Berkeley Partners for Parks explained

Berkeley Partners for Parks (BPFP) is a nonprofit organization, made up of volunteers, whose mission is to "build vibrant, healthy, ecologically sound communities by providing the infrastructure that volunteer groups need in order to improve the beauty and usefulness of public space and recreation in and around Berkeley, California."

BPFP encourages volunteerism and community development for parks, community gardens, natural habitat, and open space, and recreation. BPFP helps citizens form new groups, helps those groups find needed financial and volunteer resources, provides voices of experience and help with publicity, and serves as a 501(c)3 nonprofit fiscal sponsor, providing bookkeeping, tax filing, insurance, and the ability to receive tax-free donations and grants.^{[1] [2]}

^{[3] [4] [5]}

Partner groups include Friends of Five Creeks, Berkeley Path Wanderers Association, East Bay Green Parks Assn., Every Kid 2 Swim, Aquatic Park EGRET, Friends of Halcyon Commons, Friends of King Park, Los Amigos de Codornices, Schoolhouse Creek Common, Friends of Shorebird Park, and Friends of Westbrae Commons. These groups do such things as restore creeks, build paths and steps, remove invasives, plant natives and drought-tolerant landscaping, raise money for recreation, install public art and interpretive signs, and create new public parks such as Halcyon Commons and Schoolhouse Creek Common.^{[1] [6] [7]}

External links

• Official site

Notes and References

1. http://www.bpfp.org// About us/Mission Statement
2. Web site: Articles of Incorporation of Berkeley Partners for Parks. Endorsed (1884392) and Filed in the office of the Secretary of State of the State of California on Mar 18, 1994..
3. News: US States News . 23 August 2007 . 100 Years Of Berkeley Parks Celebrations . Berkeley is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its parks. Our open space system was born in 1907 with the establishment of San Pablo Park, and now includes dozens of parks and mini-parks, plazas, paths and greenways, community gardens, creeks, public pools, fields, and even a labyrinth. They evoke the unique sense of place and community that characterizes Berkeley. The parks' centennial season is from August 25 to November 17 and includes a variety of events for all ages and interests, sponsored by a variety of organizations working together as Berkeley Partners for Parks (BPFP)..
4. Web site: Berkeley Partners for Parks Mission Statement. BPFP . 2007-10-17 . 2011-04-08.
5. News: The San Francisco Chronicle . 5 October 2008 . Volunteer leads groups that fix up creeks and parks; Jefferson Award Presented to Susan Schwartz . Shelah . Moody . F2 . Schwartz, 65, sits on the board of Berkeley Partners for Parks, a nonprofit that supports environmental restoration in public spaces. In 2006, she organized the Greening Berkeley hands-on partnership with UC Berkeley and Cal Corps, helping organize hundreds of UC student volunteers to restore sites such as Aquatic Park and Mortar Rock Park... The awards are administered by the American Institute for Public Service, a national foundation that honors community service..
6. News: San Jose Mercury News . 8 September 2010 . Swim lessons offered to Berkeley's disadvantaged youths . Doug . Oakley . Berkeley is offering free swimming lessons to low-income third- and fourth-graders starting Saturday in an effort to reduce the number of children who don't swim and who risk drowning... Every Kid 2 Swim program in Berkeley is a partnership among the East Bay Regional Park District, the city of Berkeley, the school district and a new nonprofit affiliated with Berkeley Partners for Parks..
7. News: The San Francisco Chronicle . 17 November 1999 . Pied Piper of the Swing Set; Architect, kids design Berkeley playground . Debra Levi . Holtz . A21 . Imaginations ran wild yesterday when hundreds of Berkeley schoolchildren were asked to help a well-known architect design a new playground at the city's Aquatic Park... While the architect will guide the planning and design process, parents and children volunteers will do the nuts-and-bolts work when the five-day construction project takes place next spring... Sponsored by the nonprofit Berkeley Partners for Parks, the playground is one of a host of improvements that will be made to Aquatic Park in the next few years. Also planned are a pedestrian-bicycle overpass linking the park to the shoreline, a sound wall to reduce freeway noise and habitat restoration..