Tuesday, November 30, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Conversations with Olmsted: Challenges and Opportunities for Olmsted Parks, Online
Olmsted 200 invites you to join the fourth webinar in our Conversations with Olmsted series. In this series, we examine different aspects of Olmsted’s far-reaching influence on America’s physical landscape and social fabric, exploring how best to continue his legacy of parks for all people.
Parks and public spaces face more challenges and threats than ever before. In some cases, development has nearly destroyed these historic landscapes, altering them with highways, towers, and more. Unfortunately, once open spaces are gone, they’re gone forever.
In the age of the pandemic, our nation’s parks and open green spaces have served as places of healthful recreation and respite – but they are not self-sustaining, and greater use has meant greater demand for care and attention, often with far smaller budgets.
This November 30 panel discussion will be moderated by Stephanie Crockatt, executive director of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, a member of the NAOP Olmsted Network. The panel will explore the threats and opportunities facing Olmsted parks and how to protect these natural and historic assets for future generations.
Panelists include:
- Charles Birnbaum FASLA, FAAR, President, CEO, and founder of The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), a founding partner of Olmsted 200. Before creating TCLF, Birnbaum spent fifteen years at the National Park Service Historic Landscape Initiative (HLI) and a decade in private practice in New York City, focusing on landscape preservation and urban design.
- Karen Mauney-Brodek, President of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy. Mauney-Brodek is working to restore and improve the Emerald Necklace’s 1,100 acres. She spearheaded the Conservancy’s 20th Anniversary celebration in 2018 and is currently leading a significant revitalization of Charlesgate Park with neighborhood group Charlesgate Alliance.
- Andy Mitton, Principal, The Berger Partnership. Mitton is a landscape architect, board member, past president, and nine-year member of Seattle’s Friends of Olmsted Parks (FSOP). He is currently working on the Olmsted 200 Tree Project to identify opportunities to reinvigorate Seattle’s historic parks. He was also part of a task force that compiled recommendations in a report, “Rebirth of Olmsted’s Design for Equity,” for the Superintendent, Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners.
Register today on Eventbrite, free, to participate in this event.
