Environment

Our Program
Healthy communities require a healthy planet. Immediate action must be taken to ensure communities can successfully respond to our changing world.
We believe science-based innovations are most impactful when developed in partnership with communities; leading to durable and sustainable solutions that address climate change and advance biodiversity and human well-being.
Sustainable, community-focused conservation efforts rely on community members who have decision-making authority and a sense of ownership over the resources being managed. Environmental policies created must recognize community rights and create appropriate incentives and clear governance should be established while local stakeholders are empowered and maintain accountability. When technology is developed, it should be user-friendly and affordable, able to measure progress, and enable people to adapt their approaches based on evidence as they prepare for emerging challenges.
Our Program
Healthy communities require a healthy planet. Immediate action must be taken to ensure communities can successfully respond to our changing world.
We believe science-based innovations are most impactful when developed in partnership with communities; leading to durable and sustainable solutions that address climate change and advance biodiversity and human well-being.
Sustainable, community-focused conservation efforts rely on community members who have decision-making authority and a sense of ownership over the resources being managed. Environmental policies created must recognize community rights and create appropriate incentives and clear governance should be established while local stakeholders are empowered and maintain accountability. When technology is developed, it should be user-friendly and affordable, able to measure progress, and enable people to adapt their approaches based on evidence as they prepare for emerging challenges.

Our Focus Areas
Piloting community-based natural resource management
Improving human-wildlife coexistence
Supporting high-integrity natural climate solutions


Piloting community-based natural resource management. We help locally-based practitioners implement projects that gather better data, test conservation methods, and develop technological tools that allow them to manage their ecosystems effectively .
Improving human-wildlife coexistence. We support measures to reduce conflict and competition between humans and wildlife using technology tools, education and outreach, and fostering networks and policies that support community well-being.
Supporting high-integrity natural climate solutions. We fund community-led, rigorous, place-based natural climate solutions to protect, restore, and manage forests, wetlands, grasslands, coastal systems, and agricultural lands to mitigate climate change.
Piloting community-based natural resource management. We help locally-based practitioners implement projects that gather better data, test conservation methods, and develop technological tools that allow them to manage their ecosystems effectively .
Improving human-wildlife coexistence. We support measures to reduce conflict and competition between humans and wildlife using technology tools, education and outreach, and fostering networks and policies that support community well-being.
Supporting high-integrity natural climate solutions. We fund community-led, rigorous, place-based natural climate solutions to protect, restore, and manage forests, wetlands, grasslands, coastal systems, and agricultural lands to mitigate climate change.

$74.1M current active grants in environment
Investing in organizations at the intersection of science and technology as they solve environmental challenges.
Making an impact around the globe
Supporting community-led projects working to advance research and implement technology solutions here in the Pacific Northwest and globally.
Incubating and scaling big ideas
Encouraging bold, new ideas in community-focused environmental actions, especially advancing research and technologies that support community management and helpful policies.
$74.1M current active grants in environment
Investing in organizations at the intersection of science and technology as they solve environmental challenges.
Making an impact around the globe
Supporting community-led projects working to advance research and implement technology solutions here in the Pacific Northwest and globally.
Incubating and scaling big ideas
Encouraging bold, new ideas in community-focused environmental actions, especially advancing research and technologies that support community management and helpful policies.

Featured Grantees
Grantee Organization: Coeur d'Alene Tribe
Geography: Pacific Northwest
Duration: 3 Years
Investment: $937,212
This project restores critically endangered Palouse prairie ecosystem and implements climate-smart agriculture in Idaho and Washington’s Palouse to advance climate change mitigation and culturally meaningful outcomes like tribal food and economic development.
Grantee Organization: Earth Genome
Geography: Global
Duration: 1 Year
Investment: $1.9M
This project leverages AI and remote sensing science to develop a scalable seagrass mapping methodology, fine-tuning remote sensing AI models for 4 pilot geographies, and creating maps of seagrass extent, change, threats, and carbon stocks.
Grantee Organization: Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium
Geography: Global
Duration: 2 Years
Investment: $1.5M
This project will resurvey sharks in reef systems from the landmark Global FinPrint survey to assess changes in reef shark abundance over time and estimate the relationship between marine protected area design features and shark trends.
Environment News
Read the stories of the ordinary and extraordinary people making change every day, discover new funding opportunities, and explore other news from our grantees and team.

Meet the Natural Climate Solutions grantees addressing conservation needs in the Pacific Northwest

Announcing the 2024 Global Slingshot Challenge award recipients
Thousands of young innovators from 87 countries submitted to the second annual environmental youth challenge

$5M awarded to Pacific Northwest Natural Climate Solutions projects
The six grantees will tackle pressing climate challenges in the Pacific Northwest

Smithsonian leads groundbreaking research to track and monitor one of North America’s most endangered mammals
Tracking and understanding the secret, underground lives and behavior of the elusive black-footed ferret
Keep in Touch
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Our Programs


Arts & Culture
Increasing access to diverse arts, cultural, and heritage experiences for everyone.

Environment
Protecting and restoring our planet’s biodiversity through scientific solutions rooted in community partnerships.


Arts & Culture
Increasing access to diverse arts, cultural, and heritage experiences for everyone.

Environment
Protecting and restoring our planet’s biodiversity through scientific solutions rooted in community partnerships.


Arts & Culture
Increasing access to diverse arts, cultural, and heritage experiences for everyone.

Environment
Protecting and restoring our planet’s biodiversity through scientific solutions rooted in community partnerships.