Here is the Muskwa Club’s official coverage of National Save the Vaquita Day from their monthly newsletter The Phoenix and the Flame. Please enjoy some firsthand accounts of the day and learn a bit more about this wonderful organization.
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First donation details
A huge thanks to everyone who bought my book in its debut month! I am going to send a check of 25% of my earnings to ¡Viva Vaquita! (like I will for every future month), along with additional money going to other Vaquita causes, like the all-new switch-out charity (see post below for link).
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Here are the details of the donation:
Between June 28 and July 30, I sold:
19 books online (15 via https://www.createspace.com/4268018, and 4 via Amazon.com), equaling $117.13
and 21 books in person, equaling $280.00
for a total of $397.13
and an average of $9.93 per book
Total donation to ¡Viva Vaquita!: rounded up to $100
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So for my first month of the book, I will be donation $100 to ¡Viva Vaquita!, leaving $297.13 for other organizations and future endeavors of us and the Muskwa Club.
Now it is time to get ready for next month’s donation! If you haven’t already bought the book, or you want more, please purchase as many as you would like from https://www.createspace.com/4268018. Thank you!
Visit a table on National Save the Vaquita Day
Saturday, July 6, marks enormous day for everyone in the Vaquita world. It is National Save the Vaquita Day, which we Muskwans created as a day to celebrate and teach the world about the wonderful Vaquita. We are going to have tables at in 9 cities, run by members of the Muskwa Club, the American Cetacean Society, and NOAA. Please celebrate this monumental event with us at one of the locations below.
Key: Maroon—Muskwa Club, Indigo—Muskwa and the American Cetacean Society, Orange—American Cetacean Society, Magenta—Muskwa Club and NOAA
Point Vicente Interpretive Center, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Virginia Beach Aquarium, Virginia Beach, VA
Oklahoma Aquarium, Tulsa, OK
Monterey, CA
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Los Angeles, CA
Maritime Gloucester, Gloucester, MA
Oregon
Point Dume, CA
Waikiki Aquarium, Honolulu, HI
If you have any questions about the event, please email William Whittenbury at wawhittenbury@aol.com.
Email Obama
For my 200th post, I am asking you to email President Obama with this message asking him to make July 6 National Save the Vaquita Day. His “Other Inquiries” email address is support@barackobama.com. Thanks from the Muskwa Club!
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June 19, 2013
Dear President Obama:
We have an easy, no-cost way for you to make a critical difference to precious lives. We, the Muskwa Club, would like you to proclaim July 6, 2013 as “National Save the Vaquita Day.” The Muskwa Club was started by kids to promote value-added activities for Middle School and High School age students. We take field trips to places of educational interest, we build engineering projects, we host a speaker series to showcase our members’ passions, and we engage in community service activities. Saving the Vaquita has become our number one service project.
The Vaquita is the smallest, arguably cutest and definitely most endangered marine mammal. These precious porpoises live in the Sea of Cortez and have a range only one quarter the size of metropolitan Los Angeles. Only about 170 Vaquita remain in existence today and approximately 30 die each year due to accidental gill net entanglement. If nothing more is done, they will be functionally extinct by 2017. We can’t let this happen! Solutions have been created such as Vaquita safe nets, and the Mexican government is working on the problem. However, the current economic climate necessitates that we all pitch in and help our neighbors to the south.
Our club is working very hard to raise awareness of the Vaquita. The more people who know about these beloved porpoises, the more likely they will receive what they need to survive extinction. So far we have hosted five Vaquita awareness tables at local events in the Southern California area. We plan to host at least three more during World Ocean’s Day on both the west and east coasts of the US. However, our really big push will be on July 6, 2013 when we will host a tri-coastal event. The Waikiki Aquarium in your home State, and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, CA have confirmed. The National Aquarium is very interested in allowing us to host a table there and we have tentative agreements with seven more aquariums across the country. All we need from you is to officially proclaim the day “National Save the Vaquita Day.” That will help promote media attention to our efforts, show that you care about this important international issue, and shine a much needed light on the plight of the Vaquita.
In addition to our awareness table efforts, we are also producing a series of videos about the Vaquita, have our own website, Facebook page, Twitter account, and YouTube Channel, and we speak locally to school science classes about the Vaquita. We’ve established alliances with the American Cetacean Society, Los Serenos de Pt. Vicente, Viva Vaquita, and V-log. At our request, the American Cetacean Society, Los Angeles Chapter has set up a fund to which people can contribute toward the net switch out program. We do not collect money, being minors, but we feel we can be a force for change. Please help us!
