The Coastal Watershed Council (CWC) preserves and protects coastal watersheds by strengthening the connection between the historically underserved and diverse residents who live along the San Lorenzo River and this critical natural resource in Santa Cruz, CA. CWC’s River Stewards Program, developed for and by the unhoused community, engages individuals experiencing homelessness in education, stewardship, and outdoor experiences as part of their path out of homelessness.

A $1,000 gift from the Santa Cruz Awesome Foundation will provide one year's worth of native plant seeds that will be used by the River Stewards participants to increase biodiversity along the lower San Lorenzo River. Native plant seeds are collected from May to September and then planted along the river from October to February each year. By giving a gift now, you'll launch (and fully fund) our native seed collection for the year and ensure that the River Stewards have a biodiverse array of native plant seeds to plant this fall. Native plants and seeds are incredibly important to the river ecosystem because native plants typically support 10-50 times more insect species than non-native plants and as such, they are the foundation of a thriving river ecosystem.