Galveston Bay Foundation Inc

Conservation programs work to preserve, protect, and restore important coastal habitats that provide critical ecosystem services and have suffered loss or degradation. The Foundation works closely with numerous partners in land acquisition, land stewardship, habitat restoration, and habitat enhancement activities across the Bay. As an accredited land trust, the Foundation protects natural areas by acquiring real estate and partnering with landowners to establish conservation easements on private lands. Currently, the Foundation owns or holds conservation easements on over 15,140 acres of land around Galveston Bay to ensure the Bay is conserved in perpetuity. Habitat restoration activities work to ensure healthy habitats for productive and sustainable populations of native species. Projects, located at restoration sites all around Galveston Bay, focus on protection of eroding shorelines; restoration of wetlands, oyster reef, coastal prairie, and bird rookery; and removal of marine debris. The Foundation maintains a native plant nursery to provide stock for habitat restoration work around Galveston Bay and offers native plants sales within the community.

Education and outreach programs aim to connect our community to Galveston Bay and inspire lifelong stewardship through diverse programs, trainings, tools, and events that reach tens of thousands of people each year. The Foundation's youth education programs connect students, teachers, and administrators with the rich local environment, whether in the classroom, in the field, or online, through hands-on STEM curriculum and resources. The Foundation also offers rain barrel installation workshops and distributes rain barrels to the public. Ongoing public outreach campaigns and initiatives target segments of the population to increase awareness of the importance of Galveston Bay and address specific issues of concern.