SUPPORT OUR MISSION
We expand protected areas, support ecological research, and empower the public to become stewards and advocates for the natural world.
North America
Organizations in our local San Francisco region and across the broader United States benefit from March Conservation Fund investments.ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH:
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Birds are excellent indicators of ecological health, and we have a special commitment to partners that use birds as research subjects. Our investment in Point Blue Conservation Science provides on-going support for long-term data collection at the Palomarin Field Station, where scientists have been monitoring bird populations since 1966. March Conservation Fund also provides critical support to Point Blue for ongoing studies of migratory connectivity in songbirds using tiny geo-locator tags. At the Bay Area’s Institute for Bird Populations, we also invest in long-term data collection through the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship program, and more recently, through the Sierra Nevada Bird Observatory.
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- Institute for Bird Populations
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION:
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We are developing the next generation of environmental professionals and naturalists. By investing in groups like Nature in the City, Golden Gate Audubon Society, and the Bay Nature Institute, we seek to build a greater awareness and appreciation of natural history in the San Francisco Bay Area. These groups realize that the motivation to conserve our natural resources often begins with community-driven projects right in our own backyards.
March Conservation Fund also believes that many environmental professionals have critical moments of inspiration while in nature early in their careers, yet they often struggle to find field-based instruction. At the University of California-Santa Cruz, we are addressing this need by 1) investing in the Experimental Learning Endowment and the Ken Norris Center for Natural History to help the Environmental Studies Department support field courses, and 2) by supporting the Wilderness Orientation Program to provide incoming students with a wilderness-based experience just before starting college.
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- Liam O’Brien
ADVOCACY:
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Advocacy forms the final yet critical portion of our North American program. When research and education are insufficient to motivate policy makers, vocal advocates for the environment are needed. We work with groups like Appalachian Voices —fighting to end the destructive process of mountaintop removal coal mining. We invest in Climate Ride, where cyclists rally for alternative transportation and energy by raising money for over 100 non-profits around the country. And, we contribute to the voices that are calling for change in our fossil-fuel subsidized society
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- Climate Ride