Our State Parks supporters has grown to a whooping 343 organizations and that isn't even counting our almost 52,000 Facebook Fans. More than 100,000 Californians stepped up for their state parks this year through communications to the Legislature and Governor—they heard us coming!
We have a long-term, sustainable funding tool in the works that is being reviewed in the Attorney General's office. It will hopefully emerge as an initiative later this month. I think I speak for most of at CSPF that it feels GREAT to have a positive message about a solution to this decades-old problem. We are moving on to make our case where it counts the most, with the Citizens of California.
And just in case that is not enough excitement, we are really proud of some programmatic innovations we have made this year. First the Hidden Stories series kicked off with its first conference focused on African American history and parks. Then we participated in a great new experiment in Summer Learning, reaching out to disadvantaged children to help them have stimulating summers of education. It was all hard work but it set some great new examples that we can build on.
We are so grateful to all of you for your continued support. This has been a year! I sincerely hope that in December 2010 I am writing to you about moving on to a bright new epoch in state parks history. We hope that you will take some moments to enjoy your state parks this holiday season. Perhaps a walk will help reverse the effects of turkeys, mashed potatoes and latkes! This is, after all, why we are all so committed to this cause. We want our parks to be accessible to all Californians. Thanks for keeping us and state parks in your priorities. Happy Holidays everyone!
Initiative Update: Just Sign Here…
Since we issued a call for volunteers to help gather signatures for placing the State Park Access Pass on the ballot for next November, more than 600 CSPF members and supporters have volunteered – a great start! We expect signature-gathering to start in early January. Talk about a great New Year's Resolution: resolve to keep our state park system open and accessible to all of us by joining our "troops" of volunteer signature gatherers in January! There's still time to sign up here, but we need to more than double the amount of volunteers ready to hit the streets in January. Trainings will be held through the state to give volunteers the know-how to effectively collect the 700,000 signatures we plan to collect. Several have already been scheduled.
You can find a schedule of dates and locations of trainings that we're please to host and co-host with other park organizations here. Additional trainings in other locations are being scheduled now, and updates will be posted on our web site. Please continue your support for state parks by joining in this important effort!
The Perfect Holiday Gift
The holidays are upon us and what better way to spread good cheer and support our parks than a gift of membership in CSPF? All of our membership levels are available for gifts and they all include passes to California's state parks that are good for one year. And right now we are offering our Parks Sampler at a special gift rate of only $25—nearly 40% off!
And don't forget about the CSPF 2010 Calendar and Picnic Blankets as gifts either!
Personalized Picnic Tables
Personalizing and placing a picnic table is a wonderful way to remember someone or something special like a marriage proposal or a child or grandchild's birth or to give a unique holiday gift. For a tax-deductible gift of $1,500 you can donate a personalized picnic table to one of our state parks.
CSPF works with the Sonoma County Probation Camp (SCPC) to produce the tables. SCPC has been making state parks products for more than 25 years. Established in 1955, the SCPC is a short-term correctional and vocational treatment facility for 16 to 18 year old males committed by the Juvenile Court.
By participating in the Personalized Park Table Program, you will help three worthy entities: State Parks, SCPC, and CSPF! For more information, please go to our picnic table webpage. For information on the donation of cash, or stock or other gifts please contact Lee Theisen at lee@calparks.org or call him (415) 262-4403.
Park Advocacy Day Just Around The Corner
Register now to advocate for your state parks on March 8, 2010 in Sacramento
Join us for Park Advocacy Day 2010 and be a Voice for State Parks. With service reductions and partial closures already in effect at California's state parks and an additional $22.2 million budget cut possible in the next state park budget, we know that 2010 will be another difficult year for state parks. That's why we need advocates (like you!) to participate in Park Advocacy Day on March 8, 2010! Register now to advocate for your state parks on March 8, 2010 in Sacramento.
Participating in Park Advocacy Day is meaningful, fun, and most of all, easy! Participants are placed in small teams of fellow park advocates (typically between 4-6 people) and spend the day meeting with policymakers discussing the many important issues facing California's 278 state parks. Each team is led by a returning Park Advocacy Day participant who knows what to do and we even provide you with talking points and background information to help you prepare for your meetings.
Last year, 145 advocates walked the halls of the State Capitol to lobby for support for state parks protection and funding. Their advocacy was essential in helping push for key legislation and stop the closure of state parks. We hope that you will participate this year and help us send another powerful message to legislators. For more information, or to register for Park Advocacy Day, please visit go here, or call 916-442-2119. There is no cost to participate, but registration is required by February 19, 2010.
Magical Evening at La Purisima Mission State Historic Park
Once each year, something magical takes place at the La Purisima Mission. Ghosts appear, carrying candles, and allow lucky guests to follow them down the winding paths and into the adobe buildings of the Mission, where they can see spirits of the past as they went about their ordinary lives. This year was no exception. One of the hard-working padres who lived in the Mission in the early 19th century let visitors trail behind him as he greeted and extended blessings to the Mission's inhabitants.