Sincerely,
[Your name]
World Oceans Day summary
Sunday, June 9, was the New England Aquarium‘s World Oceans Day Celebration. My family and I had a Vaquita table there, and it went better than well. We got the all-time Muskwa record of 438 table visitors, and combined with Muskwa’s other two tables in California and Connecticut, we directly educated 803 people about the Vaquita this weekend for World Oceans Day! Boston is a beautiful city and the aquarium is amazing, and combined with the perfect, non-windy weather right on the peaceful harbor, the stage was set for an amazing day.
We set up the table at about 10:15 am and the visitors started flowing in 15 minutes early at about 10:45. We got almost 20 people before the event even started. And for the rest of the day, we got almost 100 visitors per hour.
At the table, we had a lot of things. Behind us was a beautiful, life-size Vaquita vinyl banner hanging via one of my mom’s photography backdrop holders. The table was covered in a nice black tablecloth and had comfortable chairs, both put there before we arrived. On the table we had:
1. About 250 paper Vaquita cutouts that kids got to color with markers and pastels. We then tangled up the Vaquita in the fishing net taped to the front of the table for the kids to rescue and take home. On the back of the Vaquitas were V-log and the Muskwa Club’s and web addresses for parents to visit.
2. A poster featuring some of my drawings and included information on the Vaquita.
3. Flyers with info on the Vaquita, with instructions on how to donate to the switch-out, a link to my blog, and more.
4. Examples of what a Vaquita looks like, including paper Vaquitas decorated by my siblings, drawings by various artists, and plush Vaquitas.
5. And of course, ourselves to engage and teach people of all ages about this tiny endangered porpoise.
As the day went on, we got more comfortable with our “speech,” which was the guideline of what we said to every visitor of the table. It explained the basics of the Vaquita’s situation and ended with telling them how they could help and giving them a flyer if they were really interested. We ended up giving away all but one flyer, and all of the paper Vaquitas. In fact, we gave away the last of 250 paper Vaquitas to a kid at 3:59, with one minute left of the event. Everyone we talked to seemed very interested in the Vaquita’s situation, and the kids loved the craft. Because it would be difficult and unnecessary for all five of my family members to attend the table at the same time during the entire five-hour event, we took shifts where two or three of us walked around while the rest covered the table. While walking around, we checked out the other tables, which were all very interesting and worth spending some time at.
We also explored the New England Aquarium itself. The aquarium is probably the nicest I have ever been to. They are right on the harbor, and Boston is a very laid back city, which provided a very peaceful atmosphere. Inside the aquarium were some amazing animals and exhibits. They have Myrtle the Green Sea Turtle, who could be 85 years old, Atlantic Harbor and Northern Fur Seals, California Sea Lions, adorable Little Blue Penguins, and hundreds of species of fish and other marine life. But perhaps my favorite exhibit was Voices in the Sea. Voices in the Sea is a touchscreen exhibit (see blogroll) that features many marine mammals with information, videos, and more about the animal. I had suspicions that VITS would be at the New England Aquarium, so when I found it, I was pleasantly surprised. The best part is that VITS has the Vaquita! All of the information is 100% accurate, and there are three videos explaining different aspects of the Vaquita’s situation. I was glad to see that the aquarium was educating people about the Vaquita with Voices in the Sea.
World Oceans Day was the best day of my life. I loved educating people directly about the Vaquita, because I was so used to just writing about it. It was a rewarding experience that I hope to duplicate on National Save the Vaquita Day, July 6.
Official Norm
About a week ago, the Mexican government took an enormous step in saving the Vaquita. The government has created something called the “Official Norm,” a regulation that plans on completely switching out all gillnets with Vaquita-safe trawls in the next 3 years. They hope to switch out 30% this year, 30% next year, and 40% in the third year. This giant step was taken due to the over 38,000 signatures on WWF’s petition to Enrique Peña Nieto, the Mexican president. Read WWF’s article about this landmark announcement: http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?208988%2FMexico-approves-measure-to-save-worlds-rarest-marine-mammal.
To donate to the switch-out through the American Cetacean Society Los Angeles Chapter’s new switch-out charity, send a check by mail to: P.O. Box 1208, San Pedro, CA 90733-1208. It is very important that you write “Vaquita” on the memo line for it to go to the switch-out.
If you would like to help make the Official Norm successful, please copy, paste, and send this resolution created by the Muskwa Club to any member of the U.S. government that you can:
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A Resolution to Support Mexico in its Effort to Prevent the Extinction of the Vaquita.
WHEREAS, The Vaquita is the most endangered marine mammal, with less than 200 individuals remaining, and is heavily threatened by incidental gillnet bycatch; and
WHEREAS, The Vaquita is likely to become extinct within the next several years; and
WHEREAS, It would not be acceptable for extinction of an intelligent and unique species to occur; and
WHEREAS, The government of Mexico has adopted an Official Norm to replace all shrimp gillnets within the Vaquita’s range with sustainable fishing gear within the next three years;
RESOLVED, That the Congress here assembled commends the government of Mexico for its step to save the Vaquita and strongly encourages the government thereof to successfully complete the program within the allotted time; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, That the government of the United States highly recommends that the government of Mexico develop sustainable finfishing gear as a further guarantor of the Vaquita’s survival.
Introduced for Congressional Debate by (will be filled in shortly).
Switch-out charity
Thanks to William Whittenbury, the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Cetacean Society has turned our ideas for the Vaquita Conservation Society into reality. Though it is still in the beginnings, they have created a charity that sends its donations to the switch-out program, (where the government gives fishermen alternative, Vaquita-safe fishing gear) and they are the first group to do so. Right now, the only way to donate is to send a check by mail to: P.O. Box 1208, San Pedro, CA 90733-1208. It is very important that you write “Vaquita” on the memo line for it to go to the switch-out. I believe that the best chance for the Vaquita is the switch-out, because the new trawls provide the ideal results for both man and porpoise. Eventually, the charity will be much more public and have a bigger impact, but, as I said, the charity is still taking its baby steps. Please share this post with your friends (click on the title of the post and then scroll down until you see the social media buttons) and donate.
Also, a new idea is forming within the Muskwa Headquarters that could be our biggest project yet. Stay tuned.
World Oceans Day
Attention! Please join me at the New England Aquarium on June 9 for their World Oceans Day Celebration! My family and I will have a Vaquita table there with brochures, crafts, and much more! The event is on Sunday, June 9 from 11:00 am-4:00 pm at 1 Central Wharf, Boston, Massachusetts. The celebration will be outside behind the aquarium right on the harbor. I will be running one of the many tables manned by non-profit organizations or community groups (in this case, I am from the Muskwa Club). I would love to see some of you there, and if you do come, please say hi and tell me that you came from my blog. I will post pictures from the event afterwards. For more info on the event, visit http://www.eventkeeper.com/clients/neaq/ek_neaq.cfm?allArgsTBD&curMonth=6&curYear=2013#6/9/2013. See you there!
Vaquita Conservation Society
I have been thinking about this for a very long time now. My idea is the Vaquita Conservation Society, or VCS. After all of the craziness of the book and National Save the Vaquita Day is over, I am going to start a new organization. The goal of the organization will be to educate the public about the Vaquita and hopefully serve as the first charity directly sending money to the switch-out program. I plan on working closely with the Muskwa Club and possibly the American Cetacean Society to create a new website with a similar look to these awesome pages: Manta Trust and Polar Bears International. Some of the pages will include: About the Vaquita, How to Help, Our Mission, Our Projects, and a News Page. It will closely follow all of the action of the Muskwa Club and everyone that will be associated with the VCS, and go hand in hand with V-log (which will continue as normal). More updates to come. I even have the logo created:
Muskwa’s National Save the Vaquita Day
The Muskwa Club has put up the first episode of their series of shadow puppet videos. You can watch it below. Also, their website is now www.muskwaclub.org.
Attention Muskwa Club members: the deadline for ordering a Vaquita t-shirt is Tuesday, May 7 at 11:59 pm, though I may extend the deadline slightly. Order it here: http://www.customink.com/signup/2nvhf7s2.
I have made a lot of progress on my book, including finishing all text, almost finishing all the illustrations, and I have front and back cover images (courtesy of Memuco and Tom Jefferson). I might even get NOAA or The Cousteau Society to pay for printing by sponsoring it! I hope to send it off to publishing this month.
Immense progress has been made with Muskwa’s National Save the Vaquita Day, about which they are contacting the president to make it an official day, July 6th. They have many, many aquariums participating in or considering participating in the event, with the Waikiki and Cabrillo Aquariums being confirmed for that day. Also, there is a chance I will be manning a table at the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts on June 9 for World Oceans Day, and the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland on July 6 for National Save the Vaquita Day, if they confirm their participation in the event.
The Muskwa Club has a huge range of contacts in every imaginable niche, which is helping make all of this possible. They will be selling my book on July 6 at many of their tables, (¡Viva Vaquita! will be doing the same), and the Cabrillo Aquarium has even offered to sell the book at their gift shop! The Muskwa Club has many projects that they are keeping under wraps for now, but believe me, they are awesome! Also, I am now writing a column for the Muskwa Club’s monthly newsletter.
In other news, Jonathan answered the riddle correctly! Q: What is a Vaquita’s favorite model of computer? A: Microsoft Surface.
V-log 