Our Story
Charity Mission
Quality Parks is a professional organization sponsoring projects to improve both business and environmental conditions by balancing social, economic and environmental concerns. We work to sustain recreational and economic needs while conserving and restoring the Earth's cultural and ecological biodiversity. We cooperate with and directly support park and protected area managers. We also disseminate information, develop and provide experiential learning opportunities, and support efforts designed to stimulate, encourage, educate, and involve the general public in natural resource stewardship practices. We are a federally registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, since 2000, based on Long Island, NY.
Quality Parks is a professional organization sponsoring projects to improve both business and environmental conditions by balancing social, economic and environmental concerns. We work to sustain recreational and economic needs while conserving and restoring the Earth's cultural and ecological biodiversity. We cooperate with and directly support park and protected area managers. We also disseminate information, develop and provide experiential learning opportunities, and support efforts designed to stimulate, encourage, educate, and involve the general public in natural resource stewardship practices. We are a federally registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, since 2000, based on Long Island, NY.
History
Our story begins with the need to apply process improvement skills to public lands stewardship. In business, this is know as quality management or just good management. The work involves assessments of existing conditions, including policy, management, and operations. To this assessment, Quality Parks added the necessary requirements of understanding natural environment, multi-jurisdictional boundaries, organizational structure and function. The work is participatory to build a better understanding of how systems function. And it is solution oriented with the goal of improved performance, long and short term positive change.
Critical Milestones
Current Situation
Quality Parks has accomplished many of its conservation and education goals, applying process improvement to public lands stewardship. We are a grassroots effort to process improvement. In 2017, we expanded the board, and have begun a more systematic program development process involving memberships and sponsorships, as well securing additional income through sales.
Our story begins with the need to apply process improvement skills to public lands stewardship. In business, this is know as quality management or just good management. The work involves assessments of existing conditions, including policy, management, and operations. To this assessment, Quality Parks added the necessary requirements of understanding natural environment, multi-jurisdictional boundaries, organizational structure and function. The work is participatory to build a better understanding of how systems function. And it is solution oriented with the goal of improved performance, long and short term positive change.
Critical Milestones
- 2013 - began the Quality Parks Master Naturalist certification program
- 2010 - awarded BLM Federal Grant for Fire Danger evaluation
- 2008 - post firefighter experience outcomes: Sunrise Fire [1]
- 2003 - post farmer outcomes: How Parsley Saved The Farm - a story about active farmland preservation
- 1998 - post model airplane flying outcomes: Lost Heritage[2] & NY Adopt A Natural Resource Stewardship program [3]
Current Situation
Quality Parks has accomplished many of its conservation and education goals, applying process improvement to public lands stewardship. We are a grassroots effort to process improvement. In 2017, we expanded the board, and have begun a more systematic program development process involving memberships and sponsorships, as well securing additional income through sales.
Structure & Leadership
Staff
Quality Parks has no staff at this time, though our Quality Parks President, Mindy Block, works full time for the organization. We partially cover her health insurance expenses. We also contractual hire contributors (see below) for specific projects when funding becomes available, usually from donations, awarded grants, native plant sales, and training fees. Our accounting software is GnuCash.
Board of Directors
Mindy Block, Quality Parks Founder, President & Board Member
As Principal of Sustaining Systems, Mindy continues her philanthropic work at Quality Parks. She is a conservation ecologist, specializing in public lands management. She has direct field experience in the wildland fire, invasive species control, habitat management, native plant nursery management, and government relations. She holds a M.S. in Computer Science, from SUNY Stony Brook, and a M.S. in Environmental Science from Antioch New England. She founded Quality Parks in 2000, as a charitable nonprofit to improve public lands stewardship.
As Principal of Sustaining Systems, Mindy continues her philanthropic work at Quality Parks. She is a conservation ecologist, specializing in public lands management. She has direct field experience in the wildland fire, invasive species control, habitat management, native plant nursery management, and government relations. She holds a M.S. in Computer Science, from SUNY Stony Brook, and a M.S. in Environmental Science from Antioch New England. She founded Quality Parks in 2000, as a charitable nonprofit to improve public lands stewardship.
