Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary: An End-of-Year Reflection

This year asked our team to be many things at once: scientists, educators, partners, planners, and neighbors. It was a year of transformation, shaped by new projects, new relationships, and new ways of showing up for the Bay.

Some days, that looked like long conversations around meeting tables, translating maps and monitoring data into on-the-ground decisions. Other days, it meant muddy boots in the marsh and binoculars around our necks, counting birds and kayaking alongside future conservation leaders. We worked beyond traditional conservation boundaries too, from highway edges to the heart of tidal wetlands. Through it all, we kept coming back to a simple reminder: we do what we do because we love birds and our community.

Behind every conservation win is a mix of fieldwork, partnership, and persistence. This year, our team advanced a wide range of efforts, from supporting protection and restoration across Bay habitats through science and planning tied to nearshore and marsh ecosystems, to monitoring shoreline conditions and bird use so management decisions are guided by evidence. We also grew native and sensitive plants that help stabilize shorelines and strengthen habitat for wildlife, while supporting healthier edges of the Bay for nearby communities. Dive into our 2025 wins below.

Sediment Studies and Native Plant Growing for Greenwood Beach

In 2024, our team conducted sediment studies along the shores of Greenwood Beach. This year, we are building on that work by growing native plants for the same restoration effort at Greenwood Beach. In our nursery, we are propagating a wide variety of species for the project, using a mix of approaches. Some plants are started from seed, while others are grown by allowing rhizomes to spread and generate new growth. We will care for these plants for about a year before planting them at the project site, hopefully next fall.

One especially exciting plant we are growing is Suaeda californica, California seablite. This species is endemic to California and federally endangered. It is also classified as “rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere; seriously threatened in California,” a high level of concern just below the category reserved for plants presumed extinct in California. Growing and nurturing these plants is one way we are helping set the stage for long-term shoreline resilience, so Greenwood Beach can better support both birds and people.

Progress in the Marsh: Strip Marsh East

This year, Paige, our Biologist and San Francisco Bay Program Manager, conducted water level monitoring and preliminary waterbird surveys to help inform the Strip Marsh East restoration project design. Tidal marshes are dynamic, shifting with storms, sea level rise, and human use. Protecting, restoring, and monitoring them takes patience and partnership, and it requires planning grounded in real conditions on the ground (and in the mud). Strip Marsh East is helping move us toward healthier shoreline habitat that can better support birds and people alike. Explore the Strip Marsh East Project here. 

Audubon Youth Leaders

If you visited the Center this year, you likely felt the energy that Audubon Youth Leaders (AYLs) bring to conservation when they are trusted, supported, and invited to lead.
As part of their local ecology education, our AYLs had the opportunity to witness the resilience and richness of eelgrass habitat firsthand during two immersive kayaking trips across the Bay. On the first trip, we paddled to Aramburu Island, a nearby habitat restoration site just across from the Richardson Bay Audubon Center. The second outing took the team along the Sausalito waterfront.

From the water, Youth Leaders observed double-crested cormorants diving for fish, Great Blue Herons stalking the shallows, and harbor seals playfully and inquisitively following our kayaks, all evidence of the quiet productivity teeming in these submerged meadows. But even more of the magic was hidden just below the surface. As the AYLs glided over swaying beds of eelgrass, we encouraged them to imagine what else might be thriving below: marine snails, baby crabs, and even juvenile halibut, all interconnected in a dynamic web of life.

As one AYL reflected after we returned to shore, “Kayaking to Aramburu Island deepened my curiosity and understanding of this ecosystem.” Another remarked, “Kayaking was a great way to connect with marine life through a new lens, as it allowed me realize how much we’ve built around this ecosystem.”

This year, the Richardson Bay team also had the chance to broaden what stewardship can look like through an AYL field trip to Bobcat Ranch with Audubon’s Audubon Conservation Ranching (ACR) team. Seeing youth leaders connect the dots between habitat, working lands, and bird-friendly stewardship was a powerful reminder that conservation is not one place or one strategy. It is a network of solutions, and young people are ready to lead.

Summer Camp

Summer at Richardson Bay means scraped knees and plenty of bird joy. Whether they were exploring the shoreline, learning how to “share the shore,” or simply discovering that nature can feel like home, our camp attendees helped keep our team grounded in what this place is really for: learning, building community stewardship, and appreciating nature.

What our partners are saying:
We are proud of what we accomplished this year, and we are equally proud of how we did it: collaboratively, and locally. “The team at Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary is highly expert, versatile, and a qualified local NGO for Bay habitat restoration.”

What’s Next

After a year of community and youth engagement along the shorelines of San Francisco Bay, and counting everything from sediments to seabirds to the surprising treasures that glow and sparkle in a young person’s hand, we are looking ahead with momentum.

In the coming year, we are excited to keep advancing restoration projects across the Bay Area, deepen partnerships that support our habitat work, and continue building pathways for young people to see themselves as stewards of this place.

How you can be part of it:

• If Richardson Bay has ever made you pause, breathe deeper, or feel more connected to the natural world, we invite you to take the next step with us:
• Visit the Center and Sanctuary and experience the Bay in every season.
• Volunteer with habitat stewardship, community science, and education programs.