Monday, July 30th
7:30-9:00pm
Live Oak Center
(that’s a 5th Monday, taking the place of our usual July and August 3rd Monday meetings)
Workshops on the Strawberry Creek Plaza Proposal
Citizens for A Strawberry Creek Plaza and Ecocity Builders invite you to join us for a day of workshops on the Strawberry Creek Plaza proposal, July 13, in Berkeley.
Please RSVP to Elyce Judith at elyce AT singlesourcetelecom DOT com
A New Vision for Center Street Friday, July 13, at Berkeley City College Auditorium 9:00 -12:30 a.m. at Berkeley City College, 2050 Center Street –
Morning workshop featuring A New Visions for Center Street with Citizens for a Strawberry Creek Plaza. Introductions and updates from Mayor Tom Bates, President of the Downtown Berkeley Association Mark McLeod, and representatives from Carpenter & Company. This will be followed by a presentation on San Luis Obispo’s very successful Mission Plaza project, including ideas for Berkeley, with current Mayor Dave Romero, Former Council Member and Mayor Ken Schwartz, SLO Chamber of Commerce representative Pierre Rademaker and City Administrative Officer Ken Hampian.
2:00 p.m. Meet at the Bank of America, corner of Center Street and Shattuck Avenue.
Guided Tour on the block of Center Street from Oxford to Shattuck and along Strawberry Creek on UCB campus by Citizens for a Strawberry Creek Plaza and Steve Maranzana, UC Berkeley
Office of Environment, Health & Safety.
3:00 p.m. At Alborz Restaurant, 2142 Center Street. Meeting focusing on economic revitalization and the Strawberry Creek Plaza Project, hosted by the Downtown Berkeley Association, featuring Michael Caplan, Acting Director of Economic Development for the City of Berkeley and Pierre Rademaker of Rademaker Design. Pierre is past president of both the SLO Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Association and chaired the design committee that developed the City’s Conceptual Physical Plan for the City Center.
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7:00 p.m. Evening event at the Gaia Building, 2116 Allston Way. Comments by Richard Register of Ecocity Builders and members of the SLO delegation, with time for audience discussion. How can cities be far healthier for both people and nature, now, and into the deep future?
Centennial of Berkeley’s Parks Celebration-Take Part in Planning the Celebration
Activists and affiliates of BPFP are requested to participate in the Centennial of Berkeley’s Parks Celebration (August 25 to October 7) by including their paths, creek, community garden, and/or park in this to be defined calendar of events. BPFP and the City of Berkeley are co-sponsoring a month plus of grassroots’ generated activities, talks, picnics, art happenings, volunteer events, and more in Berkeley’s public outdoor places! We hope you will contribute to celebrating these places and their relationship to our lives and community!
The Centennial will kick-off with a city-wide fair to honor 100 years of our first City Park— San Pablo Park, which will be hosted by the San Pablo Park Neighborhood Council.
We invite other groups and individuals to plan and schedule their own events to be part of a Celebrating Berkeley’s Park Centennial and coordinate their activities with us. BPFP will create a calendar and promote the activities widely. To take part, please contact John Steere at jsteere@igc.org or 849-1969.
Take the Berkely Pools Survey
Tell us (Pools for Berkeley) how you use Berkeley’s public pools and how you’d like to see Berkeley’s pools and programming improved. Online at //poolsforberkeley.org/survey.aspx.
This survey will run throughout the summer. Results will be announced later in the year. Open to all Berkeley residents and users of Berkeley’s public pools.
Getting positive projects done — Tips from Community Activists
· Cast your net widely in seeking help — around the neighborhood and your community of friends and affiliates. You never know where help will come from, and you’ll need a diversity of talent to complete a project.
· Don’t be bashful about ASKING others to assist. Enlisting is often the best way to “find” volunteers.
· Prioritize both the projects you take on and the steps you take in each one, based on what’s most broadly supported, most needed, and doable.
· Perfection is the enemy of Done. A good plan today is often better than a perfect plan tomorrow.
· Just get started. Do something small that shows you’re on the way. It will be much easier to attract support with each step you take.
· When a project takes years to realize, have real milestones enroute – plant something, install something — to keep folks from losing heart or interest.
· Have two projects – one long term and uncertain, and one short term and likely to succeed. That way, you keep going, and at least some of the hard things get done.
· Be prepared for process. To paraphrase Woody Allen, sometimes nine-tenths of success is just showing up at meetings. Sometimes, the one who attends the most meetings wins.
· Things will get much easier as you develop a broad network of contacts, partners, and a track record. A good way to do this is by helping others with related efforts.
· Always be nice to government officials or staff. They’ll be grateful, because they get dumped on so often. And thank everyone for everything. People remember how you make them feel.
· Who is already working in the area? What can you learn from them? Is part or all of your project in their plans? Can you help or partner? Think about territoriality – yours and theirs.
· Reach out to the neighboring community and keep people informed about your plans from the beginning. People have less tendency to get polarized if they have information and feel that you’re taking their concerns, hopes, and fears seriously.
· Most conflicts are between “good” causes. Be prepared to incorporate others’ goals, broaden your ideas and purpose, compromise, and pick your way through more regulations and requirements than you dreamed.
· Expect things to take much more time and effort than you expect.
· Be realistic about the future. Ask yourself: What is success? When you move on, what will be needed to keep it going? How will the project be maintained?