{"id":8626,"date":"2026-02-27T12:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T20:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/juniorcenter.org\/staging-juniorce\/?page_id=8626"},"modified":"2026-04-24T10:23:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:23:44","slug":"lake-merritt-stewards","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/juniorcenter.org\/staging-juniorce\/?page_id=8626","title":{"rendered":"Lake Merritt Stewards Initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Junior Center of Art and Science steps into exciting new role as host and convener for the Lake Merritt Stewards Initiative<\/strong>. <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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For years, dozens of stewardship groups have worked on behalf of Lake Merritt – the Jewel of Oakland. If you know Lake Merritt, you know that she is as beautiful as she is only because several hundreds of volunteers, citizen scientists, city workers, and committed residents<\/strong> choose to embrace active stewardship. Too often, these extraordinary efforts remain siloed and disconnected from each other. This has limited true coordinated advocacy, the sharing of key resources, and the promotion of basic public awareness. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Last year, the Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation (OPRF)<\/a> convened a series of meetings called \u201cCritical Conversations,\u201d where they tapped the wisdom and commitment of some of the most active organizations serving the lake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The need was clear and compelling: Lake Merritt steward organizations were missing a unifying body to create a shared table, a shared voice, and a platform for leveraging our collective power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November, OPRF passed the baton to the Junior Center. We are excited to be be working with the same core group of stewardship organizations to get the basics in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the days ahead, we\u2019ll be sharing much more. For now, please know that we deeply appreciate OPRF for their leadership in bringing this missing element into existence. We are grateful for the trust, enthusiasm, and extraordinary commitment of our Lake Merritt stewardship partners. And, we are sincerely honored to serve the people of Oakland and the Lake Merritt community in this capacity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Challenge<\/strong><\/h2><\/div>

While hundreds of volunteers work on the lake, their efforts have historically been siloed, limiting advocacy and resources.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

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The Solution<\/strong><\/h2><\/div>

While prioritizing coalition-building, youth environmental education\u00a0and sciences, public awareness campaigns, and coordinated advocacy, the Junior Center of Art and Science\u00a0(JCAS)\u00a0will serve as a trusted convening partner to strengthen stewardship, improve accessibility and infrastructure,\u00a0and bring a creative lens to conservation.\u00a0<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

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The Four Pillars<\/h3><\/div>\n\n\n\n