CONSERVANCY COMMONS

Thurs., 6/3 at 10 AM-Noon:
Please attend this special All Staff meeting with our NPS Partners. The meeting, hosted on Microsoft Teams, will be Closed Caption for the hearing impaired and offer a phone-only option. Topics include an update on the Parks Conservancy's strategic direction, information on COVID and vaccination trends, and updates from GOGA management.

Join Via Microsoft Teams

Or call in (audio only) +1 213 279 1007
Access Code 874998578
Phone Conference ID: 874 998 578

The annual open enrollment period begins today, 6/1, and ends Tues., 6/15. This year, we are hosting an active benefits election, which requires all benefited eligible employees to enroll in ADP to make benefit choices. If you do not make benefit elections in ADP, you will not be automatically enrolled in benefits. Therefore, please be sure to make your elections by 6/15.

If you were unable to attend last week's special All Staff Meeting, or would like to review the presentation, visit SharePoint. Use your email and password to login. You can watch the presentation about benefits -- including a review of changes, learn open enrollment, and view a PDF of the slides. 

Check out our new Annual Report, now live at annualreport.parksconservancy.org. You’ll find quotes and videos featuring the words of our park community, including “park postcards” and fun illustrations. Thanks to everybody who helped put together this year’s report!

Keeping in line with California State and San Francisco County local public health guidance, our workplace face mask policies remain unchanged for the time being. Face masks are still required indoors and outside when you cannot maintain physical distance.

The Trust for Public Land have shared this year’s ParkScore index and City Park Facts survey, which reflect the incredible work of 495 park and recreation organizations across the 100 most populous U.S. cities.

TPL also released a special five-part report examining the park equity gap in America and our evolving relationship to our parks and public land during this historic crisis. Explore each section of the report below by clicking on the link below:

Parks Conservancy staff get exclusive access the Columbia Sportswear Employee Store in Richmond, CA from May 28 to June 20 only. Items are marked with

Must bring a copy of this flyer to enter the store. We suggest saving the flyer to your phone. Employee pricing 40-50% below the retail price. Staff can bring up to 4 guests during their one-time visit.

Community engagement for Aquatic Park and Fort Mason planning is launching this month! We are connecting with community partners and local residents to understand how folks spend time here, and how we can make these parks more enjoyable, welcoming, and useful.

We want to hear from staff too! Many of you know Fort Mason well and we’d love to hear your ideas.

Yammer is a space to share, ask questions, and connect with colleagues across the organization. Get started by joining Yammer "communities" (formerly called "groups") like Yammer 101, to learn more about how Yammer works, or follow the Park Knitting Circle, for folks who love to knit or just enjoy seeing other people's work.

NOTE: To see community posts on your Yammer feed, you need to "follow" them.

We are preparing for organizational changes that will align us to our new Strategic Direction. Find information about Conservancy 2.0, including the Conservancy 2.0 Focus Areas and our new organizational structure on the Strategic Planning page on SharePoint.

Log in to the training portal in order to register for the upcoming Blue Shield, Kaiser, and Delta Dental presentations.

6/2,12-1PM, Blue Shield Presentation

6/3,12-1PM, Kaiser Presentation

6/4,12-1PM, Delta Dental Presentation

Starting Friday, 6/11: As part of our award-winning partnership with NPS and the SF Public Library, Nature Boost Fridays are a chance for the public to meet national park rangers and our park experts as well as learn more about local plants and animals. Every Friday at 11 AM; live on SFPL's YouTube channel.

Thurs., 6/10 at 4 PM: In support of our organization’s commitment to environmental sustainability, we invite you to learn more about waste reduction, recycling, and composting to combat climate change. The Zero Waste Champions is a program of Recology and the San Francisco Department of the Environment to help achieve increased participation in recycling and composting programs.

6/3: Should employees continue to work from home or head back into the office? For managers, leaders, and HR professionals considering a hybrid work environment, register now for this 4-week webinar series.

Watch the first session here

In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, the Conservancy DEI Committee hosted a film screening and discussion of the 2013 90-minute film "American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs"! If you were unable to join the screening, you can also stream the film using the link below through 6/7. Please do not share the link publicly as the streaming link is only for Conservancy and park partner agency staff use.

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic recession have challenged park and recreation staff and city budgets at a time when the need for equitable access to healthy outdoor spaces has never been greater.

This year, in lieu of an in-person Greater & Greener conference, City Parks Alliance is pleased to present the Summer Series, two weeks of virtual programming (6/14-6/25) that address the most pressing issues faced by urban park and recreation leaders in light of the crises of the past year.

Studies have shown that individuals who feel a sense of connection to others and to their communities are likely to live longer and enjoy happier, healthier lives than those who do not. We'll learn how some very small, sustainable changes can make a huge impact on both physical and emotional well-being.

6/3, 7:30 PM, Native Bees are Picky, What you Plant Matters with Sam Droge

Story Map: Redwood Creek and Muir Beach (30 min) 

Asian Americans Part 1 of 5: BREAKING GROUND (50 min)

What it takes to be racially literate (15 min) 

Did you know you can take notes in meeting threads on Teams? The notes will automatically be saved to your meeting's chat thread for reference later. You can also add an MS OneNote notebook to Teams.

Have a submission for the Conservancy Commons? Send content and images to commons@parksconservancy.org by Friday at 10am to be included in next week's newsletter.

Share your favorite Park Pics on Yammer by logging in with your work email and password.

During our recent All Staff Meeting, we celebrated the incredible milestone of staff who have worked at the Conservancy for 30 + years.

Take a look at the slide presentation celebrating each of them.