Groundwork

“Harnessing NYC’s Natural Areas: Boosting Health and Well-being by Connecting More New Yorkers to the City’s Trails, Forests and Wetlands”
Presented by the Center for an Urban Future @thegreenespacenyc

The importance of natural areas (especially in urban environments) transcends sectors, specializations, job titles and sociopolitical boundaries. There is immense power in our ability to come together around the importance of natural areas, and the ideas and initiatives as well as the power found within them.

Today, I am grateful to have listened and learned from a multi-hyphenate group of intellectuals who serve ‘community’ in many ways —both professional and personal. The discussion centered on how we can not only bolster our places’ natural areas, but to utilize these resources to unlock the potential we have to improve the health of our landscapes and the communities in they exist.

This panel was cross-disciplinary, to say the least. We heard from NYC Parks & Recreation champions, parks conservancy presidents, natural areas alliance directors and more.

Presenters:
* Kristen King, Chief of Natural Resources, NYC Parks & Recreation
* Terri Carta, Executive Director, Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy
* Cal Hastings, Vice President of Partnerships & Innovation, NYC Outward Bound Schools
* Oded Holzinger, Executive Director, Natural Areas Conservancy
* Morgan Monaco, President, Prospect Park Alliance; Prospect Park Administrator
* Siddhartha Sanchez, Executive Director, Bronx River Alliance

The Center for an Urban Future (CUF) is a think tank focused on building a stronger & more equitable economy in New York City and expanding economic opportunity for all New Yorkers

Thanks to John Surico @ CUF, to the speakers who were generous enough to share their time and insights with us and to all the attendees for showing up in the name of natural areas.