Join us for two great events to celebrate Earth Day! This Earth Day weekend Pro Peninsula will be participating in two seperate events: the Patagonia EnviroFair on Saturday, April 19th at the Patagonia store in Cardiff and Earth Fair 2008 on Sunday, April 20th in Balboa Park. Come support Pro Peninsula, and all the local participants, and learn about sea turtle conservation, sustainable environmental alternatives, local education initiatives, conservation tourism and more! With over seven years dedicated to strengthening individual and community efforts to protect the natural environment, Pro Peninsula is a leading environmental organization in San Diego and Mexico. Come learn more about our work and how you can get involved! Earth Day weekend is the perfect opportunity to show your support for these important causes! And we would love to meet you! Earth Fair 2008 WHEN: Sunday, April 20th 10am-5pm WHERE: Balboa Park, San Diego, CA Click here for directions! WHAT: This is the largest FREE annual environmental fair in the world! Come learn how to get more involved with Pro Peninsula's important work protecting the Baja Califfornia peninsula! Cardiff Community Clean Up and Patagonia EnviroFair WHEN: Saturday, April 19th 10am-2pm WHERE: Patagonia, Cardiff, CA Click here for directions! WHAT: Patagonia is hosting a "Cardiff Community Cleanup" in the morning and an "EnviroFair" at their Cardiff store immediately following. Stop by and learn more about Pro Peninsula as well as learn and share environmental information with others! Or ask us how to get involved with the cleanup directly! Interested in volunteering? Pro Peninsula needs volunteers for both events! Contact us to learn more!

As the sun went down over the lagoon one evening in late February, roughly 60 people, including Laguna San Ignacio (LSI) community members, tour operators, camp guests, reserve staff, and the visiting research and NGO community, crowded together under a palapa for a special event. They had assembled to discuss the status of the whales in this remote lagoon, even as the whales could be glimpsed breaching in the distance.

Pro Peninsula helped organize this meeting as part of the Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program (LSIESP), a program focused on linking important conservation research with the greater LSI community. The up to date information discussed, on the health, population status, and winter activity of the whales in this lagoon is of critical importance- not just to the researchers but also to the people of this community. LSI now derives a significant portion of its income from the seasonal tourists who travel from all over the world to experience the gray whales and other marine life in their natural environment. Research and conservation efforts also contribute to the local economy by involving locals as well as visiting researchers and students from the region's universities and collaborating universities abroad. In additional to whale monitoring, the program has grown to include sea turtle research and monitoring, the first ever benthic invertebrate studies, and seeks to add a local education component during the coming year.

Keep checking the LSIESP website for updates on this multinational research program and developments in the community: www.sanignacioecosystem.org. And if you haven't visited Laguna San Ignacio, start planning now to experience one of nature's truly magical wonders.

Summer is fast approaching and the planning has begun for our 2nd Annual Lunada! Join us July 19th at the beautiful Mt. Soledad home of Kenn Baniqued and Andy Rudolf for an evening of good friends, great food and drink, a silent auction and more… all while supporting a wonderful cause! The Summer Lunada is Pro Peninsula’s annual fundraising event and last year was a tremendous success! With the help of over 200 Pro Peninsula supporters, we raised $25,000 for our programs and outreach. And we hope to DOUBLE that this year… but we need your help! Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 19th! (And be sure to mark a friend’s calendar as well!) If you would like to join us as a sponsor, volunteer and/or donate an item for the silent auction (or know someone who can) please contact Trisha today at trisha@propeninsula.org or 619.574.6643. Thank you so much!

After more than two years with Pro Peninsula, Daniel Durazo, Outreach Coordinator and Program Assistant, has left the organization to pursue his dreams. Daniel recently departed for Japan where he will spend a year studying the language and preparing for a career in simultaneous translation between three languages: English, Spanish and Japanese. Daniel was the face of our organization, managing our membership, representing the organization at events, and coordinating our education and outreach efforts; his impact on the organization will be felt for years to come. We will miss him greatly, however Daniel will continue to work with Pro Peninsula as a member of our Advisory Board and through continued translation work with the organization.

Trisha Knight recently joined the Pro Peninsula team as our new Membership and Communications Manager. Trisha has years of background in marketing and communications, and brings energy and new ideas to Pro Peninsula’s outreach efforts. Trisha will focus on growing our membership- an invaluable part of the Pro Peninsula community- and offering our members more and new ways to get involved. We hope all of you will have a chance to meet Trisha at an upcoming event! Feel free to send welcome messages to Trisha@propeninsula.org.