Celebrating the good times

by Adrien Andre, Development Manager

Originally posted on October 28, 2008

There was a lot to celebrate this October 16 when Save The Bay's staff and Board, along with supporters of Save The Bay's Greening The Bay campaign gathered in a donated flat with sweeping Bay views at the swanky Infinity Towers in San Francisco.

We were treated to an early evening of classic Bay Area Indian summer weather, inspired Bay-themed cocktails (like the "Marshtini!") and inspiring Bay-minded company. In line with our mission and ideals for environmental sustainability, we indulged in the local delicacies of our bounteous state with organic hors d'oeuvres garnished with pickleweed grown in our own nursery and spectacular wine donated by Napa winemakers at St. Supery.

We expressed our sincere gratitude for the support of the Greening The Bay Advocates who are making possible the work outlined in our Greening The Bay report--a vision and long-term plan for restoring the 100,000 acres of thriving Bay wetlands needed to sustain a healthy Bay ecosystem. In coming together to thank these dedicated Save The Bay members and supporters, we enjoyed an evening in the company of a group with a strong shared passion for the Bay. We also honored Save The Bay's ongoing legacy of local residents and institutions coming together to speak out for our natural treasure.

In speaking to the crowd, our Executive Director, David Lewis, remarked that it is significant that in a year when the Governor set a record for vetoing bills, he signed Assembly Bill 2954 to establish the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority, which can generate funds for Bay wetland restoration. With the accomplishment of the Greening report's first major recommendation, we celebrated a huge step toward realizing our vision for the Bay. We celebrated the support of California State Assemblywoman Sally Lieber who endorsed our Bill. And we celebrated our ability to take part in the state legislative process to benefit the Bay, in the face of many people telling us this step was just too big to attempt successfully.

In all, we acknowledged Save The Bay's diverse community of supporters and the exciting work we are undertaking together for the health of the Bay. In these times when communities tend to be many and fragmented and the future of the environment can feel tenuous and challenging to secure, the opportunity to come together and share the company and mutual values of others for the benefit of our local environment, while toasting to the success of major concrete wins for our Bay, may be the greatest reason of all for celebration.