Acterra
| Founded | 1970 |
|---|---|
| Focus | Education, Environment |
| Location |
|
| Origins | Merger of PCCF and Bay Area Action, 2000 |
Area served | SF Bay area |
| Method | Community partnerships, Volunteer projects |
Members | 1,000 |
Key people | Michael Closson, Executive Director |
Revenue | Donations and Grants |
| Website | http://www.acterra.org |
Acterra: Action for a Sustainable Earth is a nonprofit environmental education and action organization based in Palo Alto, California.
Acterra's annual budget for FY 2007-08 is $918,604 and the organization has approximately 1,000 paid members and donors.
Acterra has its headquarters at the Peninsula Conservation Center, located at 3921 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto. The PCC building is also home to several other local environmental organizations, including Committee for Green Foothills.
Mission
Acterra's mission is to bring people together to create local solutions that foster a healthy natural environment. Growing out of the merger in 2000 of two older organizations, Peninsula Conservation Center Foundation (founded 1970) and Bay Area Action (founded 1990), Acterra's long history draws on two generations of environmental leaders in serving the San Francisco Peninsula and South Bay. Acterra's programs provide hands-on opportunities for ordinary people to make a difference where they live, work, learn, worship and play. Acterra's core values emphasize community, optimism and a lively, spirited approach to resolving serious environmental issues.
Programs
Always ready to respond to emerging needs, Acterra's programs currently address global warming, land stewardship, and leadership development.
- Green @ Home, and Cool It!, engage residents and business people in measuring and reducing their energy use.
- The Arastradero Preserve Stewardship program and Young Environmental Stewards teach teens and other volunteers about local ecology as they work on restoring native plant and animal habitats.
- Be the Change is a year long course that trains citizen leaders to initiate community projects that will "green" society from the inside out.
- The Native Plant Nursery grows native California plants for use in habitat restoration projects.
- The Environmental Library and Resource Center provides environmental books, videos, and reference information.
- The Business Environmental Awards recognizes Bay Area businesses for innovative work in conservation, pollution prevention and environmental education.
- Acterra also offers fiscal sponsorship services to qualifying nonprofit startup projects, such as the California Clean Tech Open business plan competition started by members of the MIT Alumni Club and sponsored by Wllson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, among other prominent local firms.
A complete list of Acterra's programs and services can be found here.
See also
- Sustainability
- Biodiversity
- Global warming
- Ecology
- Earth Science
- Natural environment
- Recycling
- Arastradero Preserve
- Committee for Green Foothills
- Global cooling
References