Earth Systems Science, Inc.

Santa Monica Mtns & Manzanar PLCs to be Featured in Conference

Jul 08, 2003

The Expo Rangers, supported by Expo Neighbors Environmental Group (ENEG) and Earth Systems Science, Inc. (ESSI), will feature their Public Land Corps grants with Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and Manzanar National Historic Site at the ?“Joint Ventures: Partners in Stewardship Conference?” in the Los Angeles Convention Center, CA, November 18-20, 2003. The T.H.E.F.L.A.B.A. (To Help our Environment and Future of Los Angeles for a Better America, the NPCA/LACP Youth Council), ENEG (Patrick McCullough), ESSI (Greg Lee) and National Parks staff (Santa Monica Mtns. and Manzanar) will join in the Expo Rangers (adult and youth community volunteers) in the panel presentation.

There were more than 700 proposals submitted for conference presentations. Only 300 could be selected, and to help optimize the number of presentations, the Expo Rangers group agreed to combine their panel presentation with another group from Seattle, WA. The Seattle group consists of National Park Service (Lisa Eschenbach, Education Program Specialist, Columbia Cascades Support Office), and Seattle Parks and Recreation (Belinda Chin, Environmental Stewardship Coordinator), and EarthCorps (Chris La Pointe, Community Outreach Coordinator).

Both groups had about 5 days to combine the two panel presentations and come up with a revised title and description. The result of e-mail and phone exchanges was the following:

Session Title: Bridging youth experiences between communities and parks from Los Angeles and Seattle

Session Description: Come learn from two community partnership programs that involve today's youth in meaningful park experiences that develop student's job skills and connections to their land. Case studies will highlight successful Public Land Corps programs. Special emphasis will be placed on partners, working with diverse youth and community groups, and linking home communities with parks.

Goals:
1) To provide examples of several successful programs that makes parks relevant to urban youth and develops a comprehensive understanding of the environment.

2) To highlight the partnerships that made these programs possible including the lessons learned, strategies for success and models for other programs.

3) Examples of integrating academics and building job skills into park youth programs

The plan is for each group to present a brief program overview. Both were funded by Public Land Corps grants. This will be followed by a dialog among the panelists as they compare/contrast their programs. An equal amount of time is allocated for dialog between the panelists and the audience.

If you have any questions, call Lisa Eschenbach (206) 2220-4017 in the Seattle Support Office or Gregory Lee, Earth Systems Science, Inc. (818)-343-2363.

The presentation is scheduled for the first day of the conference, Nov 17, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 503. This 90-minute session consists of 4 parts: 2 separate overview sessions (Seattle and Los Angeles), a panel dialog between the Seattle and Los Angeles groups, an open dialog between the audience and the panel.

Information about the Joint Ventures: Partners in Stewardship Conference can be found at http://www.partnerships2003.org/home.html

Other web links:
Expo Neighbors Environmental Group: http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/la/eneg

National Parks Conservation Association: http://www.npca.org/

Los Angeles Community Partners: http://www.troutco.com/lacp/programs.html

THEFLABA (NPCA/LACP Youth Council): http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/org/theflaba

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area: http://www.nps.gov/samo/index.htm

Manzanar National Historic Site: http://www.nps.gov/manz/index.htm

National Parks, Columbia Cascade Cluster, Seattle Support Office:
http://www.nature.nps.gov/im/units/nw25/Learning/index.htm

Seattle Parks and Recreation, Environmental Stewardship:
http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/Environment/learning.htm - youth

EarthCorps
http://www.earthcorps.org/home/default.asp

(c) 2003, ESSI. All rights reserved.
Photo by S. Lee.