Collaborative Design & Engagement
Project: East Palo Alto Urban Forest Master Plan
SFEI partnered with the City of East Palo Alto, HortScience Bartlett Consulting, and Canopy to develop an urban forest master plan for East Palo Alto. In the development of the plan, SFEI engaged with over 350 community members through a combination of an online survey, community focus groups, community events, interviews, and city meetings. This collective input highlighted community concerns, desires, and values, which shaped the plan’s goals and recommended actions to support an urban forest that aligns with the East Palo Alto community’s vision.
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Collaborative Design & Engagement
Collaborative Design & Engagement
Project: Resilient by Design
SFEI served as science advisors for the Resilient by Design Bay Area Challenge, a collaborative design effort to develop community-based design solutions for 10 bayshore communities to increase their resilience to climate change. SFEI translated critical scientific findings in shoreline restoration and adaptation to inform the design teams. SFEI’s work included an adaptation briefing book and a science briefing event at the Exploratorium.
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Collaborative Design & Engagement
Collaborative Design & Engagement
Project: Ecology for Health Salon
Following the release of our Ecology for Health design guidance, SFEI brought together Bay Area implementers including landscape architects, planners, city officials, and community organizers to brainstorm ways to design urban greenspaces to promote both biodiversity and human health. The salon provided a venue for crucial sharing of ideas and allowed SFEI to collect feedback on our Ecology for Health strategies, while paving the way for continued collaboration.
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Collaborative Design & Engagement
Collaborative Design & Engagement
Project: Green Stormwater Infrastructure by and for Communities
This project is a collaboration between SFEI, San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP), Urban Tilth, Hood Planning Group, and UC Berkeley. The project aims to build the capacity of residents in East Oakland and Richmond to influence local water quality projects. In doing so, the team hopes to challenge the conventional thinking linking urban greening with gentrification and neighborhood displacement. The project will demonstrate an approach to design, construction, and management of GSI that actively fosters community participation to strengthen these processes.
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Collaborative Design & Engagement
Collaborative Design & Engagement
Project: Carquinez Strait Fish and Preservation Project
SFEI is collaborating with and supporting All Positives Possible (APP), a non-profit grassroots community-based organization serving low-income disadvantaged communities in the Vallejo area. APP’s Carquinez Strait Fish and Preservation Project will provide shoreline education, contaminant testing of fish, garbage abatement, and preservation process that will engage community members and train leaders. SFEI is leading the fish monitoring element of the project, which will train community members in fish collection for testing.
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Focus Area:
Collaborative Design & Engagement
Collaborative Design & Engagement
Project: Sediment Solutions
SFEI partnered with Friends of the Petaluma River, Sonoma Water, City of Petaluma, and SFEP to host a community event to discuss reconnecting Lower Adobe Creek to its surrounding baylands. A range of participants--from local elected officials to high school students--shared perspectives on how they interact with the Creek and what they would like to see in the future. The evening included a storytelling and drawing session by Ane Carla Rovetta about the Creek’s wildlife. The input received provides essential insights and ideas to ensure the design concepts benefit both people and wildlife.