Marin Conservation League

Parks and Open Space Committee

2:30 – 4:30 pm
In-person/Zoom hybrid

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pcOmgrD4vG9XtnkUk-dxDuEZFSvAuGyhD

Note changed time 2:30 – 4:30

CHINA CAMP STATE PARK – “A lot’s going on!”—–

That’s what Executive Director of Friends of China Camp (FOCC) Martin Lowenstein told me when I asked him to give an update to MCL’s Parks & Open Space Committee on current activities and programs on China Camp State Park – a lot going on, but not without the daily challenges of full financial responsibility for keeping the park open 365 days of the year.

It will be 15 years this coming May that the park received notice it was on State Parks’ chopping block for closure in 2012, along with 69 other parks that the state budget could no longer support.  The story of the park’s rescue by FOCC is a saga that is well known to most, a testament to the power of grass roots volunteerism coupled with dogged persistence.

The persistence has never stopped, nor the teams of volunteers who make possible the most varied and creative programs and activities of any state park in Marin. UnderMartin’s leadership, a small staff and myriad volunteers continue to work miracles, often against odds that would seem overwhelming.

Martin Lowenstein brings his own distinctive qualifications to his unusual job.  Trained as civil engineer and armed with an MBA, Martin has been able to address the practical tasks of managing and maintaining the complex infrastructure across the park, at the same time he has built membership, a sense of community, and managed the multiple funding sources that are necessary to keep the park viable.

Joining the discussion will be Matt Ferner, Director of the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), which includes China Camp State Park. Matt is an environmental scientist and educator with a background in oceanography and aquatic sensory ecology, and has worked with the Reserve since 2008. Based at San Francisco State University’s Estuary & Ocean Science Center in Tiburon, he will speak to the research and stewardship work underway at China Camp.

Martin will recount the “lot that is going on” at China Camp, with additional perspective from Matt on the science and stewardship supporting the park at the April 9 meeting.  Attend in person, or tune in remotely at the unusual time of 2:30. We look forward to seeing you!