Year in Review 2025
This year marked the fifth anniversary of TOGETHER Bay Area (and 30 years of the Bay Area Open Space Council!). We collaborated, convened, created, and came together in so many ways in service of healthier lands and people around the Bay Area. As a coalition, we navigated uncertainty, experimented, and got work done while bringing joy and hope to each day.
Five years of TOGETHERing has only been possible thanks to the members, partners, and collaborators across the Bay that have shown up time and again in the conviction that we can do more, together. And we know with total confidence that the next five years (and beyond) will be beautifully rooted in what we’ve built together.
And with that, we invite you to breeze through this blog for a memory jog and dose of what we accomplished together this year!
January & February
- We hosted two webinars and published two reports documenting the latest conservation progress and concluding our Connecting Urban Biodiversity project.
- In response to events happening at a national level, we surveyed TOGETHER Bay Area members and partner organizations about the real and potential consequences of recent executive and secretarial orders.
- Our Policy Committee immersed in a learning session all about the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a prospective opportunity to secure significant and stable funding for our region.
March & April
- In April, our coalition adventured for a lobby day to Sacramento! We talked about our 2025 policy priorities, the impacts of the federal orders, and the importance of Proposition 4 / Climate Bond funds.
- Geneva E. B. Thompson, Deputy Secretary for Tribal Affairs at the California Natural Resource Agency, joined our policy committee to amp up our knowledge on tribal policy and shared advice for organizations engaging in tribal affairs.
- We virtually convened our Wildfire Data Working Group with a dive into data workflows to guide fire management work. You can watch the recording here.
- Our Executive Director, Annie Burke, was honored at the annual Bay Nature awards ceremony with the “Conservation Action” award.
May & June
- The annual TOGETHER Conference took place online, at the Fort Mason Center, and all around the Bay Area! We sold out months in advance and filled the room for our largest conference to date.
- Giving life to the next iteration of the Conservation Lands Network (CLN), we hosted the CLN 3.0 Steering Committee Kickoff at the Brower Center!
- Did you hear the good news? We’re making conservation progress! As of May, the Bay Area region is 33% on the way to our goal of 50% of lands conserved by 2050.
- Our Wildfire Data Working Group convened to learn about tech tools in the world of fire and project management.
- We welcomed two new humans to TOGETHER’s board of directors: Sapna Khandwala (Stillwater Sciences) and Tosha Comendant (Land Trust of Napa County).
July & August
- We hosted another TOGETHER in Sacramento lobby day while leaning deeply into our core philosophy of collaborative advocacy.
- TOGETHER’s first-ever Good Company Picnic took place in Tunnel Tops, San Francisco! Joyful connection and amazing food were abundantly present.
- From circus performers to porcupines, our team was in awe of the community, collaboration, and energy happening at the 30×30 Summit in San Diego.
- This summer’s Wildfire Data Working Group meeting centered responses to post-fire vegetation changes.
September & October
- The next cohort of Right Relations Phase Two kicked off with basket weaving, connection, and learning deeply about ways to be in right relations with Native tribes and tribal communities. 40 participants representing 12 TOGETHER Bay Area member organizations are embarking on this program over the next nine months. We’re proud to co-design and lead the Right Relations program with Redbud Resource Group.
- Even more Good Company Picnics took place in every corner of the Bay Area.
- The Phase Two Right Relations cohort adventured to San Vicente Redwoods to learn from the organizations in partnership there, working in co-stewardship with the Amah Mutsun Land Trust.
- We advocated for Prop 4 appropriations all year, and money started flowing this fall!
- Our Wildfire Data Working Group immersed in learning about partnerships for scaling forest treatments.
November & December
- TOGETHER members from across the region gathered in-person at the Brower Center for our annual Policy Summit. We finalized our 2026 Policy Priorities together, potlucked fabulously, and embodied joy through playdoh and pipecleaners.
- We tied up the year with a bow in celebrating our 5 year anniversary at the Crissy Field Center. We’ve never been one for big flashy parties, but the people in the room lit up the afternoon for us. From TOGETHER staff and board members, to organizational leaders and people working directly on the land (including at least three County Parks Directors!), and long-time partners like John Woodbury (the first executive director of the Bay Area Open Space Council) and Amy Hutzel (executive officer at the State Coastal Conservancy)… it’s safe to say, we were in quite good company.
Looking ahead to 2026
While we unfortunately haven’t mastered the skill of predicting the future (yet..), our plans for 2026 are already shaping up to take us to some amazing places (literally and figuratively). We’re looking forward to things like:
- The next TOGETHER Conference, happening from May 12-15, 2026!
- Kicking off and continuing more cohorts of people learning, immersing, and unlearning through the Right Relations program
- Advancing our conservation strategy work through the CLN 3.0, powered by hundreds of stakeholders and our new Project Director, Molly Curley O’Brien!
- Continuing to advocate for significant and stable funding for the region while building legislative champions in this work
The best part about this work is that we can’t do it alone! We’re grateful to be in community and coalition with our members, and can’t wait for all that is ahead of us.
