CONSERVANCY COMMONS

After reviewing six proposals from local and national firms, the Committee has selected the Avarna Group to help us take our DEI work to the next level. The Avarna Group was founded in late 2015 to focus on helping environmental, conservation, outdoor recreation, environmental education, and youth development sectors achieve their DEI goals. Avarna’s proposal rose to the top because of their successful track record, and their ability to translate their academic background in DEI work into measurable, meaningful change within organizations like ours. The Conservancy will officially begin work with Arvana in June 2018.

GOGA's National Park Week celebrations continue through April 29. A variety of programs and events have been hosted already, including a Fee Free Day at Muir Woods and Earth Day Volunteer activities. On April 28, NPS will celebrate Military & Veteran Recognition Day, and wrap up the week with National Park Rx Day on April 29. Click links for more information on these two events.

The fourth and final week of the GOGA Earth Month Staff Challenge focuses on “Continuing the Conversation”. We encourage staff to talk to coworkers, friends, and family about what actions you've taken toward living and working more sustainably, and to share with the park how we can improve. You will get credit for submitting any ideas, conversations, or actions you've taken!

4-6 pm. Crissy Field Center. The PYC Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Cohort presents: The New Environmentalists, an Emmy-award winning series featuring six dedicated activists around the world who fight for environmental justice in their communities despite great personal risk. The focus of this film screening is to discover successful grassroots activism in communities throughout the world, and attendees will be introduced to Earth-saving initiatives that they can be part of right here in the park! Click HERE for a detailed program flyer.

11am - 3 pm. George "Rocky" Graham Park, Marin City. The Parks Conservancy and HPHP Bay Area partners are celebrating National Park Rx Day in Marin City this year. Family-friendly fun will include art, yoga, boxing, swag, informational booths and more. Come on out and show your support.

8:30 am - 4:30 pm. Fort Mason, General's Residence. Registration is now open for the 3rd Biannual Sustainability Summit on Monday April 30, 2018. Keynote Speaker, Kevin Bayuk, will provide an overview of Project Drawdown’s Top 100 Solutions to reverse global warming – how humanity can reach the point of “drawdown”, when the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere begins to decline on a year-over-year basis. Come learn what NPS and partners are doing regionally to create more sustainable parks. Click HERE to view a detailed program flyer.

6 -8:30 pm, Presidio Nursery. Join us as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage. At this Trail Mixer, you’ll create paper flowers led by Latino Outdoors, learn how to make your own Yerba Buena tea, get salsa lessons from dance instructor Natasha Tia, and take a tour of the native plant nurseries before getting your hands dirty by transporting seedlings into pots. There will also be complimentary brews from Fort Point Beer Company, “noshies” from Whole Food, and a lounge from REI. Note: The event is for adults 21+, so bring your ID. Follow link to purchase tickets.

8:30 am - 1 pm. Crissy Field. Conservancy and NPS staff and interns are invited to participate in Park Day at Crissy Field! This Park Day we are launching our RSVPs through our Training Portal. If you haven’t had a chance to register with our Portal yet, this is the perfect time to create your account. Please RSVP for Park Day through the link below. Don't forget to fill out the lunch and carpool survey provided in your confirmation email by clicking the FOOD & RIDE button. For questions, email Hilary at hbeardsley@parksconservancy.org.

10 am - 12 pm. Crissy Field Center. HR Staff will host a Live Training for executive, managers, and supervisors to fully understand their role in creating a harassment-free workplace and their responsibility to help address issues and complaints that arrive. The program is designed to comply with California law AB1825. The training content includes new 2018 legal requirements to address discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. Workplace bullying will also be addressed. This training is specifically for Executive/Managers/Supervisors.

This week we welcome four new hires who will be working with our Crissy Field Center, Lands End and Alcatraz teams!