Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 10/10/2002

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"The Council will desi~ate additional lands for the regional park system that primarily emphasize important natural resource functions, including access to water bodies and secondarily, land with the natural resources qualities that enhance outdoor recreation." The Blueprint suggests that another 25,000 acres of natural areas be protected in parkland to meet the needs of a population projected to grow by nearly a million people in the next 30 years. · These guidelines challenge our regional park agencies to work more "seamlessly" and collectively with our aligned smkeholders, as we strive to protect the key remaining open spaces, so that future generations may enjoy the same environmental qua[ides that we have grown up with. This will require new models of planning that bring more people to the table to share resources and find common ground for sustainable growth in a fast changing urban environment. John VonDeLi~de Wargo Hosts Fall Metro Volunteer And Staff Training On Sept.ember 9, the Wargo Nature Center was the co-host (with Lowry Nature Center of Three Rivers Park District) to the fall Metro Volunteer and Staff training. This event is held three times during the year and is designed as an enrichment training for metro nature center staff and volunteers, Wargo's Heritage Lab site offered the prime location to. host the fall topic- Cultural Interpretation. Three main topics were presented - Archaeology, Set-tiers history and Voyageur history in Minnesota. Guest speakers included staff from the two Minnesota' Historical Society centers - the Oliver Kelly Farm and the Northwest Fur Post, Wargo Nature Center, Lowry Nature Center and local archaeologist Dan Wendt. The Metro Volunteer and StaffTraing is held three dmes during the year and is designed as an enrichment training for morro nature center staffand volunteers. Approximately 80 people from all over the metro area attended and had a wonderful day outdo~prs. The weather cooperated totally, food was good, presenters presented popular programs, and spirits were high! A Fall Fu!l Of Art At Banfill-Locke Fall is a glorious th-ne of year at Bani'ill-Locke Center for the Arts (BLCA). Apart from the still colorful, richly textured flower gardens and the soft rustle of bronzing trees outside, inside the Center, there i.~ even more to capture the senses. ~ork by area artists, a new 1/ne-up of classes for all ages and levels of experience, arid new goods at the R/ce Creek Store will please anyone with an interest in art a.nd a love for this most colorful season. BLCA invites all to stop by and take in fall exhSbitions and other act/vities. BanfilI-Locke Center for the Ar~ board members and volunteer'3 were recognized at an appetizer social at the R.iedel Farm Estate on September 1 lth. On Saturday, October 5, the a.n~ual BLCA duried Members Show will open with a reception and awards ceremony. The public is encouraged to attend the reception at 2:30 p.m. and meet the artists. Those interested in obtaining a BLCA membership are also urged to call the Center during operating hours, Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 to 4:00 p.m. The Members' Show is a great opportunity for first~timers and experienced artists as well to display their new work locally. Artist Bill Gorcica will be featured in the gallery from November 5 though the 23~. Gorcica, currently a professor of art at St. Cloud State University, has won numerous awards for his work in three-dimensional and media art including grants from the Bush, Jerome, and The McKnight Foundations among many others. His work is widely exh/bited nat/onally and internationally. Some of Gorcica's pfovocat/ve recent work is a personal response to recent current events in the form of digital drawings uniting intense emotion with high~tech expression. A reception for the artist will take place on Friday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m. Page 2