Congratulations to Jonathan for correctly answering Quiz #4 first! Look out for another quiz soon!
Tag Archives: Vaquita
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!
I’ll be back
Here is what the t-shirt looks like (they simplified my drawings’ colors and details for easier printing):
I have been and will continue to be extremely busy for the next few months, due to the publishing of my book, the creation of the VCS, and helping coordinate National Save the Vaquita Day (July 6). I may not be able to post as many things during this time. But believe me, I am going to have a lot of stories to tell when it’s all over.
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:
Endangered Species Day 2013
Friday, May 17 was Endangered Species Day 2013. As a donation to our beautiful world, please buy a Vaquita t-shirt at https://campaign.customink.com/savethevaquita.
To my delight, my campaign is currently featured in the “Trending Campaigns” section of Custom Ink’s home page, https://campaign.customink.com! Help keep it there by purchasing one for only around $25! They also make a great gift. 25% of profits will go to ¡Viva Vaquita!, and the rest will go towards the printing of my book. The book will be featured in at least two aquariums’ gift shops and will be at many tables for National Save the Vaquita Day! Look for further updates on all of these things in the future. If you have not already, follow my blog (look in the right sidebar) to receive all new posts by email, just so you don’t miss anything.
Baiji poster
I’ll admit, I got a little teary-eyed after looking at this picture. Please don’t let the Vaquita follow in the footsteps of its unfortunate cousin, the Baiji. You can help by purchasing a t-shirt here: https://campaign.customink.com/savethevaquita.
Custom Ink campaign
Using my own artwork, I have created a new Vaquita t-shirt with Custom Ink. Thanks to a comment by Karle from Custom Ink, I have discovered the Campaign feature. It is basically what I thought the Signup Sheet was originally. I have created a campaign, so now anyone in the world can purchase one and get it right to their door. The campaign ends on June 17, 2013 at 11:59 pm, and 100% of profits will go to the Vaquita. Please buy one and tell everyone you know to do the same, so I can reach my goal of 50 shirts sold! Post it on Facebook and Twitter, too! Here is the campaign: https://campaign.customink.com/savethevaquita. Thanks.
Interview
In an interview with Chris Johnson, Dr. Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho stated that the Vaquita probably has the cleanest blubber of any marine mammal. This is a direct result of the health of the Gulf of California, which is one of the least polluted and most naturally productive areas of ocean in the world. This shows how simple the Vaquita’s threat is. Once we remove the gillnets, the Vaquita is in one of the best possible places to thrive. Watch the inspirational interview below. (Not viewable in email.)
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.
Mahalo Mondays
Tomorrow, Monday the 29th, is the last day to join ¡Viva Vaquita! at Hula’s Island Grill and Tiki Room in Monterey, California for Mahalo Mondays, where 10% of all sales go to ¡Viva Vaquita!. Dinner starts at 4 pm.
Please email Endangered Species Chocolate at info@chocolatebar.com and ask them to make a Vaquita bar. It would be an enormous deal for such a big company to advertise the Vaquita!
Also, you probably noticed that I completely changed how my blog looks. I personally like it better now. How do you feel about it?
And, for the 100th News Update, I would like to end with a riddle. Submit your answers in the comments.
What is a Vaquita’s favorite model of computer?
V-log 