Sound Summit 2024!

Roots & Branches Conservancy is a San Francisco Bay Area-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of natural resources, both physical and cultural. Wherever possible, we aim to create intersections between the environment, education, and the arts to their mutual benefit.

Via Sound Summit, our annual music festival high atop Mount Tam, we've been able to donate $250,000 to Mount Tamalpais State Park to date, a trend we want to continue in the coming year and beyond. This unique and festive event reflects our passion for producing resonant community experiences and making meaningful contributions to worthy beneficiaries.

Last year we allocated $50,000 to the restoration of the recently reopened Steep Ravine Trail, one of the most beloved and well-traveled on the mountain, which had been closed to the public for over six months due to unsafe conditions. Our grants paid for the replacement of all deckings and railings on nine key bridges, as well as supported the replacement of a tenth failed bridge.

We employed additional funds earlier this year to rebuild fallen bridges on the Lost Trail and Fern Creek Trail that were severely damaged by the "atmospheric river" storms this past winter.

And we've just recently allocated funds from Sound Summit proceeds to the following projects commencing this year:

• Steep Ravine Environmental Cabins & Campground – Complete Restoration. These historic and immensely popular cabins are situated at a stunning spot on the coast and were built back in th 1940s. They are quite compromised by time and weather and in serious need of repair and updating. We’ll be funding all of that via a State Parks contract with HistoriCorps and are extremely excited to do so, just as we were to fund the Steep Ravine Trail restoration itself.

• Pantoll and Bootjack Campsite and Trail Restorations and Rock Wall Borders

• Mountain Theater Infrastructure Replacement, Renovation, and Repairs

It’s rewarding to see donations we’ve been able to contribute through our work and your support go to projects that have direct positive impact on the public’s access to and enjoyment of the mountain’s wealth of resources.

Staging Sound Summit in this stellar location involves several moving parts and continues to be subject to rising costs across the board – performers, production, transportation, staff, insurance, security, and more. In short, maintaining the level of talent and quality of experience we’ve enjoyed thus far is requiring greater resources than ever before, a sign of the times.

Accordingly, the role of our community is more vital than ever and we need your help. Even a $25 contribution to Roots & Branches Conservancy from each of you would make a significant difference in our efforts to produce this unique event and in turn realize its goals. And, needless to say, more is welcome if you are able and so inclined.

We believe that good deed doing can be as creative as it is productive. If you've enjoyed Sound Summit in years past and share our vision, we ask that you consider making a tax-deductible year-end contribution to help provide us with firm footing for another ascent up Mount Tam and a nourishing day of music and community. Thanks for your support!