“I’ve always had a love of nature, but my work at Save The Bay introduced me to the wonder of wetlands, which were off my radar before.” A native of Marin County, Seth Chanin grew up just a block away from San Francisco Bay. As a kid, this former Save The Bay staffer spent weekends roaming the beach, kayaking the Bay, and biking rugged hillsides.  As an adult? Nothing’s changed for Seth. “Water really is a place of reflection, of solace for me.” It’s why Seth spent his college years studying Environmental Science and Economics, the ideal combo for a self-described “business hippie.” Yet, Seth says it was his former role as Save The Bay’s Habitat Restoration Program Manager that inspired him to “always look at the landscape through ecologist’s glasses – understanding that we have increasing human populations, increasing demands on the land, and new challenges posed by climate change.” Now, as Autodesk’s Employee Impact Engagement Manager, he seeks volunteer opportunities for his colleagues that are bound to spark a “high-impact experience.” Seth hopes these volunteer events “will open their eyes to important work being done in their communities, so they come back and do skill-based and pro bono volunteering with organizations like Save The Bay.”

He’s convinced non-profits and leading Bay Area companies have much to gain from connecting – when they actually do connect. “There’s a huge need on non-profit side, resources and good intentions on the corporate side, but they’re often like ships passing in the night.” Yet, Save The Bay and Autodesk recently broke through the barriers, proving these partnerships don’t just spark change – they get people smiling. Of course, there was plenty of prep involved to share our work fighting threats from climate change. Save The Bay’s Restoration team essentially brought an entire nursery to the Autodesk campus. It meant sterilizing all the soil and pots it would take to transplant 10,000 seedlings. Somehow, they got it done in time for 200 Autodesk employees to head outdoors last Thursday and help us transplant all 10,000. Their hard work translates to roughly 25% of the plants we’ll install for the year. Save The Bay’s Restoration staff was thrilled to share the science and importance of wetland restoration with so many new faces.

The event fit right in to Autodesk’s Global Month of Impact and their offices happen to be just 15 minutes from our Bel Marin Keys restoration site where we’re using cutting-edge technology to build up more than 40 acres of wetland habitat. Better still, Seth says he can already envision some long-term opportunities for both parties. “It’s exciting to expose our employees to something new and get them thinking about the design aspect of ecological restoration – because they make the tools used to design and make just about anything, including the barriers that will help protect Bay Area communities from rising waters.” Save The Bay, meanwhile, looks forward to even more volunteer partnerships with Bay Area companies. We couldn’t agree more with Seth when he stresses: “it’s an important time to think about what’s happening in our backyard – and to apply our skills right here to solve those problems.”