A Letter from a Changed Mind

By on December 14, 2012 in Campaign Updates, Opinions & Editorials, Personal Journals, Uncategorized

This letter came to us unsolicited, and with the author’s permission, we are publishing it as an example of one whose mind was changed by the truth.

Webmaster
KnowlandParkCoalition

Dear Friends of Knowland Park,

I was all set to vote for Measure A1, until I met a nice lady at the Lake Merritt farmer’s market. I fell hook-line-and-sinker for the Oakland Zoo’s A1 campaign and their spokescat, “Leonard the Lion.” I explained this to the nice lady who ultimately turned me against the zoo and their expansion project. She proceeded to tell me what I needed to know; that all kinds of critters were going to be displaced by the A1 project. Bunnies, bobcats, skunks, etc. all would be homeless! I skeptically thanked her for the info and snottily told her that my opinion was quite nuanced, thankyouverymuch, but I did have an open mind and would make up my mind before the election. Thank God she got to me when she did. I slept on it and woke up the next morning completely opposed to A1 and its horrible scheme to encroach on these awesome creatures’ rightful home.

So this is a note of gratitude and a sincere apology for my snotty attitude to that nice lady. But also, I hope you guys will do a PR campaign to educate people about Knowland Park. I had seen your “Save Knowland Park” signs and I totally scoffed at them. “Save Knowland Park” is not a good tagline, sadly. I envisioned a little kids playground with seesaws and swings. I dug my heels in and hoped you would be defeated (sorry L). I have since come around, but only because Nice Lady got to me at the Farmer’s Market. I am not alone; my friends who I spoke with about this also were clueless about Knowland Park.

When you’re up against Leonard the Lion, you really need to bring it. So if you find yourselves in this unsavory position again, I would suggest a new tagline that tells people like me what is really at stake. Something like, “Save the Knowland 500-acre wild animal habitat and nature preserve.” You may need to shorten it to, “Save Knowland Wildlife Preserve.”

Perhaps you should fight fire with fire and anthropomorphize that  pretty little fox pictured on your mammals page:

“My name is Felicity Fox and I need your help! Please help me keep my home so my babies can thrive…”

“This is my baby Kip with his BFF Scooter the Skunk; please help them keep their home!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A million thanks and my sincere apologies for almost voting for A1.

Your friend for life,
Mary Swift
Technical Writer

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A Taste of the Wild

By on December 10, 2012 in Nature & Wildlife, Personal Journals

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Knowland Park. Photo by Christian Naventi.

Photographer and teacher, Christian Naventi, has a special talent for bringing animals in the wild closer to the children he teaches through his use of critter cameras.  With photos and videos, he’s able to capture brief moments of animals in their natural state as they pass his cameras.  Christian has developed a deep love for Knowland Park and has shared his talents with us to help us reveal the sometimes hidden beauty of Knowland Park.  Unlike animals in captivity, wild animals are shy and reluctant to expose themselves to the danger we humans pose.   Knowland Park is habitat for many species of wild animals that must share the park with us but often remain carefully hidden out of sight.

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Nov. 17 Picnic Postponed Due to Rain

By on November 17, 2012 in Uncategorized

Stay tuned for further information!

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Welcome Baby Knowland!

By on November 12, 2012 in Opinions & Editorials

We hear a baby was born in a car very near Knowland Park and the parents have named it Knowland (http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-police-help-deliver-baby-in-car-4026459.php). Congratulations! We hope that in a few years, little Knowland will still be able to run, play and explore the beautiful natural park he or she is named after! And that decades hence, his children will be, too.

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Measure A1 Did Not Pass – Against the Odds, Old Fashioned Grassroots Campaigning Worked!

By on November 12, 2012 in Campaign Updates, Personal Journals

Although votes are still being counted, there is as of now no mathematical or practical possibility that the pro-A1 side could get enough votes to achieve the needed 2/3 majority. They would now need more than 100% of the remaining votes to be yes. So, thanks to all the tremendous effort put forth by so many people, the zoo’s million-dollar campaign did not succeed – just as we hoped, the public sorted this one out for themselves after they read the measure and realized they weren’t being told the full story by Measure A1 proponents.

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