At the Net Zero Summit in Washington, D.C. this month, Salesforce announced the first twelve nonprofit organizations across the globe to receive grants from its new climate initiative—and Save The Bay is honored to be among them.

The Ecosystem Restoration & Climate Justice Fund will invest $100 million over 10 years in climate-related work, Salesforce pledged in 2021. When announcing the three key areas of focus for this philanthropic funding, the company highlighted that “climate change, the loss of biodiversity, and the impact on the most vulnerable people among us are inextricably interconnected — but their solutions can be too.”

This grant will support Save The Bay’s Salesforce Ecosystem Restoration and Climate Justice Initiative, which will restore/enhance 3+ acres of wetlands and provide healthy habitat for endangered species, pollution prevention to improve Bay water quality, natural flood protection for shoreline communities, and carbon sequestration.

   

Before and after photos from an Eden Landing site restored by Save The Bay, near the new Salesforce project site

The project will be focused on the following three sites around San Francisco Bay:

Eden Landing Ecological Reserve (Hayward)

Save The Bay has restored eight different sub-sites (3.5 acres in total) to productive transition zone habitat over 15+ years at this unique, picturesque site on restored salt ponds. This project will add a new sub-site (1.37 acres) over the next two years, and will build on a successful partnership between Save The Bay and site manager California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Thousands of shorebirds visit Eden during migration seasons, including the threatened species snowy plover, and numerous fish species utilize it as nursery habitat. Habitat will also be created for the salt marsh harvest mouse, Ridgway’s rail, black rail, and western snowy plover.

This initiative will include habitat stewardship and native plant nursery propagation work at these sites—which include two of Save The Bay’s four native plant nurseries—to support the restoration project at Eden Landing.

We will propagate thousands of plants, and engage community members through education and hands-on volunteering. In addition to contributing to restoration work goals, these programs educate the volunteers and students about pollution, trash, climate change, and other Bay threats.

The relationship between Salesforce and Save The Bay is not new; the local company has shown enthusiasm for Save The Bay’s work over the years through event sponsorships, including our popular annual event, Bay Day.

Last year, Salesforce further demonstrated its commitment to climate work as it announced it had achieved Net Zero across its value chain and 100% renewable energy, and released its Climate Action Plan to provide a blueprint for other companies to do the same.