Stewardship Workforce & Regenerative Economic Development

PROJECTS

Stewardship Workforce & Regenerative Economic Development

The Project

The Bay Delta Trust proposes to co-design a Regional Regenerative Economic Development Framework that grows community resilience, inclusive governance, and economic empowerment by leveraging ecological restoration workforce opportunities. This initiative will engage frontline, disinvested communities across four Bay Area counties (San Francisco, Alameda, Solano, and San Mateo) in a participatory process to understand their relationship to place, climate threats, and awareness of restoration job opportunities. The project will also produce a landscape analysis of the restoration workforce sector and facilitate co-design workshops to develop the framework.

The Purpose

The purpose of this project is to address economic disinvestment and climate change impacts on frontline communities by creating a pathway for a regenerative regional economy through ecological restoration workforce opportunities. It aims to connect climate investments with the frontline communities they are intended to protect, addressing their expressed needs for better job opportunities, economic stability, and enhanced resilience. The project seeks to leverage the growing ecological restoration economy and incoming climate funding to create equitable, sustainable economic development opportunities.

The Outcomes

  1. Development of a comprehensive, community-driven framework for a regional regenerative economy, including a detailed landscape analysis of the restoration sector and engagement of frontline communities through participatory mapping.
  1. Establishment of a multi-stakeholder collaborative network, catalyzing new partnerships and laying groundwork for future regenerative economic development initiatives.
  1. Production of actionable recommendations for pilot programs and policy initiatives, potentially leveraging additional public or private funding for implementation.
  1. Increased awareness and capacity within frontline communities regarding restoration sector opportunities, empowering community members to pursue high-road careers.
  1. Creation of a knowledge commons for ongoing knowledge sharing around fostering restoration workforce opportunities and implementing regional regenerative economic development approaches.
  1. Planting seeds for collective impact through an immediate regional workforce focus that galvanizes interest and participation of partners, while co-designing a larger regional framework and exploring needs for network infrastructure that empowers an engaged coalition to create systemic change.