3 min read
Flowing through Oregon and into Northern California, the lower Klamath River region is an iconic landscape home to old-growth forests and sacred Yurok Tribal sites. The river’s cold-water tributaries are essential to the survival of coho and Chinook salmon, steelhead, and the northern spotted owl. In late May 2025, the final section of more than … Continued
4 min read
Conversations about tropical forest protection often start far from the places where the work is rooted. But everything shifts when you sit with Indigenous community leaders who’ve been caring for their forests for generations. On a recent visit to Malaumkarta, a coastal village in West Papua, Indonesia, I joined Packard Foundation colleagues to hear from … Continued
4 min read
When a health clinic loses power, medical equipment cannot be used, refrigerated medicines and vaccines spoil, and medical records cannot be accessed. For clinics that face heat waves, unstable power grids, or natural disasters, the ability to maintain power can be the difference between being able to help patients and having to shut down. As … Continued
3 min read
In the coffee forests of Ethiopia’s Oromia region, groups of women gather regularly to pool their savings, plan their futures, and exchange ideas. These Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) have become spaces where women discuss not only ways to improve their financial security, but also sustainable farming techniques, forest stewardship, and family planning. Savings … Continued
5 min read
Work-life balance is a challenge for any young professional in the midst of a demanding career. The demands of pursuing that career while raising children can be even more complicated. For academic scientists, the decision to start a family often coincides with one of the most critical periods in their careers: launching their labs. As … Continued
6 min read
It’s clearly a great site for a new park. From above, Salinas, California is a compact ring of tightly packed urban buildings surrounded by a mosaic of green and tan farmland. At the center is Carr Lake Basin, 480-acres of dry lakebed. Privately owned, this land has been largely undeveloped with only a few storage … Continued
A new research vessel, R/V David Packard, has just arrived at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) headquarters in Moss Landing, California. This ship will expand MBARI’s capacity to pursue bold marine research initiatives and transform ocean science and engineering. The ship is named after David Packard, founder of the Packard Foundation and MBARI, … Continued
5 min read
Along the iconic landscape of California’s Central Coast, the Chumash People have lived in harmony with the land and the sea for thousands of years. For the Chumash, the Pacific Ocean, or “Grandmother Ocean,” is a revered elder who nurtures and provides life, emphasizing the importance of stewardship and respect for nature. Last year, the … Continued
4 min read
Ocean ecosystems are remarkably resilient. When coastal communities invest in restoring and protecting marine areas, they experience more sustainable fisheries, stronger local economies, and reliable food security. At the same time, these efforts have far-reaching impacts, protecting marine biodiversity, reducing storm damage, and capturing carbon to mitigate climate change—benefits that extend to everyone. But these … Continued
4 min read
When Dr. David Baker opened his brand-new lab at the University of Washington in 1994, one of the first things he did was apply for a Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering. At the time, the lab was small and experimenting with protein folding, understanding how amino acid chains fold into three-dimensional shapes that determine … Continued
