The Omaha Parks and Landscape Conservancy will collaborate with the city and other public agencies to develop a coordinated approach to future park and landscape initiatives in Omaha. Support Sought for Creation of Parks and Landscape Conservancy Editor’s Note: This is the second in a continuing series of entries from the first Omaha Catalogue of Urban Design Philanthropy, a compendium of strategic giving opportunities that focus on the city’s natural and built environments. The Omaha Catalogue was published in December 2007 by Omaha by Design and the Omaha Community Foundation. For more information, contact Connie Spellman, director of Omaha by Design, or Sara Boyd, vice president of the Omaha Community Foundation, at 402.342.3458. The life of a child is enriched by climbing a tree, sliding down a snow-covered hill on a frosty morning, racing along a bike path flanked by wildlife that creeps, chirps and croaks.  The life of a city, in turn, is enriched by a child who grows into adulthood with these experiences in tow, who understands that nature’s elements have a rightful place amidst the concrete and hard edges of urban living. These elements – be they a stand of trees, a swatch of grass or a meandering creek – are a city’s natural treasures, which its civic leaders must protect and cultivate as a botanist would a hothouse flower. Omaha by Design recommends the creation of an Omaha Parks and Landscape Conservancy to chart a strategic approach for the protection and cultivation of the natural resources that help define life in the city. New York, Philadelphia and other U.S. cities have successfully established similar nonprofits to supplement the work of public agencies. Omaha by Design will use these existing groups as models, but the conservancy will be structured according to local need. A board of directors will guide the conservancy’s activities. It will be created under the auspices of the Omaha Community Foundation, a local leader in managing donor-directed funds. Contributions will be accepted and allocated for such projects as the maintenance, preservation, improvement and expansion of existing sites as well as possible identification, purchase and creation of new sites. The conservancy will collaborate with the city and other public agencies to develop a coordinated approach to future park and landscape initiatives in Omaha. The city’s green future depends upon it. The total estimated start-up costs for research, analysis and development of a conservancy plus seed money for initial pilot projects is $200,000. Naming rights are available. Main Page