Dear ${member.firstname},

Thanks! to our generous donors and active foundation grants,
Nature in the City has had a very productive first half of 2009.

Not only have we made progress toward our goals of local ecological literacy, community restoration & stewardship, and transforming City policy, we also have worked diligently on improving our fundraising strategy;
we now have a terrific volunteer who is helping us apply for foundation grants.

Meanwhile, we published 13 email newsletters and 9 action alerts, produced 4 Nature in the City TALKS, and developed the 3rd edition of natureinthecity.org.

You've shown how much you value the work we do, please consider showing your support today so that we can finish & publish our new website, continue to produce our myriad community services, and turn our new stewardship intern into a permanent stewardship coordinator.

No one else advocates for collaborative nature conservation and habitat restoration like Nature in the City;
that is why we need your membership & the support of your friends and family!

Thanks to our members, we have been at every critical conservation advocacy juncture, including:

• Providing important ecological conservation input at the Lake Merced Watershed Plan Advisory Committee,
• Advocating for socially and ecologically sustainable planning at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area & Bayview Hunter's Point,
• Advocating for community support and Recreation and Park Commission approval of the Neighborhood Parks Bond Nature Trails Program,
• Educating the community about the need for ecologically-based fire management on Mt. Sutro,
• Advocating for endangered species stewardship at Sharp Park in Pacifica,
• Advocating for sustainable revegetation of the Doyle Drive corridor.

Our priorities for the remainder of 2009 include:

• Promoting our Twin Peaks Bioregion vision for a San Miguel Hills Park Preserve,
• Advocating for San Francisco garter snake restoration at Sharp Park,
• Urging the SFPUC to adopt our biodiversity objectives for their watershed lands,
• Working closely with the new General Manger of Recreation and Parks, Phil Ginsburg, to prioritize and advance our comprehensive Natural Areas Program agenda.
  

And last but not least, thanks to our new! stewardship intern, we will:

• Continue building community for the restoration of the Green Hairstreak Corridor,
• Produce expert naturalist-led WALKS and continue our Fall TALKS,
• Strengthen our entire Stewardship Program by networking community projects like Mt. Sutro Stewards, Mission Greenbelt & Alemany Farm,
• Catalyze backyard habitat restoration via our new partnership with HANC's Native Plant Nursery,
• Co-create volunteer habitat enhancement projects at Golden Gate Park with Habitat Potential and Golden Gate Audubon.
  

We need your financial support to be your voice for the restoration of nature in the city!
Please join Nature in the City today!

Sincerely,

Peter Brastow
Founding Director

Restoring Franciscan nature and biodiversity by connecting urban people with nature where they live.
Nature in the City is a project of Earth Island Institute, a 501(c)3 California non-profit public benefit corporation.