PERE invites you to an upcoming Parks Forward public meeting on March 10th in Los Angeles to improve urban access to parks and workforce opportunities within the state parks for underrepresented communities.

Made up of experts and thought-leaders (including PERE’s Professor Manuel Pastor), Parks Forward is an independent commission charged with conducting a wholesale assessment of California’s state parks system. It is designed to address the financial, operational, and cultural challenges facing State Parks to ensure the system’s long-term viability.

The Parks Forward Commission has been meeting both as a whole and in sub-groups to address specific issues (such as finances, partnerships, and public health). A key issue raised repeatedly by Commissioners and the public is the need to improve effective access to parks, particularly in light of the state’s changing demographics.

Parks Forward Commissioner Manuel Pastor will be facilitating the March 10th meeting with attendees including:

• Michael Woo, Parks Forward Commissioner (former member of the L.A. City Council) and Dean of the College of Environmental Design at Cal Poly Pomona;
• Elva Yanez, Commissioner on the California Park and Recreation Commission;                                   
• Robert Garcia, The City Project;
• Alina Bokde, Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust;
• Bruce Saito, Los Angeles Conservation Corps (invited);

This meeting will include discussions among Commissioners, experts, and the public on how best to improve urban park access and provide workforce opportunities to those who are currently underrepresented in the state park workforce.

This is a unique opportunity to lift up both what you value about parks and what you would make better – and we urge you to consider attending.

An updated agenda and meeting details will be posted here:http://parksforward.com/meetings
An additional meeting on parks access will take place in Northern California on March 14th, from 1:00pm – 3:30pm at the David Brower Center (2150 Allston Way Berkeley, CA 94704.)