No matter how well we fare in our battles on a regional and national level within the United States, if we don’t tackle environmental problems on a global scale –  if we fail to achieve success around the planet - the war to protect our environment will be lost.
- Edgar Wayburn, M.D. Your Land and Mine, page 287

In response to the Presidio Trust’s request for proposals for the use of Buildings 103 and 105 on the Main Post by cultural institutions, the Phillip and Sala Burton Center for Human Rights has proposed to create a public/private funded Global Environmental Hall of Fame that will assemble, interpret and engage the visitor with the brightest ideas and best practices for conserving, preserving and restoring the Earth’s ecosystems. We will do this by creating interactive displays that inform visitors of human impacts on the Earth, honor the hard work and dedication of environmental champions around the world and inspire people to take action and make sustainable choices. The Hall will serve as a gathering place and intellectual crucible for interactions by local, national and international government agencies and NGOs that will complement existing Presidio-based organizations and cultural/heritage attractions. It will enhance the mission of the Presidio Trust by "ensuring that visitors to this spectacular place have the opportunity to gain a broader understanding of the Presidio, its place in American history, and the plants and wildlife which once thrived throughout the region". The Hall will be a significant response to the deep public need for the Nation and the world to develop fully a range of effective options to conserve, protect and restore our environment. Download the Letter of Intent here.

The goals of the Global Environmental Hall of Fame are to:

Inform and Engage the “head of a village in Bangladesh,” “a corporation board in a New York skyscraper”, “international gatherings of finance ministers” and “consumers in a Brazilian furniture store” of the impacts of their choices on the world’s environmental health by:

• drawing on the wealth of talent and resources in San Francisco Bay Area’s world-renowned universities and institutes and in its vibrant non-governmental and business communities
• collaborating with Presidio-based and neighboring organizations to create participatory exhibitions and experiences in the Hall that demonstrate the consequences of individual and collective choices and the range of effective options for sustainable living
• inviting the United Nations Environment Management Group, the United States Global Change Research Project, and their member agencies to create interpretive experiences of their programs and best practices to conserve, protect and restore the Earth’s ecosystems.

Inspire current and future generations of visitors by inviting organizations that award prizes to individuals who have demonstrated exemplary environmental leadership to create interactive exhibitions of these award winners to inspire visitors to take action in their local communities.

Honor outstanding global environmental stewardship by inviting the 192 Member States of the United Nations and the 50 States of the Union to make annual Presidio Awards to outstanding environmental leaders in their nation and states and to create interactive exhibitions about these awards at the Hall. We intend to challenge countries to recognize their environmental heroes and to promote awareness within their own countries of their contributions and inspiration.

Connect organizations and individuals in our common quest for a sustainable future for humankind by:

• serving as a nexus of ideas, activities and events that connect local environmental, human rights and labor organizations with each other and with organizations throughout the world
• housing the administrative offices of the Phllip and Sala Burton Center for Human Rights and interpreting their great legislative legacy and honoring outstanding labor and human rights leaders.
• inviting the Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve, associated with the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) MAB Program, to programmatically connect the Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve with the other 506 Biosphere Reserves in 102 countries.

The Phillip and Sala Burton Center for Human Rights is now seeking public and private funding to engage professional, experienced assistance to create and implement this project:

• William H. Hough, Acting President, Director and cofounder of the Phillip and Sala Burton Center for Human Rights, will coordinate the project. Mr. Hough will use his international, political, business, environmental, and non-profit experience and leadership to guide the project to completion. He has been an avid environmentalist and informed internationalist since his youth and is a member of the Sierra Club’s National Human Rights and the Environment Committee. His resume can be found at http://psburtoncenter.org/about_us.htm.
• ATELIER Kathleen Brown will work with the Burton Center to:
  • Develop a financially responsible business plan to restore and operate Presidio Building 103 or 105 for public use as the Hall,
  • Create the visitor experience concept and experience master plan, defining the activities in and corresponding physical layout of the Hall’s visitor experience, and
  • Develop and execute a plan to secure public and private funding to restore the building for public use and operate the Hall.
• Page & Turnbull architecture will work with the Burton Center and AKB to prepare an architectural plan for restoration and use by the public of Building 103 or 105 that meets the requirements of the Presidio Trust’s Cultural Institutions at the Presidio Main Post Request for Proposals and responds to the goals identified above.

Our vision for the planning process and its outcomes is to lead by example and apply the benefits of adaptive reuse of the historical barracks as a model of sustainable building practice — where the building itself is an inspirational interpretive tool. We will employ the most advanced holistic and collaborative program and facility planning approaches and aspire to the highest standards of LEED™ certification. We will push beyond the basics of a sustainable “shell” to include exhibition and programmatic materials, furniture, equipment, fixtures and management practices, landscaping and exterior elements to create an integrated operating model for ready export.