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Welcome, readers of The Wild. I was thrilled to learn bald eagles nicknamed Shadow and Jackie laid the first egg of the season last week. The birds gained rock-star popularity ever since Friends of Big Bear Valley trained a webcam on the Big Bear Lake nest five years ago. About 5,000 people watch at any given time during the breeding period.
But when I tuned in Thursday, I didn’t see the eagles. What I saw were two ravens picking at what was left of the newly laid egg. It had been eaten. Viewers watched in horror as Jackie, the female, flew into the nest and searched for her egg. For some who responded with real-time comments, it was too much:
Housing and Development Newsletter
The program is offered in several modalities, including in the field in-person with a naturalist, as a self-guided tour, live or pre-recorded in-the-field webinar, and in-classroom with a naturalist.
The Maritime on the Move program was first pioneered in February with 150 middle school students from Carpinteria, and instead of having children visit the museum, the program focused on sending biologists and naturalists from the museum to schools to have students explore the marine ecosystems in their own backyards.
“Getting kids outdoors here in Santa Barbara where we are so fortunate to have such a rich, diverse and healthy marine ecosystem is just so important,” said Holly Lohuis, a marine biologist and educator at the museum. “Just giving students that emotional connection to appreciating the greater outdoors and the habitats that surround them is really fulfilling.”
» Santa Barbara Zoo: Offered a virtual tour of the zoo while it was closed
» Foodbank of Santa Barbara County: Created new ways of serving the community at 50 sites; restaurants are making meals that the Foodbank delivers to individuals
» Wilderness Youth Project: Offered playful and interactive group calls for children of all ages
» Alpha Resource Center: Created a virtual bulletin board as a great resource of information for families navigating these challenging times
» Mental Wellness Center: Operated a virtual program providing many support group opportunities and community resources
Celebrate Together
Now it’s time to celebrate your successes. Don’t forget that lessons learned are successes, too. Make your official “celebration list.” Find innovative ways to gather your team to applaud and honor all of your wins this past year.
Housing and Development Newsletter
Arthur Beaumont: Art of the Sea an exhibit of 53 paintings chronicling the accomplishments of the U.S. Navy, from the USS Constitution to atomic bomb tests and expeditions to the North and South poles will be at the SBMM until the end of May, the last show on the West Coast before it leaves for the East Coast.
Beaumont used Impressionist techniques in painting the images in the exhibit and in capturing the majesty of the oceans and the vessels that sail them. The show will be accompanied by a book of his life and art, also titled Arthur Beaumont: Art of the Sea, written by Beaumont’s son Geoffrey and published by the Irvine Museum in Irvine, California.
Housing and Development Newsletter
All the materials can be customized based on the needs of the community, the teacher and the classroom, as well as by parents teaching their children using resources available at sbmm.org/at-home/.
SBMM s learning programs encourage curiosity through exhibits, experiential learning, and community outreach for all ages, with emphasis on California’s maritime history and human interactions with the sea.
The three versions of MotM feature Carpinteria’s salt marsh, beach, tar pits, and seal rookery; Santa Barbara Harbor; and Guadalupe s Oso Flaco Lake and beach. Additional materials will be developed for the Santa Ynez Valley and Lompoc.