Grantmaking Program

In the 2025 grant round, the Midpen board of directors awarded funding to the following applicants: 

Hidden Villa - Access and Education on Farming and Open Space Preservation in the Midpen Region - Funding Amount: $29,150 

This early-stage project will allow a new constituency of eight schools to participate in current programing by offering scholarships to students in grades TK-12 who meet the criteria of at least 50% Unduplicated Pupil Count that Hidden Villa has not had the opportunity to partner with due to funding restraints. At least two classrooms from each school will be able to participate in Hidden Villa programing over a two-year period.

The Heal Project - Farm Field Trip Program - Funding Amount $59,708

The HEAL Project’s Farm Field Trip Program will provide more than 900 elementary students with hands-on learning experiences that help them form connections between food, environmental health, and local open space while inspiring lifelong stewardship of the natural world.   

Arriba South Coast - Pescadero to the Sea Trail Planning Project: Partner Advisory Committee and Community Stewardship Corps - Funding Amount $29,040  

Expand the Partner Advisory Committee for the Pescadero to the Sea Trail Planning Project with a new Community Stewardship Corps to include more diversified participants representing all segments of the South Coast.  

Grassroots Ecology - Roots of Relationship: Deepening Indigenous Allyship - Funding Amount $59,550 

Roots of Relationship leverages Grassroots Ecology’s access to local lands, native plants, and botanical knowledge to provide meaningful allyship desired by tribes. Project goals are to strengthen and expand relationships and collaborations with Indigenous communities; support connections to culturally significant plants and ecosystems through on-the-ground assistance; and embed Indigenous allyship into our operations, communications, and programs for the long term. This is a continuation of work that Midpen is currently funding.  

Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation - Restoring Fire, Restoring Kinship: Muwekma Ohlone Cultural Burning Capacity Building  - Funding Amount $51,000  

Building on a decades-long partnership and recent early-stage work, MOPF proposes a two-year capacity-building project.  This project will strengthen an established cultural fire stewardship network with Stanford’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve ('Ootchamin 'Ooyakma), North Fork Mono cultural fire leadership, and CAL FIRE (CZU) through bi-monthly convenings, coordinated trainings/site visits, and outreach. Deliverables include a Cultural Burning Stewardship Plan and trained Muwekma members and intergenerational workforce pathways. 

University of California Santa Cruz - Crab Watch: student-centered research to inform invasive species management in the Midpeninsula Baylands - Funding Amount $29,930  

This project seeks to establish the crucial ecological baseline needed for Midpen to identify and implement actions to manage potential invasive European green crab populations in the Bayland marshes, while supporting undergraduate students who have historically lacked access to nature-based activities and hands-on research experience.  

University of Nevada Reno - Exploring the Effectiveness of Virtual Fencing for Improved Management of Multiple-Use Objectives on Open Space Agricultural Lands - Funding Amount $55,605

This project seeks to complete a collaborative study to objectively compare virtual fencing (VF) with traditional grazing practices for achieving multiple land management objectives on the La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve, a property managed by Midpen and leased by Willow Creek Land and Cattle.  Specifically, this project aims to evaluate how VF influences: 1) riparian condition and grazing distribution; 2) vegetation structure, including fuel loads; 3) plant species richness and weed occurrence (with a focus on distaff thistle); and 4) public perceptions of livestock grazing and VF technology among recreation users.   

In the 2023 grant round, the Midpen board of directors awarded funding to the following applicants: 

• Canopy - Two-year program comprised of 12 outdoor events focusing on environmental education and stewardship. The paid internship program will offer 140 internships for high school students in underserved communities - $49,972
• Grassroots Ecology - Two-year pilot project, expanding their prior work through the “Right Relations” Program, to increase access of Native American communities to District lands. The project will include outreach, community events, volunteer opportunities, honorariums, and visits to District land - $49,850 
• Saved by Nature - Field trips led by Naturalist Richard Tejeda to Midpen preserves for up to 350 students from Tile I Elementary and Jr. High schools - $49,946 
• Tamien Nation - Provide community workshops and training sessions to enhance climate education, build partnerships, and support understanding of indigenous land stewardship through knowledge-sharing and capacity building - $50,000 
• TOGETHER Bay Area - Nine-month program consisting of three cohorts that engage Native organizations in relationship and capacity building for climate resilience and equity through online workshops, six field trips, seven round table discussions, and various sessions focused on action planning - $50,000 

In the 2021 grant round, the Midpen board of directors awarded funding to the following applicants: 

• Coastside Land Trust Outdoor education and stewardship program for students in Cabrillo Unified School District in coastal San Mateo County - $25,000 
• Creekside Science Two years of grassland surveys of Midpen lands in which the environmental and management drivers of native species will be rigorously documented - $50,000 
• Dominican University of California Undergraduate-led wildfire ecological monitoring project to assess wildfire-induced changes on terrestrial salamander populations - $25,000 
• Peninsula Open Space Trust A planning effort to close gaps on the California Coastal Trail in San Mateo County through the California Coastal Trail Feasibility Study - $25,000 
• Pie Ranch Outdoor engagement and nature-based learning experiences with a focus on reaching youth from traditionally underserved and underrepresented communities to increase environmental and food literacy - $50,000 
• San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory Outdoor experiences for underserved communities, virtual nature talks, and the development of a high school education module focused on the Motus radio telemetry tower network in the Bay Area and how scientists use the network data to study and conserve birds - $24,980 
• San Jose State University Opportunity for undergraduate students to participate in environmental restoration projects on Midpen lands and apply techniques for managing natural areas - $49,964 
• Saved by Nature Field trips to Midpen preserves for students from Davis Jr High, Stipe Elementary, and Edenvale Elementary led by naturalist Richard Tejeda - $24,783 
• UC Elkus Ranch Hands-on educational activities at a working ranch for underserved, urban youth - $17,250 
• Vida Verde Nature Education Equitable access to immersive, multi-day experiences in nature for students from low-income communities and their families - $50,000

In July 2019 the Midpen board of directors awarded funding to the first round of grantees:

• Environmental Volunteers
  Collaborative Interpretation Project between Cooley Landing and Lucy Evans Nature Center - $25,000
• Groundswell Coastal Ecology
  Teaching Design Thinking for Coastal Resilience - $49,025
• San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
  ​Outreach Education Expansion - $25,000
• San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
  ​Restoring Transitional Habitat with Bird Nests - $24,704
• Thrive Alliance
  ​Environmental and Sustainability Thrive Action Group - $25,000
• University of California, Santa Cruz
  ​Does French broom invasion limit the success of native forbs in annual grasslands? - $49,375
• Vida Verde Education Center
  Multi-day Environmental Education Experiences for Students from Low-Income, Bay Area Schools - $50,000