Point Blue Roots Program ROI Evaluation

Students participate in habitat restoration. Photo: Sam Veloz, Point Blue

Evaluating ecological and community returns from conservation on California’s working lands

Point Blue’s Roots Program delivers community-based habitat restoration on California’s working landscapes, including farms, ranches, tribal lands, school grounds, and community spaces. To support program growth and future funding, Point Blue commissioned us to evaluate the program’s conservation return on investment (ROI).

A standard ROI analysis compares program costs to financial returns, such as cost savings or net monetary benefit. Point Blue also needed to account for ecosystem services, equitable access to conservation funding, and community participation.

Working with Point Blue, we developed a framework that assessed restoration outcomes and ecosystem services alongside equity and community returns, and weighed them against program costs. It recognized that ecological benefits develop over decades and that many returns cannot be expressed in dollars. Environmental justice was central: we examined the program’s reach among historically underserved participants, first-time funding recipients, and disadvantaged communities.

We converted budgets, grant reports, scopes of work, and field verification records from more than 100 projects into structured data. We quantified carbon, stormwater, and air quality benefits from verified tree plantings and valued the work of thousands of volunteers. Throughout the evaluation, we kept field-verified results separate from projections for projects and benefits still taking shape.

We delivered an evaluation report, concise summaries for funders and the board, and an Excel-based ROI tool that Point Blue can update as more projects complete verification. Point Blue will use the findings to make the case for continued support and expand habitat restoration on California’s working lands.