SAN FRANCISCO, CA – A project to restore San Francisco’s coastal habitat and two programs that get young people outdoors will receive extra funding through the California Habitat Conservation Fund Grant Program, San Francisco Recreation and Parks announced today.

The $1.1 million in California State Parks Department funding is part of a larger grant that will provide a total of $6.7 million going toward 19 projects across the state that are furthering wildlife habitat restoration and enhancement efforts.

Under the grant, the India Basin Waterfront Park project will receive $756,728 to restore and enhance wetland habitat by contouring the shoreline; planting more than 13,000 square feet of mid and high marsh zones; and constructing a pedestrian path and overlook bridge for access to the marsh. Once the project wraps up, it will create a 10-acre waterfront park in the Bayview Hunters Point community that closes a critical gap in the San Francisco Bay Trail and features new amenities as well as a restored and enhanced wetland habitat.

Also, as part of the grant, the Greenager Program will receive $200,000. The program, created in 2012, provides teens from the city’s southeast, northeast and Tenderloin neighborhoods with opportunities to become stewards and advocates for environmental change. Participants gain leadership and life skills through activities like facilitating workshops, leading volunteer service projects, participating in community events, and joining in outdoor excursions.

Lastly, the Youth Stewardship Program will receive $200,000. The program engages K-12 students in environmental education and service-learning field trips in San Francisco parks and open spaces. Students learn science, environmental education, local natural and cultural history, social responsibility, a personal connection to their communities, and fundamental life skills.

“The India Basin Waterfront Park project is about environmental justice in the Bayview, restoring the shore back to health and ensuring that coastal habitat can thrive. This grant will help us further that goal,” said SF Rec and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg. “This grant will also ensure that San Francisco kids can create connections with nature, creating a future generation of park stewards.”

Rec and Park’s India Basin project and two youth programs were selected for the grant after the State Parks’ Office of Grant and Local Services conducted a competitive review of projects and programs throughout the state that further habitat restoration efforts.

To see all the recipients of the State Parks’ California Habitat Conservation Fund Grant Program, click here.

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