Deborah Boudreau, Secretary - Co-Chair
I study education, culture, and work as a museum educator. I have really appreciated how concepts that come from science and nature studies can tell the story of human experience as well. I support Quality Parks because I believe it takes steps to do the things that are interesting, helpful and visionary at a time when very few organizations do this. I also like how the Quality Parks Master Naturalists program affirms the intelligence of the naturalist.
I study education, culture, and work as a museum educator. I have really appreciated how concepts that come from science and nature studies can tell the story of human experience as well. I support Quality Parks because I believe it takes steps to do the things that are interesting, helpful and visionary at a time when very few organizations do this. I also like how the Quality Parks Master Naturalists program affirms the intelligence of the naturalist.
Fred Edel - Co-Chair
He has over thirty-five years experience as a firefighter, Ex-chief, Incident and Fire Safety Education Officer, on Long Island and In North Carolina, veteran of the 1995 Sunrise Fire. Fred has a MS Marine Science/Biology Education and Teacher certification for secondary Biology/ General Science. One example of community outreach was to establish a yearly series of Equine Rescue courses to refresh Firefighters with horse rescue under fire conditions. To accomplish this he developed an Equine Fire Rescue certification program with the assistance of a local Equine Academy.
He has over thirty-five years experience as a firefighter, Ex-chief, Incident and Fire Safety Education Officer, on Long Island and In North Carolina, veteran of the 1995 Sunrise Fire. Fred has a MS Marine Science/Biology Education and Teacher certification for secondary Biology/ General Science. One example of community outreach was to establish a yearly series of Equine Rescue courses to refresh Firefighters with horse rescue under fire conditions. To accomplish this he developed an Equine Fire Rescue certification program with the assistance of a local Equine Academy.
Pamela Block, Professor and Director, Disability Studies Concentration
Quality Parks Board Member (2017)
Pamela Block is a cultural anthropologist and professor of disability studies at Stony Brook University. She has loved environmental education since she was a child and is happy to join the Quality Parks board to assist with programming development with special focus on disability access to parks and open spaces.
Quality Parks Board Member (2017)
Pamela Block is a cultural anthropologist and professor of disability studies at Stony Brook University. She has loved environmental education since she was a child and is happy to join the Quality Parks board to assist with programming development with special focus on disability access to parks and open spaces.
Annelies Kamran, Founder and CEO at GeoLyceum, LLC
Quality Parks Board Member (2017)
A Long Island native, Annelies is a political scientist working in digital educational publishing in the social sciences. Her first political experience was helping campaign for the NYS Bottle Bill as a child, and she remains active in local efforts to protect the Carmans River Basin, to create a nature center in Brookhaven, and to raise funds for Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge. After completing her Master Naturalist certification, she joined the board of Quality Parks to advocate for environmental conservation, protection, and public access around the island.
Quality Parks Board Member (2017)
A Long Island native, Annelies is a political scientist working in digital educational publishing in the social sciences. Her first political experience was helping campaign for the NYS Bottle Bill as a child, and she remains active in local efforts to protect the Carmans River Basin, to create a nature center in Brookhaven, and to raise funds for Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge. After completing her Master Naturalist certification, she joined the board of Quality Parks to advocate for environmental conservation, protection, and public access around the island.
Philip Benvin, Board Member
A soft spoken hunter and conservationist, Phil has a ten year history of trail work (designing, maintaining, and blazing) with the Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference Monday Crew. He has attended three Long Island Nature Organization's Natural History conferences, local and off island wildlife tracking courses, native plant and invasive species conferences, as well s southern pine beetle, and wildland fire presentations. He is a his Quality Parks Master Naturalist Graduate, participated in the 2017 Beaver Brook BioBlitz with North Shore Land Alliance, and assists Mike Bottini with river otter monitoring and research.
A soft spoken hunter and conservationist, Phil has a ten year history of trail work (designing, maintaining, and blazing) with the Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference Monday Crew. He has attended three Long Island Nature Organization's Natural History conferences, local and off island wildlife tracking courses, native plant and invasive species conferences, as well s southern pine beetle, and wildland fire presentations. He is a his Quality Parks Master Naturalist Graduate, participated in the 2017 Beaver Brook BioBlitz with North Shore Land Alliance, and assists Mike Bottini with river otter monitoring and research.
