Active and Sustainable in Palisades Park

Yes, you can be active and sustainable in one of the world's loveliest parks!

Below we offer examples of both sustainable and unsustainable fitness in Palisades Park. Clearly

See also: A Runner's Pledge to Sustainability, The Trainers Certificate of Sustainability

Below are examples of many active and sustainable Santa Monica athletes

Private and sustainable athlete

Sustainable runner doesn't run on grass

Sustainable runners below Palisades Park

Sustainable runners

Sustainable Runners

Sustainable runner has a lighter footprint

On Montana stairs sustainable athletes don't trample soils and lawns

Sustainable yoga

Yet others choose to behave unsustainably...

Clearly no one individual may be responsible for the degradation of soils and lawns at Palisades Park.

However, the sustained impact of many individuals has created a tragedy of the commons.

Unsustainable weight lifters

Unsustainable runner on grass

Unsustainable group and runner

Unsustainable fitness group

erosion from excessive foot traffic

Unsustainable usage

Unsustainable use on eroded lawns

Unsustainable weight lifters

Unsustainable group fitness

Eroded grass, compacted soils

Unsustainable training equipment

Unsustainable trainer with weights

Eroded lawns

Unsustainable runners

NEWS...

NEW - LA Times, April 14

Our Coastal Waters Are in Trouble

by Tom Ford, The Bay Foundation

Lessons from World Parks

Stanley Park in Vancouver, 2013

A message from the north country.

Like Palisades Park this iconic signature park in British Columbia owes much to the actions of park rangers since it was founded in 1888.

But many of the natural wonders popular among tourists have been destroyed. The Seven Sisters, a group of giant trees are "all dead and were cut down."

“They were so popular that people basically killed them by walking on their roots."

See the article in The Vancouver Sun, August 17, 2013

See also our page on soils and a tragedy of the commons.

Mt Fugi — so popular it hurts

So Popular it Hurts

NY Times Travel Article

August 13, 2013

Trainers to earn certificate of sustainability?

Santa Monica City rightfully promotes wellness and active lifestyles. These are essential to an individual's wellbeing, but also contributes to healthy communities.

Shouldn't the City then award trainers who exemplify both active and sustainable practices?

And those who use a lighter footprint on the ciy's ecosystem, understand their own impacts, aviod degraded areas, and work to restore the damage done, should be recognized.

Friends of Palisades Park urges the city to devise incentives such as a 10-20% reduction of permit fees and a certificate of sustainability.

Boot Camps in the News

Huffington Post, January, 2013

Trainers in Santa Monica Park Could Face Fines Due to Backlash

LA Times, January, 2013

Santa Monica Weighs Limits on fitness classes in Palisades Park

KTLA 5, 2013: Report on Trainers in Palisades Park

Commissioner Phil Brock, Recreation and Parks Commission, speaks on trainers in Palisades Park.

Trainers in World News

Fitness Groups in Denver

In Health-Conscious Denver, Limits on Group Exercise

NY Times Article, July 10, 2013

Fitness Groups in Scotland

The Herald, July 29, 2013

Interesting Fact

Ecodistricts Shaping Sustainable Cities

A new urban planning movement is gaining converts across the United States. One of the most recent of these "ecodistricts," as they are called, is being developed in San Francisco, with public-private activism.

Civil Engineering July 16, 2013