The year of 1818 was a frightening one for those who lived along the coast of Alta California. Two insurgent ships, led by the pirate Hippolyte Bouchard, repeatedly attacked the early inhabitants of the state. Governor Sola ordered all California Missions to pack valuables, sacred vessels and church ornaments to be carried to safe settlement inland, and women and children to prepare for evacuation. The inhabitants of La Purisima Mission were terrified, but they continued to carry on their every-day activities while they waited for word.
Guests watched as the padre reassured his flock that they would be safe. The scenes were as varied as could be. Young girls learned to cook in a courtyard. Blacksmiths hammered in their workshops. Families cooked, laughed, fought and played. As in our modern time, some of the families were happy, with giggling children and loving couples. Some were sad, with patriarchs who drank too much or frightened women. Some people grouped together and played traditional music with guitars and longing voices around blazing fires. Many Native Americans begged the Padre to let them go home to their villages and visit their families. One woman was discovered storing Native American blankets and ceremonial belongings outside the church, which was forbidden at the Mission. She told the Padre how they reminded her of her village, and he allowed her to keep them.
As the evening grew dark, the stars filled the sky above, and visitors felt truly transported back in time to the year of the Pirate Bouchard. Luckily, La Purisima was never attacked, though Bouchard was seen at Point Pedernales, within one-half day's ride of the Mission. However, he continued down the coast and attacked in Refugio Bay, destroying the Ortega home. He continued to the Presidio in Santa Barbara, negotiated a prisoner exchange and left, promising never to set foot in California again. That promise was betrayed when his ship attacked San Juan Capistrano Mission, destroying many structures.
La Purisima was spared that fate, and happily so. To this day, the Mission survives in its original state, a gift to the citizens of California, especially each October, when the past comes alive, glowing with candlelight. La Purisima Mission State Historic Park & Prelado de los Tesoros Candlelight Tour history event is presented each October. For more information, visit www.lapurisimamission.org.
CSPF Awarded Prestigious LEED® Green Building Certification
CSPF was recently awarded LEED® Gold Certification for our recently renovated San Francisco offices. The program was established by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute. LEED is the nation's preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.
"We are very excited about creating this new green home office for CSPF in San Francisco," says Elizabeth Goldstein, President of CSPF. "We are committed to living our values by doing our part to protect California and its environment."
CSPF achieved LEED certification for energy use, lighting, water and material use as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies. By using less energy and water, LEED certified buildings save money for families, businesses and taxpayers; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.
LEED Certification of CSPF was based on a number of green design and construction features that positively impact the project itself and the broader community. These features include:
- Use the most environmentally sound materials throughout the office: carpets, paints, and sustainable materials in numerous locations, and conference tables of recycled wood from a nearby shop.
- Reuse and integration of furniture from previous office.
- Design to maximize the natural light throughout office.
- Waste materials from construction sorted to minimize addition to landfill.
- Motion detector light systems to reduce electricity use.
- Strict air quality testing.
- Accessibility to public transportation and policies that encourage their use.
El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park's Green Resource Center
In 2007, the Santa Barbara Contractors Association (SBCA) and Built Green Santa Barbara presented the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (SBTHP) with a proposal to restore two former artist studios located in El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park, in exchange for a lease of the property. The historic site was originally part of the Santa Barbara School of the Arts and is now managed under a long term operating agreement by SBTHP for California State Parks, which owns the property. The proposed rehabilitation of the 1926 building, initially designed as classrooms for the school, would entail "greening" the structure and turning it into the home for SBCA and the Built Green Santa Barbara program.
In 2008, after California State Parks completed an environmental review of the project, the deal was struck. Since then SBCA has invested more than $800,000 in a Green and sustainable rehabilitation of the studios, including installation of new high performance spray foam insulation, low-flow plumbing fixtures for water conservation, energy efficient infrared radiant heat panels, rehabilitation of original windows and skylights, and the restoration of original hardwood floors. With a small array of solar photovoltaic panels adorning a section of the structures roof, the building is a zero fossil fuel usage facility and creates more energy than is used. The building's revitalization has created an historic opportunity to showcase energy independence, sustainable building practices, and the value of recycling our legacy structures.
SBCA celebrated the grand opening of the Built Green Resource Center on October 29, 2009. The Resource Center offers information on Green building techniques and practices for the entire community, with the building itself serving as a model. The Center is a true jewel in the crown of the park, city, and State of California. This project and the partnership that made it possible demonstrates that preservation is more than saving and restoring important buildings; it is keeping the best of the past for the benefit of the future. By rehabilitating the old studios and adaptively re-using the building, we are saving energy, conserving resources, and building on the past—the ultimate form of recycling. It is SBTHP's hope that this partnership will serve as a model for future greening of historic structures in the State Park system.
SBTHP will award SBCA and the Built Green Santa Barbara the George and Vivian Obern Preservation Stewardship Award at their Annual Meeting on January 16, 2010. Each year SBTHP recognizes an individual or organization that demonstrates outstanding preservation work in connection with a specific project in and around Santa Barbara County. For more information about Built Green Santa Barbara and the Built Green Resource Center visit www.builtgreensb.org. To learn more about the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation visit www.sbthp.org. | 
