She returned to Denver and married Donald H. Mclaughlin. Soon enough, the couple moved to Berkeley, California. They started a family in California. When Sylvia saw the environment she lived she got mad. Pollution was ruining the Bay. This inspired Mclaughlin to start Save the Bay with two other women in 1961. Save the Bay gathered together many other passionate activists and stopped 2,000 acres of land in the Berkeley bay from being filled with cement. For almost forty years, Sylvia remained on the Save the Bay board. She also joined many other environment focused boards. 