Grassroots Ecology

Grassroots Ecology is a nonprofit organization dedicated to caring for public lands and waters across California's Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. In collaboration with public landowners, governments, schools, corporations, and other nonprofits, the organization engages thousands of people annually through hands-on education and service improving the local environment.

Working across the San Francisco Bay Area, a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot home to over three million people, Grassroots Ecology addresses challenges including fire and flood risk, habitat fragmentation, water contamination, and invasive species proliferation, all intensified by climate change. Programs span land stewardship, community engagement, urban ecology, a native plant nursery, nature education, and workforce development across preserves from Cupertino to Redwood City.

The organization traces its roots to 1997, when Bay Area Action created the Arastradero Stewardship Program, which grew over two decades before becoming an independent nonprofit in 2016. Grassroots Ecology operates on the unceded lands of the Ramaytush Ohlone, Tamien Nation, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, and Muwekma Ohlone, committing to support Native sovereignty as part of restoring both biodiversity and Indigenous relationships with the land.