California State Parks Foundation

Climate resilience: we are using the best available science and research to learn deeply about climate threats and solutions, educate californians and the legislature, inspire people to take action, and ultimately influence policy and legislation that prioritizes the communities most impacted by climate change. This fiscal year we provided 14 grants directly to Parks and park partners for wildfire resiliency, monarch conservation, to yosemite slough wetland restoration project at candlestick point State recreation area, and to ano nuevo State park habitat improvement.

Access and experiences: while California State Parks are public spaces, many people cannot access or experience them. Barriers to park access include lack of transportation, cost of visiting, lack of awareness of Parks or the activities they offer, closures, and more. Though we are working to reduce these barriers, this is just the beginning of the effort to ensure that every Californian feels welcome in and can enjoy State Parks. This fiscal year we provided 37 grants directly to Parks and park partners via our park improvement and trails for all grants, grants for park participation in California State Parks week, and for maintenance at silver strand State beach and chino hills State park.

California State Parks Foundation's park stewardship program organizes volunteer workdays year-round to protect and preserve State Parks across California by addressing climate change and demands on natural resources. In partnership with California State Parks, our program generates high-quality workday service projects to attend to unmet needs and engage californians with their local Parks, including signature earth day climate action workday events in april. By expanding park staff's capacity, volunteers help overcome resource constraints and carry out essential tasks such as trail maintenance, habitat restoration, planting, and more. Their involvement fosters community engagement and connection, spreading awareness and inspiring others to appreciate and protect these natural and cultural treasures. Overall, our volunteer activity provided 8,928 hours of service equating to 4,488 native plants installed, 0.65 miles of trail restored, 2,501 square feet of fire buffer zones created, and over 253 bags of trash and recycling collected. Our earth day climate action 2023 granted a total of $52,299 to 11 State Parks and park partners to support vegetation management needs as well as ongoing maintenance needs, including trails and fencing.

The California State Parks Foundation is a supporter of nonprofit organizations and local governments who partner with California State Parks in their area across the State. The Foundation made services available to these group, including fundraising, fiscal sponsorship, capacity-building and other key elements of organization management. The Foundation also provides ongoing support for operations and maintenance for several other Parks throughout the year.