Giving Compass' Take:

• REI sponsored "Open Preserve Day" in partnership with Sierra Foothill Conservancy. This sponsorship helps local organizations engage in work related to safe water access and land preservation.

• Are there any environmental organizations near you that offer opportunities to learn about clean water solutions and preservation?

• Initiatives like these are important because philanthropists can find it challenging to fund clean water initiatives directly.

Over the past few months, many companies have been scrambling to show they are taking a stand on movements including Time’s Up, #MeToo, gun violence and the inclusion of all citizens within our economy and society.

But the recent World Water Day is also an important reminder that companies also have an opportunity to support the preservation of public lands, especially as critics of the current administration and Congress claim public lands have been under unprecedented attack.

One company that is stepping up when it comes to advocating for land preservation and water stewardship is the outdoor gear retailer REI. The company recently sponsored an “Open Preserve Day” with Central California-based Sierra Foothill Conservancy (SFC). Together, the organizations held this event at the Ruth McKenzie Table Mountain Preserve, one of the many open spaces that the nonprofit manages across California’s Gold Country and Sierra Nevada foothills. Visitors to this and other open days could hike, learn about nature journaling, take a yoga class, or even just have a picnic nestled between the lava formations that give Table Mountain its name.

Finally, circling back to World Water Day, REI’s sponsorship of such events helps local environmental organizations perform a most important task: ensuring that local water supplies stay safe, clean and plentiful. The 6,481 acres SFC manages help preserve and replenish local groundwater supplies, encourage sustainable agriculture and ranching and also provide a forum by which local volunteers can educate the public about the need to do what is possible to conserve this most precious resource.

Read more about raising awareness for land preservation by Leon Kaye at TriplePundit