Ed Bennett's legacy: Coastal protections, parks for all

In December the Bay Area lost a tireless advocate for parks and open space with the death of Edward Bennett.

The opportunity to work at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory brought Ed and his family to Berkeley in 1949, where he worked until he retired in 1987. His research interests were in neuroscience, learning and memory. During his time at the Laboratory, Ed worked with a research group to study the impact that the environment has on the brain.

The same year that he moved to Berkeley, Ed became a member of the Sierra Club. He remained an active member until his death. He served on the SF Bay Chapter’s Executive Committee, and over a span of thirty years was chapter chair, treasurer, and assistant treasurer, as well as a member of the chapter Conservation and East Bay Public Land committees. The Bay Chapter’s Ed Bennett Lifetime Achievement Award is named in his honor.

In 1976 Ed organized the Sierra Club’s “EVENTS” slide-lecture series, which continued for 16 years, bringing in a major portion of the funding for the Bay Chapter’s conservation work. These events provided many with their first look at mountaineer photographer Galen Rowell.

A lifelong advocate for conservation, Ed took special pride in his work on the successful campaign in 1972 for Proposition 20, the Coastal Initiative, which provides protection for much of the California coastline, and Proposition 70, the Wildlife, Coastal, and Park Land Conservation Act of 1988, which provided $25 million to help establish what is now known as the McLaughlin Eastshore State Park.

Ed was also a co-founder of Citizens for East Shore Parks, where he remained an active leader until his death. The group, formed in 1985, brought together area residents, organizations, and local and state governments to fulfill the dream of an open shoreline accessible to all. Today, the 8.5-mile-long McLaughlin Eastshore State Park is one of the most outstanding achievements in the history of open space protection. In one of our nation’s most densely populated urban regions, the McLaughlin Eastshore State Park is a “necklace” of trails and wildlife habitat stretching through five cities — from the foot of the Bay Bridge in Oakland through Emeryville, Berkeley and Albany to Richmond. Ed was instrumental in stopping the commercial development at what is now the habitat preserve called the Berkeley Meadow in the McLaughlin Eastshore State Park.

Ed also helped create the beautiful Caesar Chavez Park from what was once the Berkeley dump. He served on the Berkeley Waterfront Commission for more than eight years, and prior to that he was on the Berkeley Recreation Commission for six years. Ed was also a steadfast advocate for the mission of the East Bay Regional Park District.

Ed leaves a legacy of parks and open space for all to enjoy. He will be missed.