Do you ever visit our public lands and see abuses to their natural resources, habitat being destroyed, or trails and campgrounds falling into disrepair? Have you ever said to yourself, “Why doesn’t somebody do something about this?”
Would you like to learn how you can make a positive difference for how our public lands in northwestern California are managed? If so, CalWild offers action-based workshops geared at training public lands advocates to meet the political moment. The program is called "SBYL": Stand By Your Lands.
These trainings are free and led by CalWild's organizing experts. During these sessions, attendees will learn how they can best advocate for their National Forests, National Parks, and Bureau of Land Management lands and ensure that they are:
- well-funded,
- well-managed,
- accessible to all, and
- can support thriving populations of native plants and wildlife.
We’ve so far held SBYL workshops in Redding, Fresno, Bakersfield, and online.
Luckily, we know that the majority of Americans support public lands and wilderness areas (an astounding 93% according to this 2016 study).
CalWild’s multi-decade track record of fostering public support for wild places illustrates that grassroots activism can generate real change at every level, even against the toughest odds. Our team of experts creates resources that encourage citizens to speak up to politicians and decision-makers that don’t act or vote for healthier public lands.
We also lead the statewide Public Lands Defense Network to help facilitate communication and collaboration among conservationists working to defend California’s public lands. The group consists of partner NGOs, foundations, and grasstops leaders throughout California (and some in Washington D.C.). So far the group has helped develop strategy for key campaigns, organize localized rallies, create and disseminate action alerts to wide audiences, and influence legislation at the state and federal levels.
Our long list of successes include:
