Special guest post by Park Pride’s Executive Director, Michael Halicki:
Attention Park Advocates,
This message is an “all hands on deck” alert for those who care about parks and greenspace!
The Georgia Legacy is a coalition comprised of The Trust for Public Land, The Nature Conservancy, the Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Wildlife Federation, The Conservation Fund, the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia, Park Pride, and other entities that understand the importance of being connected and taking a stand when necessary. Now is that time.
On Thursday, November 20th from 9am-4pm, the Joint Study Committee Meeting on Georgia Legacy will take place at Panola Mountain. This is a daylong meeting which I know is a big ask — but the stakes could not be higher.
The Georgia Legacy backgrounder details the proposal for a constitutional amendment that could generate approximately $40M for land acquisition for parks and greenspace. Funding would support:
- priority land acquisition following the Department of Natural Resources plan,
- stewardship of state parks and wilderness management areas,
- and funding for local parks and trails. (The two bullets detailing this third point state that this funding would “match local government funds to build parks and trails” and would also “provide incentives for local governments to address local conservation priorities.”)
While not wanting to be overly dramatic – this is a BIG day for those that care about parks and greenspace! The state SHOULD be supporting land conservation with dedicated funding, and this hearing is exploring that option.
An important part of this hearing is who shows up, which conveys whether the public cares about this issue or not.
Therefore, Park Pride is marshaling forces to make a strong showing on November 20th. We encourage attendees to wear their green “I Heart Parks” shirts. If you don’t have a green t-shirt, let us know you are coming (email rachel@parkpride.org) and we will provide shirts to the first 10 committed attendees.
Please RSVP through this Eventbrite link.
To conserve our resources, our partners have arranged a shuttle to take supporters to Panola Mountain. But seating is limited, and you can indicate if you’d like a space on the shuttle through the RSVP form.
If you care about parks and greenspace, I urge you to be part of the groundswell that shows up at Panola Mountain!
–Michael
PS. – The meeting’s agenda can be viewed here.