Annie Burke, our Director of Development and Engagement, presented on a panel at the Society for Outdoor Recreation Professionals on May 16, 2014. The panel was about 'Partnerships to get the job done' and her presentation highlighted the work of the Open Space Council to create a culture of collaboration.

1. Partnerships to get the job done
Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals
May 16, 2014

2. This is Annie Annie Burke
annie@openspacecouncil.org
@BA_OpenSpace

3. Where were you at 5:04pm on
October 17, 1989?

4. Open Space Council members and supporters
Photo: USGS

5. A group of conservationists were
flying home from New Mexico
and the National Open Space
Conference…

6. “Many events plant seeds,
imperceptible at the time, that
bear fruit long afterward.”
Rebecca Solnit in A Paradise Built in Hell: The
Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster

7. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Aristotle

8. Relationships
Photo by Jen Hale

9. Members!
 Nonprofits: land trusts, advocacy organizations,
friends groups, conservancies
 Cities: big and small, urban and suburban
 Counties: each one is different!
 Special districts: major players in the region
 Resource Conservation Districts
 California State Parks
 Federal agencies: National Park Service, USFWS
Fifty organizations and agencies consisting of:

10. Bay Area Protected Areas Database
• 1.37million
acres of
protected lands
• 68% of our way
to goal of 2
million acres
• Includes fee and
easements
• Almost 1million
acres publicly
accessible

11. Creating a culture of collaboration
1. Identify and magnify similarities
2. Break bread together
3. Share information (and not just the good stuff)
4. Make it visible and tangible
5. Have fun

12. Identify and magnify
similarities
Photo: Jen Hale

13. Break
bread
together

14. Share information
(and not just the good stuff)Photo: Jen Hale

15. Make it visible
Photo: Jen Hale

16. Have fun

17. Why?

18. Established Bay Program of the
California Coastal Conservancy
Photo: C.E. Meyer, via Wikimedia Commons

19. Accomplishments of the Bay Program
Over $300 million in funding for acquisition
and restoration projects
Over $1 billion in matching funds
Over 425 projects
More than 200 miles of trails
More info at: http://scc.ca.gov/15bythenumbers/

20. Lead creation of a regional conservation vision
More info at: www.bayarealands.org

21. Save the Redwoods League – photo contest
More info at: www.bayarealands.org/explorer/

22. Building a regional movement
Where we are Vision
Call for a regional
marketing campaign
Fragmented victories
Supporters don’t
reflect diversity of the
region
Engagement is
city/county specific
Build a movement
instead of a one-off
campaign
Connect more and
more diverse
residents to natural
and working lands
Activate residents to
volunteer, donate,
vote, advocate,
promote

23. Your Bay Area - Theory of Change
Created in collaboration with members
STEP 4:
BUILD
Build online and
in-person
platforms that
encourage and
enable Bay Area
residents to
champion natural
and working lands.
STEP 2:
CREATE
Create
overarching
narrative,
brand, and
message
platforms
STEP 5:
ACTIVATE
Mobilize Bay
Area residents
to volunteer,
donate, vote,
contact
business/elect
ed officials,
and promote
on social
media
STEP 3:
CONNECT
Build the
capacity of
members to
connect more
and more
diverse people
to the land
STEP 1:
EXPAND
Expand the
conversation
and include
more people in
the initiative
Create clear
pathways for new
groups to participate
in the initiative and
guide subsequent
steps.
Should be action
oriented, values
based, adaptable
to any geography
and type of land.
Target the bottom
rung of the ladder
of engagement –
knowing about and
enjoying Bay Area
lands.
Platforms should use
tools developed in Step
2, support all OSC
members, be easy to
use, centralized, and
self-selecting.

24. Photo: Lech Naumovich
What else is happening around
the Bay Area?
Many collaborations, like…

25. Learn more at www.livinglandscapeinitiative.org/

26. • Golden Gate
National Parks
Conservancy
• National Park
Service
• California State
Parks
• Marin Municipal
Water District
• Marin County
Parks

27. Bay Area Ridge Trail
• 25 years old
• Planned 550 miles
• Currently 340 miles
and counting
• Across everything:
counties, cities,
park agencies, land
trusts…
More at www.ridgetrail.org

28. San Francisco
Bay Trail
• 25 years old
• Planned 500 miles
• Currently 330
miles and counting
• Will link 47 cities
More at www.baytrail.org

29. Creating a culture of collaboration
1. Identify and magnify similarities
2. Break bread together
3. Share information and not just the good stuff
4. Make it visible and tangible
5. Have fun

30. 27Photo: Jen Hale
Questions?

31. Jean Akers
Intertwine Alliance
@TheIntertwine
jean.akers@gmail.com
Annie Burke
Bay Area Open Space Council
@BA_OpenSpace
annie@openspacecouncil.org
Rick Just
Idaho Recreation and Tourism Initiative
rickjust@rickjust.com