addressing members of his Blue Ribbon Committee
for Trails at their inaugural meeting
earlier this month.
(All photos © J. Maus)
With an impressive first meeting of their Blue Ribbon Committee for Trails and a new video (watch it below) for their Connecting Green initiative, Metro’s ambitious effort to “create the best parks and trails system in the world” has hit the ground running.
Earlier this month, Metro President David Bragdon called together a diverse group of regional leaders to introduce the effort.
He inspired a packed room at Metro Headquarters with words about the importance of regional trail connectivity (using an E. M. Forster quote of “Live in frangments no more…only connect”) and a call to rally the troops (using a quote from Dwight Eisenhower, “when a small group of people come together at the right time…they can change the trajectory of the region.”)
(Map: Metro)
Also during his opening speech, Bragdon announced that the Connecting Green effort has received funding support from The Oregon Community Foundation, Kaiser Permanente ($50,000 for a walking guide) and Providence Hospital ($5,000 for the Sullivan’s Gulch Trail, which runs adjacent to their property near I-84).
Committee meeting.
Committee Chair Dave Yaden took over after Bragdon’s opening remarks and each member of the Committee introduced themselves, shared their favorite trail, and then they discussed the direction the group will take in the future.
On display at the meeting were huge posterboards with maps and information on some of the parks and trails that will be the focus of the Connecting Green effort (here’s a list of PDFs of each of them for download).
Also announced at the meeting was a series of Connecting Green Summer Trails Tours. The five tours are guided walking and biking adventures that will put Committee members (and the public I assume) face-to-face with the region’s existing and future trails. (For details, Download a Word document here.)
Metro has also unveiled a video to introduce the Connecting Green initiative. Watch it below: