The New England Aquarium is big on ocean conservation, and has created the live blue™ Initiative, a project that protects endangered marine species and their habitats. I look forward to educating the public on one of the planet’s rarest and least-known species, the Vaquita, at this wonderful aquarium.
Here is a digital painting/photo manipulation I made of a Vaquita from a picture of a Harbor Porpoise:
Here is a wonderful crochet Vaquita that my 9-year-old sister made:
This is a canvas painting that I just completed based on a photograph by Chris Johnson. I will be working on another canvas painting soon that will be for sale, so stay tuned!
Tudosoiu Dragos, the creator of V-log’s new logo, has also created the new logo for International Save the Vaquita Day 2014:
Also, this Sunday, January 26th, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, California will be having their 44th annual Whale Fiesta. You can visit the Muskwa Club’s table, which will be spreading awareness for the critically endangered Vaquita porpoise. They will also be advertising my book, which will be available in Cabrillo’s gift shop. Please stop by for a whale of a time! 🙂
I was inspired by Betina Loudermilk’s comment on Facebook. She says that she will go on an eco-tour to look for the Vaquita if she is able to, which is amazing news! I hope many more people take the initiative and go on Vaquita-friendly eco-tours, because it is supporting the fishermen that switch careers from fishing with gillnets to giving eco-tours. You can read about some of the businesses that switched from gillnet fishing here: http://www.cedointercultural.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=69&Itemid=66. Also, here is a travel itinerary I made for a Vaquita-oriented vacation: https://vlogvaquita.com/2013/07/18/update-vaquita-vacation/. This is the comment thread I mentioned above:
17-year-old Frédérique Lucas from the Netherlands, known on deviantART as Namu the Orca, is the Muskwa Club’s first international member! She is an extremely talented artist with a passion for nature, especially cetaceans. She has agreed to do some Vaquita artwork to help raise awareness for the world’s most endangered marine mammal, so keep an eye out for some incredible Vaquita paintings in the near future!
The Muskwa Club’s newest project is: Viva Vaquita!—The Musical! Here is an article about it from Muskwa’s latest newsletter:
“Muskwa’s latest harebrained scheme continued to take shape this month. Viva Vaquita!—The Musical is already gathering widespread support amongst the South Bay and Peninsula theater communities.
The full-length musical will follow the basic plot line of Muskwa’s YouTube serials while injecting lively musical numbers in a Baja California setting.
Muskwa held the first development meeting on December 12 at Peninsula High. President William Whittenbury and local theater veteran Ashley Trutanich discussed the various aspects of musical production, including costs, sets, and necessary personnel. Muskwa’s musical will be original, so the organization will be able to avoid the crippling expenses often incurred by rights purchases.
In addition, Muskwan Hannah Hilden and noted Peninsula newscaster Natalie Edelstein have agreed to join the cast. Many others have also expressed interest. Local parent and talented artist Nancy Parsons has agreed to paint the sets, noting that she has always wanted to paint underwater backdrops.
Ms. Parsons is known for her beautiful sets for the Point Vicente Elementary Variety Shows, which formed a be-loved part of many Muskwans’ childhoods.
A tentative timetable would see the musical continue development for the duration of the school year, followed by performances in the summer. All profits will go directly to Vaquita charities.
¡Viva Vaquita! has also given us the go-ahead to use their name for the show, so it will be officially titled Viva Vaquita!—The Musical. Go Muskwa!”
It has been a spectacular year for the Vaquita and me. V-log got over 6,200 views from 68 countries in 2013, which is that many more people learning about the Vaquita. Check out this awesome report of this year on V-log, created by WordPress and with cool graphics: Click here to see the complete report.
I got some great art supplies for Christmas, and I started a Vaquita painting that should be finished within the next few weeks. In addition, I have plans to create prints and sell an original canvas painting, so stay tuned!
It’s official! International (yes, International) Save the Vaquita Day 2014 is on July 12th! This year promises to have more, better, and bigger venues than ever. Look out for an ISTVD 2014 logo in the very near future, as well as official updates on the event as venues are confirmed. Here is a wonderful picture by Uko Gorter. Let’s make 2014 the “Year of the Vaquita”!
As the year draws to a close, WWF takes a look back on the wonderful year of 2013 in their “15 WWF Success Stories of 2013.” Of course, the biggest Vaquita news in recent memory took place this June in the form of the Official Norm law, a new regulation that guarantees that all shrimp gillnets will be phased into Vaquita-safe trawls within the next 3 years! The Vaquita is featured at number 6 on the list because it was WWF’s petition (which garnered over 38,000 signatures from 127 countries) that caused the law in the first place. We cannot give enough thanks to WWF and everyone else that has helped the Vaquita so far in its eventful, 55-year history with us (the Vaquita was discovered in 1958). Let’s have a toast to a great 2014 for the Vaquita!
My sister and I came up with a fun holiday activity to find out your Vaquita name! For example, my name is Aidan and I was born in March, so my Vaquita name would be, “Vita Marina.” Have fun and please share!
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