#maltprotected

One way to support MALT’s ongoing stewardship of these working lands is to donate on a monthly basis. It’s easy to set up, is completely tax-deductible, and helps ensure the sustainability of our region’s foodshed.

To our MALT community, As global concentrations of carbon in our atmosphere passed 400 parts per million recently, Earth Day and climate change have now become inseparable. At MALT we are aware that many people may associate farms with contributing to climate change. And as an industry agriculture does. But how does sustainable agriculture — community-based farming that is economically and environmentally viable over the long-term — differ, and how can these practices and overall stewardship actually create “climate-beneficial” operations that reduce on-farm emissions, create climate resiliency, and remove carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere? An important part of our work is partnering with landowners on stewardship practices on MALT-protected properties that cultivate nutrient-rich soil and perennial grasses and restore riparian areas. These practices prevent erosion, reduce flooding and increase biodiversity. Healthy, diverse, resilient landscapes are not only beautiful, but they also provide ecosystem services like carbon sequestration by capturing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil as organic matter. At the same time, working lands provide valuable habitat for common and special-status species. Many of MALT’s protected farms and ranches connect with open space and other conserved properties. This connectivity nurtures life and establishes wildlife corridors across open lands.  Producing and marketing local foods also vastly reduces emissions associated with transit, the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. Recently, MALT received a grant from the Natural Resource Conservation Service for the Bay Area Working Lands Partnership Project — a five-county collaborative effort in the Greater Bay Area to address agricultural sustainability and climate change through landowner education and assistance, conservation planning, and implementation of climate-beneficial practices. Through it, we're leading a regional effort to scale up carbon farming. Now more than ever, the fate of our lands, water, wildlife and food production is in our hands. This Earth Day, and every day, MALT will continue to champion and model sustainable agriculture and be a part of the climate change solution. Thank you for your ongoing support. Jamison Watts Executive Director