About Us

About SFEI

The San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) is a non-profit organization based in Richmond, California. For the past 30 years, SFEI has operated at the interface between science and policy, providing support for science-based environmental decision-making by government agencies, private corporations, non-profit organizations, and communities. Through three major programs – Clean Water, Environmental Informatics, and Resilient Landscapes – SFEI aims to measurably improve the health and resiliency of ecosystems and communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

For more than a decade, SFEI has been working to integrate the science of urban ecology into frameworks that allow planners and designers to support biodiversity in cities. In the process of this work, we noticed that many of our ideas for supporting urban biodiversity have parallel concepts in public health studies of human health benefits from urban greenspaces.

SFEI team

Content Development

Content leads: Lauren Stoneburner, Vanessa Lee
Contributors: Cate Jaffe, Joe Burg, Jennifer Symonds,  Bronwen Stanford, Stephanie Panlasigui, Brandon Herman, Karen Verpeet, Vrinda Suresh, Robin Grossinger, Erica Spotswood

Web development

Design lead: Vanessa Lee
Contributors: Vrinda Suresh, Ruth Askevold, Lauren Stoneburner, Katie McKnight, Karen Verpeet, Jennifer Symonds, Brandon Herman

Acknowledgements

The Making Nature’s City Toolkit is funded by the following entities. Support for this toolkit was provided in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

Photo Credits

Neighborhood in New Orleans, LA (Courtesy of Robin Grossinger, SFEI); Patch size example (Courtesy of Google Earth); Connections example (Courtesy of Google Earth); Matrix quality example (Courtesy of Robin Grossinger, SFEI); Habitat diversity example (Courtesy of Google Earth); Native vegetation example of remnant patch of native Oaks in Flood Park, Menlo Park, CA (Courtesy of Erica Spotswood, SFEI); Special resources example (Courtesy of Google Earth); Management example of re-oaking project in East Palo Alto, CA (Courtesy of Erica Spotswood, SFEI)

Red fox in the backyard of a home in the suburbs of London, UK (Courtesy of Giedriius); Night heron in the urban landscape (Courtesy of Jason Thompson, CC BY 2.0); Green hairstreak (Courtesy of Ott Rebane, CC BY 2.0); Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna) (Courtesy of Shira Bezalel, SFEI); Coyote in San Francisco, CA (Courtesy of Matt Knoth); Bird preparing to take flight in a city park (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Jeremy Bezanger)

Urban Biodiversity Framework:

Patch size: Bosque de Chapultepec in Mexico City (Courtesy of Ricardo Gomez Garrido, CC BY 2.0); Connections: Ohlone Greenway in Berkeley, CA (Courtesy of Kelguen, CC BY 2.0); Matrix quality: Hauser & Wirth in Los Angeles, CA (Courtesy of Robin Grossinger, SFEI); Habitat diversity: Aerial view of South Lagoon in Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL (Courtesy of Marco Verch, CC BY 2.0); Native vegetation: Remnant patch of native Oaks in Flood Park, Menlo Park, CA (Courtesy of Erica Spotswood, SFEI); Special resources: Millakcheon Creek in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi, South Korea (Courtesy of Stock for You); Management: Green roof at the California Academy of Sciences (Courtesy of SF Planning Department

Urban Planning:

Urban greening goals and targets: A cyclist looking at an urban park (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Roxanne Desgagnes), Bay Trail greenway (Courtesy of Shira Bezalel, SFEI), View of green city (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Nerea Marti Sesarino), Coyote in San Francisco (Courtesy of Wiki Commons - photo by Christopher Michel), People and dogs on Bay Trail (Courtesy of Shira Bezalel, SFEI), Green apartments (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by ChutterSnap), Views from Crissy Field, San Francisco (Courtesy of Shira Bezalel, SFEI), Flowers in Los Angeles (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Mark Hyde); Community-driven projects: People brainstorm at a community meeting (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by FortyTwo), Notepads on table (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Dylan Gillis), Community meeting (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Antenna), Sticky notes (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by FortyTwo), Volunteers work outdoors (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Josh Hild), People in a park (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Ignacio Brosa); Large urban greenspaces: People boating on a water body in a large urban greenspace (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Harry Gillen), Taking notes (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Sincerely Media), Freeway trees (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Matthew Henry), Tempelhofer Feld in Germany (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Victoria Prymak), Golden Gate Bridge and Presidio (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Hristina Satalova), Aerial view of park (Courtesy of Wiki Commons - photo by Ynhockey), Green city (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Chuttersnap); Greenspace connectivity: People walk on a trail along wetland habitat (Courtesy of Shira Bezalel, SFEI), Trees along highway (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Denys Nevozhai), Urban waterfront (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Sergio Sala), City bus (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Moralis Tsai), Wildlife crossing (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Hanson Lu), Aerial view of city (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Shawnanggg), Creek in a park (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Jared Patrick); Green urban fabric: Buildings bordered by trees and greenery (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Zanck FL), A green campus (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Daniel Petersen), Greenery by the water (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Duong Chung), Tree canopy in Florida (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Faith Crabtree), California poppies (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Sergey Shmidt), Home garden (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Ian Kirkland), Abandoned lot (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Pavel Karagodin)

Site Design:

Regional and city parks: Park in Singapore (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Sergio Sala), Aerial view of a park (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Jermaine Ee); Neighborhood parks: Streets surround recreational areas at an urban park. (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Jakub Dziubak); Greenways: A greenway along a transit line in the Bay Area (Courtesy of Shira Bezalel, SFEI); Waterfronts: A bridge crosses an urban waterway. (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Mark Harpur); Streetscapes: Trees grow in a street median (Courtesy of Shira Bezalel, SFEI); Green schoolyards: Children play among greenery (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Vitolda Klein), School garden at Basisschool de Bijenkorf in Eindhoven, Netherlands (Courtesy of Wiki Commons - photo by Agaath), Bird box (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Jongsun Lee), Children play on swing (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Vitolda Klein), Child playing in leaves (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Scott Webb), Child walking on garden path (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Paige Cody), Children in sandbox (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Alexandr Podvalny); Private landscapes: Large oak near a building (Courtesy of SFEI), Native vegetation near Google Campus (Courtesy of SFEI), Greenway by Google campus (Courtesy of SFEI), One Central Park in Sydney (Courtesy of Wiki Commons - photo by MDRX), Spread out planters near Google campus (Courtesy of SFEI), Garden outside a home (Courtesy of Jenny Symonds, SFEI), Landscaping near Google campus (Courtesy of SFEI), Educational signange by the Santa Ana River (Courtesy of SFEI), Landscaping near Google campus (Courtesy of SFEI)

Detailed Design:

