About the Program

Mary Bowerman, co-founder of Save Mount Diablo and namesake for our Mary Bowerman Science and Research program.
Dr. Mary Leolin Bowerman co-founded Save Mount Diablo in 1971. Mary was a botanist and a student of the flora of Mount Diablo for over 70 years. In her honor, Save Mount Diablo established the Mary Bowerman Science and Research program in 2013.
The Mary Bowerman Science and Research (MBSR) program provides small grants, especially to students, for research projects on Save Mount Diablo properties and the network of protected lands in the Mount Diablo region.
Grants of up to $2,500 will be awarded to applicants who are conducting studies that will enhance the ecological understanding of the region and inform land management and conservation practices.
Learn more about the application for the Mary Bowerman Science and Research grant.
About Save Mount Diablo’s Annual Mary Bowerman Science and Research Colloquium
Thanks to everyone who joined us for the 2024 colloquium!
In addition to supporting research on and around the mountain by offering small grant awards, the goal of the Mary Bowerman Science and Research program is to share valuable findings and management implications for natural resources in the Diablo Range with the public.
To this end, every December Save Mount Diablo hosts a Mary Bowerman Science and Research colloquium, in which grant recipients and other researchers working on Mount Diablo and in the Diablo Range present their findings.
This event informs other scientists, researchers, and interested public attendees about ongoing projects and discoveries in the Diablo Range.
It’s our hope that the stories and findings emanating from the Mary Bowerman Science and Research grant program will reach new audiences, spark interest in the community, and inspire more visitors and researchers to Mount Diablo and the Diablo Range.
View presentations from the 2024 colloquium, and if you’d like to view videos from previous years, please visit our YouTube channel.

Our Mary Bowerman Science and Research 2025 colloquium. Photo by Emily Sherwood