Citizens for East Shore Parks

CELEBRATE the Season by HONORING our Environmental HEROS

All of us here at CESP would like to wish you Happy Holidays and remind you as a small non-profit, we can always use a little help from our friends to protect our shorelines and expand our parklands. All donations are tax-deductible.

We'd also like to invite you to join us in wishing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to both Sylvia McLaughlin and Ed Bennett, co-founders of Citizens for East Shore Parks (CESP) who have devoted much of their adult lives to protecting San Francisco Bay and preserving shoreline open space.

Please consider a gift to CESP to honor Sylvia's and Ed's lifelong work to create a necklace of shoreline parks. Your financial support NOW will help CESP as we face even more challenges and opportunities to protect our shoreline, including:

Encouraging sensitive environmental design to build Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's second campus on the shoreline.
Building momentum for parkland acquisitions along Richmond's 32-mile shoreline.
Acting as a watchdog over pressures to generate income by overdevelopment on shoreline properties.

These are just a few of our ongoing challenges and opportunities, and 2012 will surely bring more developments requiring CESP action. Thank you so much for your generous support, and for your work on behalf of our local shoreline environment.

You may donate online via PayPal by clicking the Donate button in the right hand corner of this page! We also accept donations of computers (minimum Microsoft XP, 512 RAM, 40 GB hard-drive, CD burner) and common office supplies.

Or, you may mail a check (or your credit card info) to the address below:
Citizens for East Shore Parks
P.O. Box 6087
Albany, CA 94706

Your gift is urgently needed so that we can maintain our efforts to secure public access to our East Bay shorelines for now and future generations. THANK YOU!

Can you imagine a time when much of SF Bay's shoreline was closed to the public, but open to trash burning and when the Bay was being filled in at an alarming rate? Thankfully such horrors are 'mostly' a thing of the past due to Sylvia and two other women, Kay Kerr and Esther Gulick, who famously began the save-the-bay movement that thrust San Francisco into international prominence for its campaign to restore - and not fill - its shoreline. Their hard work and determination grew into the modern grassroots environmental movement that stopped filling the Bay, helped establish the first coastal zone management agency in the country (the Bay Conservation & Development Commission - BCDC) and eventually led to the creation of the Eastshore State Park.

Another environmental activist, Ed Bennett, CESP's Treasurer, was directly involved in creating the Eastshore State Park and the California Coastal Commission. He directed these conservation efforts through his leadership within the Sierra Club where he also ran the Bay Chapter's Events and Speaker series, oversaw the bookstore and tirelessly raised funds for the Club's conservation campaigns. His work also included 14 years of service on Berkeley's Waterfront and Parks & Recreation commissions. And, his day job was as a research scientist in neurochemistry at UC Berkeley.

Where would we be today without environmental champions like Sylvia and Ed? One of their creations - CESP - remains the leader in protecting our unique and precious East Bay shoreline for future generations. By engaging and holding elected officials accountable, educating the public about looming issues, and empowering community members to defend their public lands, CESP worked throughout 2011 to ensure that our shoreline remains a jewel for all to enjoy.

Here are some of CESP's highlights:

Resolution ACR 55, authored by Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, passed the Legislature in September, to request California Department of Parks and Recreation to rename Eastshore State Park as McLaughlin Eastshore State Park in honor of Sylvia McLaughlin. The resolution now awaits implementation by the State Parks Commission.
It's not final yet, but after years of community meetings, the Richmond Planning Department has recommended that the North Richmond Shoreline be zoned Parks and Open Space! CESP supports the General Plan vision of this area as a natural open space restored and protected to continue its historical function as vital habitat and provide enhanced opportunities for public access and recreation. We now must wait and see what the Richmond City Council will do with this grand opportunity.
Last year Albany residents stated an overwhelming preference for abundant parkland on their shoreline, calling for a minimum of 75% open space and completion of the Bay Trail. The Voices to Vision Report has proven useful this year in slowing down large development plans for Albany's shoreline.
On Earth Day, long-time friends, activists, politicians and EBRPD/State Parks staff joined together to celebrate the completion of the Berkeley Meadow Restoration at Eastshore State Park and to honor Sylvia McLaughlin and Dwight Steele, founding members of CESP. The meadow is the culmination of years of effort by many individuals and organizations to create a biologically beautiful area for future generations. The finished meadow has seasonal wetlands, coastal prairie and scrub areas, creating a diverse thriving habitat for plants and animals. Walking paths and interpretive signs support public access.