Habitat complexity: Trees, shrubs, grasses, and water features at an urban park (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Jeffrey Eisen), View of San Francisco from Angel Island (Courtesy of Shira Bezalel, SFEI), Vegetation on water (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Heffrey Eisen), Native flowers in California (Courtesy of SFEI); Native plants: Diverse wildflowers in the Bay Area, California (Courtesy of Shira Bezalel, SFEI), Desert vegetation (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Christoph von Gellhorn), Vegetation along Bay Area creek (Courtesy of Shira Bezalel, SFEI), Biker on Bay Trail (Courtesy of Shira Bezalel, SFEI), Pathway on Google campus (Courtesy of SFEI), Trees in Berkeley, CA (Courtesy of SFEI), Bee at work (Courtesy of SFEI), Tree canopy on road (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Kwon Junho), Pathway and greenery (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Sergey Kolomiyets), Nursery plants (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Zoe Schaeffer); Urban trees and forests: People run on a trail with tree cover (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Gigi Ling), Trees in Oakland, CA (Courtesy of SFEI), Tree at bus stop (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Edward Howell), Hands in soil (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Rafael Idrovo Espinoza), Trees in Sacramento, CA (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Stephen Leonardi), Trees in Denver (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Cassie Gallegos), Tree planting (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Anil Sharma), Person in forest (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Aaron Burden); Water features: A large water feature in an urban park (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Hector Arguello Canals), Large water feature (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Jeff Kingma), Aerial photo of Golden Gate Park (Courtesy of Google Earth), Richmond Bay Trail (Courtesy of Shira Bezalel, SFEI), Vegetation on water (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Jeffrey Eisen), Lincoln Park water feature (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Ranjit Souri), Santa Ana River (Courtesy of SFEI), Water feature on Google campus (Courtesy of SFEI), Turtle basking on rock (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Eugene Chystiakov), Saw Mill River (Courtesy of Wiki Commons - photo by Jim Henderson); Garden spaces: Greens growing in a garden planter (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Jonathan Hanna), Raised garden planter (Courtesy of Wiki Commons - photo by Irene Scott), Sensory garden in Ohio (Courtesy of Wiki Commons - photo by Hamaxides), Person working in the soil (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Jed Owen), Forest garden (Courtesy of Wiki Commons - photo by David Hawgood), Community garden (Courtesy of Wiki Commons - photo by John Lord), Blackberries (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Gabriella Clare Marino), Butterfly garden (Courtesy of Wiki Commons - photo by Carol Norquist), Person farming (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Zoe Schaeffer); Managed access: A child runs toward the beach (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Mike Stevens), Aerial view of trees (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Mariya Pampova), Walking path (Courtesy of SFEI), Fencing around a property (Courtesy of SFEI), Wildlife-friendly fencing (Courtesy of SFEI), Bikers in Marin County, CA (Courtesy of SFEI), Person on a park bench (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Josephine Baran), Child at trail entrance (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Kostiantyn Li), Educational signange (Courtesy of SFEI), Lighting on pathway (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Cee), Viewing platform (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Shawnanggg); Wildlife friendly management: A bird perches on a wire (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Mesh), Butterfly in Mexico City (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Don Fabian), Person mowing grass (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Maxim Tolchinskiy), Bee house (Courtesy of Wallpaper Flare), Monarch butterfly (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Ashlee Marie), Grass being mowed (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Rasa Kasparaviciene), People walk on park path in Chicago (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Amie Bell), Plant being pruned (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Crystal Jo), Educational signange in Pinole, CA (Courtesy of Shira Bezalel, SFEI); Limited outdoor lighting: Bird perches on a lamp post (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Koushalya Karthikeyan), Nighttime lighting near a building (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Yingchu Chen), Streetlight at sunset (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Geraldine Dukes), Dim lighting and tree canopy (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Lukas Stoermer), Street light (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Fly D), Orange lighting in a park (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Maggie Riordan), Cityscape at sunset (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Ed Shelley); Alternative groundcovers: Different shrubs serve as ground cover in a yard (Courtesy of Jenny Symonds, SFEI), Sidewalk plantings in San Francisco (Courtesy of SFEI), Shrubs and trees (Courtesy of SFEI), Permeable lawn alternatives (Courtesy of SFEI), Grass along road (Courtesy of Unsplash - photo by Bai Z)

Camley Street Natural Park: Family enjoying a nature trail (Courtesy of Arnhel de Serra); ACROS Fukuoka Prefectural International Hall; Green Roof: Green roof terraces as seen from street level (Courtesy of kentamabuchi, CC BY-SA 2.0); Green Hairstreak; Corridor: Green hairstreak butterfly resting on a seed head (Courtesy of katunchik,CC BY-SA 2.0); Caribbean Avenue Green Streets: Bioretention basin planted with locally-native pollinator species (Courtesy of the City of Sunnyvale); Nature Ways: Habitat plantings and reading nook along a city corridor (Courtesy of JY Architecture Photography, CC BY 2.0); Addison Green Streets: Aerial image of Addison Street (Courtesy of Google Earth Pro 2022); Bayview: Aerial image of Google's Bayview campus (Courtesy of Google Earth Pro 2022); Caribbean 100 & 200: Aerial image of Google's Caribbean 100 & 200 campus (Courtesy of Google Earth Pro 2022); Charleston East: Aerial image of Google's Charleston East campus (Courtesy of Google Earth Pro 2022); Charleston Retention Basin: Aerial image of Google's Charleston Retention Basin (Courtesy of Google Earth Pro 2022); East Palo Alto Urban Greening (Canopy): Aerial image of East Palo Alto (Courtesy of Google Earth Pro 2022)