Facebook Menlo Park Campus Ecological Planning

Project Summary

Integral staff have led Facebook’s efforts to integrate ecology into its Menlo Park campus landscapes, located next to portions of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project.

Location: Menlo Park, California

Challenge

Facebook’s campus sites, sitting directly adjacent to the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, needed to promote interaction with surrounding wildlands, support native wildlife, and enhance biodiversity, all while functioning as active corporate campuses. Turf and 1990s ornamental landscaping needed conversion to habitat-supportive native plantings, and stormwater function needed improvement without disrupting campus operations.

Our Role

A multidisciplinary team of Integral staff landscape architects and ecologists worked with Facebook on a range of initiatives:

• Improved public access and trail amenities along a shoreline trail surrounding the campus, including an overlook and small gathering spaces
• Developed an interpretive program educating users on the site’s cultural and natural history
• Created a native tree master plan used to evaluate the ecological values of future campus projects
• Converted turf and ornamental landscaping to native plants, improving habitat and wildlife use
• Provided ecological advisory services on an unprecedented 9-acre California native plant green roof project on a building complex designed by Frank Gehry

What We Delivered & Results

The campus now includes a redesigned shoreline trail system, a native tree master plan, restored levee habitat separating the campus from Ravenswood Slough, and a 9-acre native plant green roof, alongside redesigned parking lot and building entryways that improve stormwater function through passive systems like pervious paving. The project met all requirements for special-status wildlife species throughout permitting.