Insights and Solutions for Growing California’s Stewardship Workforce
The CA Biodiversity Network is excited to announce a new open access publication in Conservation Science and Practice that identifies key barriers to stewardship workforce development and presents strategies with real-world
Biodiversity Assessment Article Release
The California Biodiversity Network is excited to announce our newest research article, published in the California Native Plant Society’s Artemisia journal. This work presents our analysis of key biodiversity metrics of the current 30×30 conservation land areas, including habitat representation, connectivity, and climate resilience.
BIODIVERSITY DAY 2025
California Biodiversity day is Sept 7th! Join us for the celebration events during September 6–14th, 2025.
Check out the California Biodiversity Day website for events and how to participate!
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? Please contact californiabiodiversityday@wildlife.ca.gov
30×30 Partnership 2025 Summit
Took place on August 14th 2025, at the San Diego Natural History Museum in San Diego, California.
Themes:
Sustain the progress and momentum of 30×30’s first five years.
Strengthen the partnerships, policies, and innovations needed to achieve our conservation goals.
Succeed at securing a healthy and resilient planet for generations to come.
The CBN led two workshop discussion sessions and hosted a table at the event.
On January 22, 2025, the California Biodiversity Network held a Town Hall meeting. View the recording to learn about CBN actions in 2024, and provide input to help CBN identify priority actions for biodiversity conservation for the next 5 years to help meet our California 30×30 targets.
The 30×30 Partnership 2024 Summit
In October 2024, we gathered in person and virtually at the 30×30 Partnership 2024 Summit. With the theme of “Inspire, Innovate, and Integrate,” this Summit brought together partners from all over the state to connect and continue building momentum toward the 30×30 goal.
Keep it going!
Inspire yourselves and each other to reach California’s 30×30 goals in the next five years.
Innovate with creative colleagues about how we can work together in new ways.
Integrate new information and ways of knowing into our work.
Stewardship Workforce Special Convening:
Breaking Silos and Taking Action
The need for ecological resilience has never been more critical to California communities. To meet the challenges of climate change and biodiversity conservation, including 30×30, California’s ecosystems need diligent care from a well-trained and diverse workforce capable of effective land stewardship. Equally important for a just and flourishing future is recognizing Indigenous peoples’ knowledge, wisdom, and right to steward their traditional homelands.
The California Biodiversity Network is hosted a special convening on September 18 with representatives from employers, training program providers, and funders for the first time. At this convening, we aim to align our goals, create a unified approach to building the workforce, and focus on collective action to extend the reach of stewardship across California.
If you are interested in the outcomes of this workshop, please contact Ramona at Rmccabe@migcom.com.
NEW Stewardship Workforce Training Database!
CBN’s Stewardship Roundtable has just released a Stewardship Workforce Training Database! This online database of stewardship workforce development programs across California is designed to help individuals and organizations interested in getting training, hiring stewards, and funding environmental workforce education. Please explore these opportunities and share widely!
Indigenous Co-Stewardship of Public Lands: Lessons for the Future
This event convened Tribal leaders, Indigenous culture bearers, and public land management agencies from the places now known as the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It took place in February 2024 at Graton Resort & Casino—Rohnert Park, CA. Approximately 300 people attended in person, and 500 streamed the sessions virtually. You can read more about the event here.
Proceedings will be published through the Institute for Parks People and Biodiversity in 2025.
30×30 Partnership 2023 Gathering
The CBN is proud to have hosted the 2nd day of the 30×30 Partnership Gathering event in Riverside on October 12, 2023. We appreciate your participation in the key discussions and ongoing conversations shaping conservation in California!
October 11th Hosted by the California Natural Resources Agency
October 12th Hosted by the California Biodiversity Network
Connect • Celebrate • Co-Create
Connect with other nature lovers, be inspired, share knowledge, and learn how you can help 30×30 become a reality in different regions.
Celebrate stories from across California about how lands and coastal waters are being conserved and cared for through 30×30.
Co-create new tools, partnerships, and approaches to build the solutions we need.
Hear from Dr. Rachael Olliff Yang (Technical Science Support for CBN) on the magic of connecting in person at this year’s event. Read her reflections here.
Expanding CBN’s Reach
In January, CBN chair David Ackerly attended the first meeting of the IUCN Academy at their headquarters in Gland, Switzerland. The Academy will be designing a portfolio of training programs for IUCN staff and members worldwide advancing conservation and the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Pacific Coast Climate Monitoring
Lisa Micheli, co-chair of the Sentinel Site roundtable, has spent the past two months as a Global Fulbright building partnerships in Chile. Her work is building on the institutional partnership between the UC Natural Reserve System and Universidad Catolica to monitor climate change along the Pacific Coast. Sign up to receive updates and join future Sentinel Site roundtable meetings.
CBN Funding Webinar
CBN hosted a Funding Webinar on Thursday, December 15th, 2022, focused on new state funding opportunities, administered by the Wildlife Conservation Board, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the University of California. The Webinar featured short presentations by each funding entity followed by audience Q&A. A recording of this webinar and accompanying transcript is available here.
Information about upcoming funding opportunities administered by the Department of Conservation was covered in a 30×30 Virtual Expo on November 29th 2022 (See recording here).
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Grant
CBN is pleased to announce that we have been awarded $500,000 from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to advance the work of the CBN – see a summary of the grant support here, which will support the activities of all Roundtables as well as a CBN science symposium in 2023.
Systematic Conservation Planning
This Systematic Conservation Planning roundtable webinar, led by Nate Roth, Chief Scientific and Data Advisor for the California Department of Conservation, provides an overview of the CA Nature, the set of visualization and analytical tools developed by the California Department of Natural Resources and ESRI, the leader in GIS software. Nate provides an introduction to the website and demonstrates the power of this site for guiding 30×30 investments and tracking progress over time.
CBN Celebrates California Biodiversity Week – Watch the Recording
During CA Biodiversity Week, CBN hosted Prof. Erika Zavaleta for a discussion with two of our steering committee members: Dr. Ana Alvarez and Prof. Adina Merenlender. The conversation addressed the future of conservation, in relation to the inclusion and representation of historically marginalized communities, and the novel paradigms of ecosystem stewardship. In the final 30 minutes, chairs of the CBN Roundtables provided brief updates on the activities of their groups.