Parks Family Reunion, like all of our work together, is a product of partnership. Thank you to our corporate sponsors, our institutional funders, our Parks Leadership Circle and our individual donors for the food and drinks. Thank you to our community volunteers for sharing your work across the picnic tables. Thank you to our City of Oakland partners for your site coordination. And, thank you to our board and staff for creating a welcoming atmosphere (and for working hard at the grill!).

We all came out to Parks Family Reunion to share our love for Oakland’s parks and people. That’s the fuel that keeps us going.

Thank you for your continued stewardship and support.

Warmly,

Terra Cole Brown

Executive Director

Happy New Year from the entire staff and board of the Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation!

Thanks to the support of so many in our amazing parks community, I can share that we just completed our most successful year end fundraising campaign in recent memory! Acknowledgement letters will be sent soon.

As we begin 2022, community and connection guide our planning. It’s time for us to reconvene as Oakland’s parks people to support the spaces, people and projects that are so meaningful to each of us. Watch for creative ways — both virtual and in person — for us to gather together in the weeks and months ahead.

With gratitude for your trust and support, we look forward to partnering with you to equitably invest in Oakland’s parks and ensure that all of our communities have spaces to play, celebrate, recharge and engage.

Warmly and with appreciation,

Terra Cole Brown
Executive Director

The Friends of Lincoln Square Park support programs and community partnerships at the park’s recreation center, which includes the creation of a new facility to meet the growing needs for public gathering space in Chinatown and the surrounding neighborhood.

You can join the Friends of Lincoln Square Park and the City of Oakland for community meetings on December 8 and 9 where architects will share conceptual drawings for a new recreation center developed with input from a community-based project advisory committee.

“We are excited to work with the City of Oakland and the Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation,” says co-founder Tiffany Eng, “Together, we can ensure that the recreation center continues to be a safe, joyful and inclusive place for generations to come.”

The Friends of Lincoln Square Park are one of close to 100 community groups fiscally-sponsored by the Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation. To learn more, visit friendsoflincolnsquarepark.org.

The Friends of Joaquin Miller Park have been in the news recently for their work to repair the Woodminster Cascade, remove invasive plants and bring cultural programming to the park. The group celebrated the restoration of the park’s reflecting pool and fountain on October 9.

The Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation manages nearly $2 million on behalf of close to 100 community groups, including the Friends of Joaquin Miller Park. In addition, we provide tools, assistance and a platform to fundraise under our nonprofit umbrella.

To learn more about the Friends of Joaquin Miller Park, visit fojmp.org for information about current projects and to make a donation.

As a longtime resident, business owner and former parks commissioner, I care deeply about how our diverse community comes together outdoors, from Lake Merritt to our smallest neighborhood parks. As we heal from the pandemic, parks are central to an equitable recovery.

Our productive spring provides many examples. In April, we raised nearly $100,000 together for Town Camp and Oakland youth. We are preparing to plant 2,500 trees in East Oakland to mitigate heat island effects, while supporting the City of Oakland’s restoration of Courtland Creek.

As Oakland’s advocates for equitable parks access, our team stands with you as park lovers and community partners. Our connections create the opportunities to show up, listen and act in support of Oakland’s public spaces and each other.

Thank you for being with us in this work.

Warmly,

Mandolin Kadera-Redmond

Interim Executive Director
Board President

In our recent survey, Parks & Equity: The Promise of Oakland’s Parks, Oaklanders declared that how we care for parks is how we care for our planet, with 94% of over 1,100 participants – across race, income, neighborhood, and gender – agreeing that activated parks that are well-maintained, safe, accessible, used, and loved, are key to protecting and caring for the environment. Even recreation centers can play a vital role in a sustainable future, for example as models of clean and efficient water and energy consumption and nature education.

Oaklanders also recognize that parks make us resilient to the increasing impacts of climate change, with 88% of over 1,000 participants envisioning that Oakland parks’ greenspace and Recreation Centers should provide clean and cool air, flood protection, and assistance during climate-intensified heat waves, smoke days, floods, fires and also earthquakes. Support is even higher among those under 35, low income and East Oakland residents, signaling that Recreation Centers are really community centers and climate justice solutions can act through our parks!

Perhaps for these reasons, Oakland’s trees and verdant landscapes are cherished, with care for them scoring 4.3 out of 5 as a critical civic service and nearly half of participants wanting more and better green care in our neighborhood parks.

Many survey participants shared hope and vision for how city parks sustain the human need for nature:

“I wish we could do more permaculture practices in our parks to help keep the biodiversity.”

“Keep parks safe for wildlife too!”

“It would be nice to have nature programs.”

“[We need] an actual conservation plan for areas with locally rare species.”

“[Add] beautiful natural or art features – something that brings the visitor peace.”

Our parks have cared for us during the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting our health, wellness, sanity – and possibly helped save lives. This Earth Day, let’s give thanks to the planet through our parks. You can join us by keeping a look-out for our forthcoming sign-on letter supporting the City of Oakland to:

• Increase investment in parks;
• Expand access and hours of operation for our Recreation Centers and Oakland Parks, Recreation and Youth Development’s 5 Essential Programs;
• Faithfully implement Measure Q’s commitment to park maintenance;
• Elevate parks and Recreation Centers as climate resilience hubs in Oakland’s 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan;
• Make parks part of equitable, complete, sustainable neighborhoods in the updated General Plan; and,
• Imagine parks in a comprehensive community safety approach.

