5. Who Will Keep This Place?

A small team takes on big polluters and wins. In this episode, the story of San Francisco Baykeeper, from its scrappy beginnings to a formidable force defending the Bay. Along the way, a deeper question emerges: What does it mean to be a keeper?It started with a guy they called Mad Dog…Back when San Francisco Bay was being treated like a dumping ground, one man decided to go out on the water and start paying attention. As Baykeeper, he chased down polluters, pushed reluctant agencies, and made enough noise that people had to listen.Today, San Francisco Baykeeper fields a team of scientists, lawyers, and advocates with the same fierce energy of those early days. They take on powerful adversaries like oil companies, chemical giants, even the U.S. Navy and win victories for the Bay.But along the way, a bigger idea has taken shape. What is a keeper, exactly? Is it a job title… or a choice? In this episode, we follow Baykeeper’s evolution from lone watchdog to elite action team, and meet the volunteers, neighbors, kayakers, and hip hop artists who show what it means to speak up for a place that can’t speak for itself.In this episode you’ll hear selections from ‘Small But Mighty,’ a music video produced in collaboration with RyanNicole, Hip Hop for Change, Destiny Arts, and San Francisco Baykeeper. The song is used with Baykeeper’s blessing as part of our shared love for the San Francisco Bay and the communities fighting for it.Sign up to receive updates: https://once-upon-a-bay.kit.com/01c971c878.🌊 Learn MoreTo see images and other information about this episode, go to https://www.onceuponabay.org/post/more-about-episode-5-who-will-keep-this-place.Read about San Francisco Baykeeper at https://baykeeper.org/.Read about Penobscot Bay Waterkeeper at https://www.penbaywaterkeeper.org/.If you’d like to help protect and celebrate San Francisco Bay, visit onceuponabay.org and click the button that says “Be a Keeper!"🌊 Credits"Small But Mighty” is excerpted from a music video produced in collaboration with RyanNicole, Hip Hop for Change, Destiny Arts, and San Francisco Baykeeper. It is used in this episode under a perpetual, worldwide, royalty‑free license granted to San Francisco Baykeeper for Baykeeper‑related programs and promotions. The official music video link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tQf89bhrg4.Archival sound courtesy of “Bay Area Backroads” and San Francisco Baykeeper.Cover art by Level Five Graphics, Inc.Thank you to Point San Pablo Harbor for giving us safe haven.