O U R M I S S I O N…
To act as a as a steward of Lake Merritt and the parkland around it, in partnership with the City and our fellow stakeholders, to revitalize our park and meaningfully address issues of ecology, pollution, crime, homelessness and social equity so that the Lake stands as a beacon to communities everywhere, for our children, our children's children, and many generations beyond…
P R O B L E M
T H E
Our lake is out of balance…
The unhoused make their homes here.
Endangering themselves and the larger community
Untended trash sets an example…
Neglect…
Becomes the norm…
Paid for by
local wildlife…
While a deafening chorus of urban escapism on park property…
further undercuts the quality of life for lakeside residents…
C U R R E N T
S O L U T I O N S
The City's Department of Public Works, with its 78 square miles of urban landscape to attend, and an endless backlog of urban decay, is spread way too thin to properly maintain the lake's perimeter…
…the edge of a tidal lagoon that's home to the United States' oldest designated wildlife refuge.
Lake Merritt has a robust volunteer community that does its best to fill the gap between what the city can provide and what the community needs…
Adams Point Neighborhood Group • Alameda County Master Gardeners • Autumn Lights Festival • Bonsai Gardens • California Center for Natural History • Camron-Stanford House • Children's Fairyland • Cleveland Cascades • Community for Lake Merritt • East Bay Front Runners & Walkers • Essex Community Action Committee • Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt • Junior Center of Art & Science • Friends of the Oakland Municipal Band • Lake Merritt Advocates • Lake Merritt Breakfast Club • Lake Merritt Community Alliance • Lake Merritt Institute • Lake Merritt Joggers & Striders • Lake Merritt Rowing Club • Lake Merritt Weed Warriors • Lakeshore Neighbors • Measure DD Community Coalition • Oakland Croquet Club • Oakland East Bay Garden Center • Oakland Lawn Bowling Club • Oakland Museum of California • Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation • Oakland Public Works Adopt-a-Spot • Oakland Women’s Rowing Club • Pollinator Posse • Rotary Nature Center • Rotary Nature Center Friends • ShelterOak • Trash Falcons • Wholly H2O
…each with an important area of focus and real accomplishments to their credit
All starved for resources.
Volunteers need a funded, umbrella organization, that can offer economies of scale, facilitate coordinated responses to our most challenging problems, and give us the political clout we need at City Hall
T H E P A T H T O
C O N S E R V A N C Y
What is a Conservancy?
Public Spaces/Private Money, The Triumphs and Pitfalls of Urban Park Conservancies, Trust for Public Land, Feb 2015.
Conservancies are private, nonprofit park-benefit organizations that raise money independent of the city and spend it under a plan of action mutually agreed upon with the government.
… a viable alternative to city governance for parks and lakes
Conservancies have emerged in the last few decades as viable alternatives to traditional city governance in hundreds of city parks and public spaces around the country. The Trust for Public Land published a study that makes the case for Conservancies in scenarios similar to ours.
Public Spaces/Private Money, The Triumphs and Pitfalls of Urban Park Conservancies, Trust for Public Land, Feb 2015.
New York City’s Central Park Conservancy, established in 1980, was one of the first and has become a model
The Piedmont Conservancy in Atlanta is an example of a conservancy on a scale more similar to our own
Nationally, the parkland under the purview of the conservancies is almost 35,000 acres and growing
Benefits for Lake Merritt
Improved Standard of Care for the Lake
Provide a United Voice at City Hall
Economies of Scale for Volunteer Efforts
Coordination Across All Lake Caretakers
New Opportunities for Oakland Residents
A B O U T T H E
C O N S E R V A N C Y
Founding Team
This project has grown out of a steadfast attempt to improve lake stewardship by the Community Action Committee of the Essex on Lake Merritt, and a groundswell of support from local volunteers, especially at Lake Merritt Institute and at the Lake Merritt Advocates. Our core team is growing by the day.
For more info, drop us a note!