Natural Environment
Sustainability is not only about mitigation, adaptation, and resilience, but also regeneration – identifying opportunities for renewal, restoration, carbon sequestration, and growth of our natural environment. Palo Alto will continue to build and restore the natural environment and its ecosystem services and supporting bio-capacity, including soils, tree canopy, biodiversity, and other components. In order to foster a robust urban ecosystem, Palo Alto seeks to expand, preserve, and maintain its urban forest, open space, and parks.
The City of Palo Alto has almost 4,000 acres of open space to explore, recreate, and relax in.
Natural Environment and the S/CAP
The Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) guides Palo Alto's sustainability and emissions reduction strategy. The goals and key actions for the Natural Environment in the S/CAP address maintaining and protecting the City's tree canopy, restoring and enhancing biodiversity, and expanding green stormwater infrastructure to protect the San Francisco Bay. Many actions to protect our natural environment also reverse GHG emissions, which is in line with our ambitious emissions reduction goals. Shade trees absorb, or sequester, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, restoration of wetlands can both sequester carbon and protect against sea-level rise, and healthy soils play an important role in absorbing carbon.
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Explore information and resources to enjoy and protect our natural environment.