Dear San Bruno Mountain Watch Supporter,
San Bruno Mountain has been at it again: providing air currents for resplendent soaring hawks, nurturing fields of wildflowers that in turn provide sustenance for rare butterflies, enchanting thousands of children and adults with its sights, sounds, smells and touch, and quenching our souls' thirst for that which can't be named.
San Bruno Mountain Watch exists to assure that the mountain's gifts go on forever -- our mission is "to preserve and expand the native ecosystems of San Bruno Mountain, in perpetuity." Why is this so important to the 800 or so of us who donate our money and volunteer time each year to save San Bruno Mountain?
Here's the short answer: Internationally, the unique ecosystems of the San Francisco Bay Area are afforded the same status as Brazil's rain forests -- Biosphere Preserve -- yet while Brazil still has 42% of its forests, San Francisco has preserved only 3 to 5 % of its indigenous habitats. Dozens of our local species are found nowhere else on earth, and many of these are perched precariously on the brink of extinction.
But all is not lost. San Bruno Mountain still holds most of the diversity that has been lost elsewhere on the Peninsula and the larger Bay Area. Just south of San Francisco, seemingly under a cloak of invisibility, the mountain is still home to a number of rare and endangered plant and insect species that used to live where our homes and cities now stand.
Together, we have a chance to save this irreplaceable natural resource. Your financial support will help protect those native species, now and in the future, that are nurtured on the mountain's slopes. Preserving the mountain's native ecosystems is no small task. While our past efforts have made a big difference, we face an even greater challenge as the Bay Area becomes more crowded and the climate warms.
When you donate to San Bruno Mountain Watch, your money is multiplied by the hard work of the volunteers who carry out much of our program. Generous people helped make the following possible: - The Mission Blue Nursery now houses seventy-five species of San Bruno Mountain native plants -- thousands of plants ready for planting this winter.
- Volunteers logged 3,650 hours of stewardship work on the mountain slopes and precious wetlands representing about $43,000 of work (calculated at $12 per hour).
- 830 people, both adults and students, enjoyed and learned from SBMW led hikes on the mountain.
- Hundreds of people have written and spoken with public officials about preserving the mountain.
Please consider a generous year-end donation to keep up and intensify this work. You can be sure that your donation will be used wisely. For a gift of $100, we can do $1000 worth of work to save the mountain. And when you join us for a hike or stewardship activity or even when you just catch a passing glimpse of San Bruno Mountain, the mountain will reflect back your spirit of giving.
Sincerely,
Ken McIntire
P.S. I hope the mountain has been working its magic with you, and if not, take the time to be touched by it. An hour or two spent on her slopes is a priceless gift. For example, I was recently surprised to find trillium, a personal favorite, growing on the hillside above Brisbane, after one our most energetic volunteers removed a ton of invasive ivy. What might you discover on San Bruno Mountain?
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Think globally, act locally--
Please Donate to San Bruno Mountain Watch
San Bruno Mountain Watch is a non-profit, 501(c) 3 organization. All donations are fully tax deductable.
Send Checks to San Bruno Mountain Watch, PO Box 53, Brisbane CA 94005
Or Use Paypal
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