Photograph courtesy of Richard Jackson Photography

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today is all about love, so we thought we’d send along the February issue of Soundings to remind everyone of the passion we all share for the natural world around us. Let’s all embrace Loreto’s wonders by standing up for the pristine and truly spectacular nature of our surroundings. Read below about how you can do just that!


Eco-Alianza Collaborating in Paralelo 28 Project to
Support Natural Protected Areas;
Presentation in Loreto Bay Friday at 3:30


This Friday (February 17), Eco-Alianza will join with the non-profit Pronatura Noroeste and the Director of the Bay of Loreto National Park (PNBL) to explain Paralelo 28, a collaborative project supporting Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) throughout Northwest Mexico. The presentation, in English, is free and will take place from 3:30 to 4:30 at the Community Center room in Loreto Bay. Residents of Loreto Bay and interested parties are invited.

Paralelo 28 involves several non-governmental organizations, government conservation and enforcement authorities, fishermen, tourist providers including hotels and restaurants, civic groups, and individuals. The project addresses ways to support marine parks and other NPAs despite a financial climate in which parks are receiving decreasing levels of government funding. Paralelo 28 focuses on conservation of marine biodiversity through educational outreach, monitoring and surveillance of illegal fishing and other inappropriate environmental activities, and effective collaboration for enforcement.

Photography courtesy of Paralelo 28

Presenters on Friday will include Héctor Trinidad-Meléndez (Eco-Alianza’s Director of Marine and Coastal Conservation), Sergio González (BCS Coordinator for Pronatura Noroeste), and Alejandro González (Director, Parque Nacional Bahía de Loreto).

The Paralelo 28 collaboration holds significant promise in terms of garnering financial support for the Park and for encouraging government agencies, NGOs, tourism providers, fishermen, and the public at large to work together towards stronger marine conservation.

Learn more at http://www.Paralelo28.org and we’ll see you Friday!


Blue Whale Festival March 16 to 18 in Loreto

Planning is underway for Loreto’s second annual Blue Whale Festival, scheduled for March 16-18 in Loreto. The festival will be held between the City Hall and the Malecon, with events ranging from educational presentations in Spanish and English to kayak races to films to soccer games in the sand. There will also be live music each night and art and cultural events each day. Mural artists will create murals at different locations around town.

Eco-Alianza, of course, will take part in several exciting ways (see details in your March Soundings). The festival celebrates the Blue Whale, the largest animal on earth and a frequent winter and spring visitor in our Bay of Loreto National Park (one of the best sites on earth to view Blue Whales). Municipal officials and tourism providers also are supporting the festival as an economic driver and another way to introduce newcomers to the natural wonders of Loreto.

Presentation by Alejandro Gómez of UABCS during last year’s Blue Whale Festival.
Staff photo.

 


Eco-Alianza Featured in ICF 25th Anniversary Video

For many years, Eco-Alianza has partnered with the International Community Foundation (ICF) to support our mission. Through the Eco-Alianza de Loreto Fund at ICF, donors can contribute to Eco-Alianza and receive an immediate tax receipt to document their tax deduction in the United States. ICF also has been instrumental in helping Eco-Alianza receive support from other foundations and individuals, and in spreading the word about our work and mission.

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out ICF’s 25th anniversary video, in which Eco-Alianza’s Héctor Trinidad is featured prominently. In fact, Héctor’s words and image provide the video’s final tribute! https://youtu.be/k7p0gKLKUIs

Learn more about ICF and its philanthropic leadership: https://www.icfdn.org
Consider a donation through ICF’s Eco-Alianza de Loreto Fund:
http://donate.icfdn.org/#npo/eco-alianza-de-loreto-a-c

Héctor Trinidad, conducting water sampling, in a screen shot from the ICF video.
Photography courtesy of the International Community Foundation

 


 Marine Mammal Workshops a Resounding Success

Did you know that the Bay of Loreto National Park (PNBL) supports more species of marine mammals than any other Protected Natural Area in Mexico? Seventy-five percent of the marine mammal species in Mexico reside in or regularly travel through PNBL.

24 children from 7 schools learned about marine mammals
in Eco-Alianza’s shaded courtyard. Staff photo

The educational factoid above is just a taste of the curriculum embraced by the children (8- to 12-year-olds) who attended the free marine mammal workshops at Eco-Alianza during the first week of February (taught by Eco-Alianza’s Education Coordinator, Edna Peralta).

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