College of Science

Community Partners

BLM - Ft Ord

Habitat Stewardship Project, Monterey Bay (HSPMB) has been partnered with the BLM-Ft.Ord Public Lands since 1995. Every year since, HSPMB staff, students and volunteers have collected native seeds, propagated seedlings, and in the rainy season out-planted the seedlings to restore degraded areas on the old Ft. Ord. So far we have planted over 195,000 natives and involved 30,000+ schoolchildren and 6,000+ weekend volunteers. Weekend planting events feature live music from local bands and volunteers have been known to dance on the hillsides. HSPMB staff goes with BLM partners into schools to present lessons and BLM staff truly value HSPMB's outreach and school efforts.

The City of Salinas

HSPMB has partnered with the City of Salinas since 1994 around a series of community based habitat restoration projects that have resulted in native vegetation and native habitats being the keystone of what has become known as the Creeks of Salinas Park Projects. Natividad Creek Park, the Upper Carr Lake Restoration Basin, Cesar Chavez Community Park, and the Gabilan Creek Bikeway are all HSPMB project areas. Every year thousands of Salinas school children and youth are introduced to nature and community service through HSPMB's restoration field trips to one of these creekside sites. In addition, HSPMB schedules twice monthly service events in the Creeks of Salinas. Rainy season projects include native planting efforts and all year we work to clear the creek sides from trash and litter that could flow to the nearby Monterey Bay. City of Salinas staff are long term partners with HSPMB and together we write grant proposals to fund more community involvement.

California State Parks

HSPMB partners with CA State Parks in restoration projects at the Carmel River Lagoon and on the new Ft. Ord Dunes State Park. These restoration projects are in beautiful coastal areas where native plants have been crowded out by invasive weed species. Restoring the natives on these sites allows other threatened or endangered species such as the Smith's Blue Butterfly (dunes) or the Carmel River Steelhead Trout (lagoon) to find suitable habitats.

1000 Friends of Carr Lake

The 1000 Friends are a loosely based group of supporters of the dream of bringing a 480 acre wetland park--Carr Lake Regional Park to the City of Salinas. HSPMB, the Watershed Institute, the City of Salinas, and the Big Sur Land Trust are other organizations supporting this dream.

Save the Whales

Save the Whales partners with HSPMB in our "Flows to the Bay" program for Salinas Schools. Save the Whales educators bring an interactive watershed model, marine mammal artifacts and other hands-on activities to classrooms preparing students for their HSPMB restoration field trips to the Creeks of Salinas restoration sites.

Save Our Shores

HSPMB partners with Save Our Shores in projects based on keeping trash and plastics from entering the ocean. HSPMB's monthly clean-up efforts in the Creeks of Salinas feed data to Save Our Shores' databank. HSPMB supports Save Our Shores' efforts to change local ordinances that will prevent the sale or distribution of plastics, such as plastic bags, which can flow to the bay and cause the death of marine animals.