You can also join us at our April 29^th Spring For Parks to help get kids into nature this summer; contribute, or give Shuumi, to the Sogorea’Te Land Trust for indigenous land stewardship; and support our general fund to activate parks and programs for everyone in Oakland.

To the Earth and to Oakland!

Our development manager, Wes Radez, recently completed a yearlong project to visit all 122 Oakland parks. Many of you have followed his journey on our Instagram page.

As we complete our year end fundraising, our team is grateful for your support and stands with you as donors. As a small token of our appreciation, we’ve turned 20 beautiful photos from Wes’ park visits into desktop wallpapers and Zoom backgrounds to share with you.

From the open spaces of King Estates Park to the redwoods at Dimond Park to the skyline views from Marston Campbell Park, we hope these images brighten your days, enliven your Zoom calls and raise your spirits.

Explore the collection below and download your favorites!

Desktop Wallpapers

Select each thumbnail to download the full size image.

Zoom Backgrounds

Select each thumbnail to download the full size image.

This year revealed the essential importance of Oakland parks. Through picnics at Lake Merritt, volunteer events at local parks and hikes under the redwoods, we saw how time outdoors preserved our community’s mental, physical and spiritual health in the midst of a historic pandemic.

This year has also shown us that parks exist at the fulcrum of justice, elevating equity when properly stewarded, but worsening disparity when neglected. By working for equitable access to parks, we ensure that their benefits can be broadly enjoyed by all Oaklanders.

Your support for the Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation empowers you to amplify the impact of your passion for parks. As you will see in our 2019-20 Annual Report:

• We advocate with you by surveying Oaklanders and promoting our city’s parks and recreation system with civic leaders.
• We partner with you by acting as fiscal sponsor for over 100 groups providing recreation and stewardship programs across our city.
• We invest with you by renovating facilities, restoring grounds, providing scholarships and making recreation center grants.

That’s why every $1 raised by the Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation during our 2019-20 fiscal year created $3 of investment in Oakland’s parks and programs, generating new opportunities to learn, play and grow.

As we approach a new year, let’s take the next step together. Please join us by making a year end donation here at oaklandparks.org. Your action strengthens our combined efforts to advocate, partner and invest in Oakland’s parks and people.

As longtime parks supporter Aileen Frankel wrote to me, “It’s so rewarding to enable learning, connection and joyful play in Oakland parks. These inspiring opportunities allow each of us to sustain our entire community.”

Thank you for your generous support.

Warmly,

Ken Lupoff
Executive Director

1. Host a candy scavenger hunt at Dimond Park: Park scavenger hunts are really fun, especially in a beautiful setting like Dimond Park! The first thing you want to do is make a list of the places where you can hide the candy — the way you list the items will depend on the child’s age. For elementary school kids, your list can describe the hiding places instead of listing them. For example, you would say “the area where people eat in the park,” instead of the “picnic table.” If your children are younger or don’t like lists, you can always play the old fashioned hot and cold game.

2. Host a doggie costume contest at Estuary Park: Does your family love dressing up your pup on Halloween? Invite your friends and their dogs for a socially-distanced doggie costume contest at Estuary Park; the winner gets a treat! But let’s be honest, all dogs look adorable in costume, so take treats for all the pups. If Estuary Park is not that close to you, do not worry — the Oakland parks and recreation system has five fenced Dog Play Areas where canines can run free, play and meet new friends, as well as several dog-friendly parks. Click here to see the list.

3. Carve a pumpkin at Maxwell Park: If you live near Maxwell Park, get your bikes out and get ready to pick up a pumpkin at the new pumpkin patch on the corner of MacArthur Boulevard and High Street! You can buy your pumpkin, ride to the park and carve a fun design at one of the picnic tables.

4. Visit the old Victorian at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park: The 1870 Peralta House located within the 6-acre Peralta Hacienda Historical Park represents Spanish-speaking California on the cusp of a new era after the Gold Rush and California’s annexation by the United States. Externally, the house is restored and maintained to its original appearance, but you may hear creepy noises in the exhibit rooms when you go inside. The neighbors say that the spirit of Antonio Peralta roams the house during Halloween.

5. Paint a pumpkin at Lakeside Park: This is an excellent all-day-out activity at Lakeside Park. Bring your pumpkins, paint and brushes, and get ready to create a masterpiece of a pumpkin. You will have fun and get your creativity going, plus the pictures with Lake Merritt as your background will have you trending on social media. Stick around as the sun sets to walk under the lake’s Necklace of Lights to transport you into the spooky Halloween night.

Remember to wear a mask, avoid group gatherings and practice social distancing when you visit parks in Oakland this Halloween.

Today, programs like Oakland Parks, Recreation and Youth Development’s Town Camp are still about friendships and laughter, social and emotional relief that is especially critical for Oakland kids who have been kept indoors this year by the COVID-19 pandemic.

During this season of uncertainty, I am proud that in recent weeks we have announced more than $165,000 of support for Oakland’s recreation centers and camp programs through our Youth Scholarship fundraising, Small Grants program and Kitchens Around The World meals partnership.

More than ever, we have done this together! We thank our individual donors and supporters like Eat. Learn. Play., Provident Credit Union (pictured above) and the Thompson-Bliss Family Gift for recognizing COVID-19’s serious impact on our youngest Oaklanders.

Please join us by making your own Youth Scholarship donation and together we can create a new generation of summer camp memories.

Warmly,

Ken Lupoff
Executive Director