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Leaders from across the Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA) global network stepped up during COP28 to advocate for climate solutions that put women and communities at the center. WEA leaders marched among 2,000 women in Kaduna, Nigeria, ahead of the summit to demand women’s representation in climate negotiations. Amira Diamond, WEA's co-founder and co-director, joined SHE Changes Climate and Project Dandelion in conversation at the Unite For Climate Solutions virtual summit. And Rose Wamalwa, WEA’s East Africa program director, along with Olanike Olugboji-Daramola, WEA’s Nigeria program lead, attended COP28 as champions for gender and climate justice.

Earth Island Institute was one of 73 nonprofits taking part in this year’s Green 2.0 Report Card, which tracks diversity and inclusion within environmental NGOs. Earth Island was proud to support the initiative and remains committed to transparency. Earth Island Institute is BIPOC led, and more than 50 percent of its director-level staff and more than 50 percent of all staff identify as BIPOC. Green 2.0 Report Card notes that heads of NGOs in 2023 were predominantly White (68.4 percent). From 2022 to 2023, POC heads of organizations increased very little, from 31 percent to 31.5 percent. Senior staff of NGOs reporting to Green 2.0 remained predominantly White, at 71.3 percent.

Friends of Alemany Farm has welcomed Alfredo Hernández as its first ever executive director. Alfredo brings rich and varied experience in community and government relations, project management, community organizing, and nonprofit administration to this new position. A native of Los Angeles, Alfredo recently relocated to the Bay Area and enjoys working on his urban homestead. This new role will support the Friends of Alemany Farm in continuing to grow over 25,000 pounds of free food every year, host thousands of volunteers, and run its BIPOC-focused apprenticeship. Here’s to many more seasons!

TheWild Oyster Project is excited to share that they’ve doubled the number of partnering restaurants for their “Save Your Shucks” program this year. These new shell recycling partners are making a significant impact by contributing an impressive 8,000 pounds of shells annually. The shells are used to create new habitat for oysters in the San Francisco Bay through Wild Oyster Project’s Oyster Base Program. Thanks to the increase in donations, more metal cages filled with oyster shells can now be found across the Bay, including one at Treasure Island! This expansion is a crucial step in the Wild Oyster Project’s effort to identify optimal locations for baby oysters to thrive and build biodiverse oyster reefs in the Bay.

KIDS for the BAY partnered with the City of Richmond, Richmond Main Street, and students from Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood to adopt, explore, and beautify local parks and greenspaces with painted tiles and pavers. Students from Peres K-8, Grant Elementary, and Lincoln Elementary schools applied their KIDS for the BAY watershed lessons and their artistic skills to inspire others to help protect and clean up their local environment. KIDS for the BAY is excited for the young environmentalists and their families to visit the art installations and celebrate how their artwork has improved their community!

With policies aimed at addressing plastic pollution popping up rapidly around the world, the Plastic Pollution Coalition and key partners have established the Global Plastic Laws Database to track and visualize the plastic legislation that has been passed around the world. This tool was developed for use by policy makers, students, researchers, educators, communities, individuals, and others. Adopting policies to reduce plastic pollution on a global scale is widely recognized as a vital step to address this crisis and its impacts on our communities, health, and environment, and this new tool should help. Access the database here.

Project Coyote welcomed a recent decision by the Bureau of Land Management to end the use of M-44 devices — known as cyanide bombs — on 245 million acres of BLM land. The bombs indiscriminately kill target and non-target wildlife alike. Meanwhile, Alaska Clean Water Advocacy’s (ACWA) efforts to stop the development of the Palmer Project, a proposed copper and zinc mine in Southeast Alaska, were featured on the CBS Evening News’s Eye on America on Nov. 30. Project Director Gershon Cohen and ACWA Advisory Board Member Mario Benassi described the impact the mine could have on the most important bald eagle habitat on Earth. Watch the segment, and to learn more about the Chilkat Valley eagles, watch the PBS Iconic America Episode 6, The American Bald Eagle.