The event seeks to inspire and inform local youth on making positive choices today in order to achieve successful future outcomes as they learn from community leaders and professionals about their career paths, engage in informative workshops, are inspired by passionate speakers and participate in a Resource/Demonstration Fair.

Marine Life Studies will set you up with all the gear for Take It To The Streets™ including gloves, bucket, grabber, data sheet to record trash picked up, and our cool safety vest.

 Make a difference picking up trash along the bike path, downtown, and local neighborhoods. Free giveaways for participating!

Also appearing is Peggy Stap, Research Director of Marine Life Studies, with her canine research assistant, Whiskie the Whale Spotter™.............   Whiskie will do her whale tricks!

Whiskie helps Peggy and her volunteer research assistants find whales and dolphins out on Monterey Bay!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 10:00 AM
Sally Griffin Active Living Center
700 Jewell Ave., Pacific Grove, CA
Free Admission

Meet Peggy Stap, Research Director and Founder of Marine Life Studies, and her experienced canine research assistant, “Whiskie The Whale Spotter™”. You’ll learn about her research on whales and dolphins in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, how scientists identify humpback and killer whales, and you’ll see an incredible video of a blue whale. Peggy will share exciting stories from her years of research experience. Enjoy the show as “Whiskie The Whale Spotter ™” performs whale tricks!

Mr. Anderson, teacher of the students in the class from Robert Down School in Pacific Grove wrote: “My class went on an amazing trip to the Monterey Wharf to study calamari. ‘Squid Eaters’, presented by Marine Life Studies was a very interesting and informative part of the trip. The pictures of the Risso’s Dolphins with all the scratch marks on their skin from eating squid were incredible. I learned a lot from the presentation.”

​The presentation introduced Marine Life Studies new Junior Research Scientist Program which is designed to teach and inspire the next generation to protect marine wildlife and is funded by the Joey Jones Scholarship and Educational Fund. All children in the class received a kit, and a Junior Research Scientist button and certificate.

​Stap’s non-profit organization created the Joey Jones Scholarship and Education Fund in honor of Moss Landing resident and commercial fisherman, Joey Jones, who lost his life at sea April 3, 2008. Joey Jones’ love of the sea and fishing was the inspiration behind the scholarship. “Regulation, fishing closures and environmental concerns have created tensions between fisherman and those attempting to create sustainability and a healthy ocean,” says Stap. “Joey wanted to bridge the gap between the marine science community and commercial fishing community through cooperation and dialogue.” The Joey Jones Scholarship Program will provide free educational opportunities for students interested in pursuing oceanic studies.

​Peggy Stap is the Founder and Executive Director of Marine Life Studies, a registered non-profit organization with 501C(3) status. She has been volunteering, researching and teaching the public about marine wildlife since 1998. Currently, Ms. Stap is the Principal Investigator under a NOAA - National Marine Fisheries Service, GA Research Permit to study marine wildlife in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and is a United States Coast Guard Licensed Captain.

Contact: Marine Life Studies - 831-901-3833

The class included a photographic journey, fun facts and hands-on activities. Children learned how to recognize and identify marine wildlife, and how the animals eat, sleep and stay warm. The group went to a nearby park to lay out lines of different lengths which represented the size of several marine mammals in Monterey Bay. The blue whale line was the longest – blue whales are the largest mammals at over 100’ long. “Wow! That is huge!” shouted one of the students.

Then the kids actually observed blue whales blowing and feeding on an exciting whale watch on the Princess Monterey. They also saw a female humpback whale with her calf. The calf put on a show and breached several times splashing in the water! On the way back to the Fisherman’s Wharf, humpback whales swam near the boat. Educational and thrilling, it was day to remember!

The Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District will be offering a Marine Life Studies Adventure, Whales and Dolphins of Monterey Bay in the fall of 2010. Peggy Stap will be the instructor for this exciting activity where kids will learn research techniques, photo identification, data collection, and GPS positioning. They will have the opportunity to practice newly learned research techniques on a Princess Monterey whale watch on Monterey Bay.

Peggy Stap is the Founder and Executive Director of Marine Life Studies, a registered non-profit organization with 501C(3) status. She has been volunteering, researching and teaching the public about marine wildlife since 1998.

Contact: Marine Life Studies - 831-901-3833

This program including classes, whale watch and bus transportation for the children provided free of charge to the Boys & Girls Clubs by Marine Life Studies "Joey Jones Scholarship and Educational Fund".  Monies to fund this project were raised through the Monterey County gives! 2010 campaign.

You can make a difference and help bring more life-changing experiences to kids by donating today to the Monterey County gives! 2011 campaign.

Jenna and Peggy are excited to bring marine debris awareness programs for Club Members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County. The topic, "Pollution Solutions", empowers kids with the knowledge that everyday choices they make can make a difference. They will be screening the film "Bag It" as part of the program.  There will be hands-on activities for the kids.

Classes will be held at both the Salinas and the Seaside Club. Marine Studies is a Community Partner of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County and provides free educational programs to the children. As children learn, they become engaged and inspired! Marine Life Studies educational programs provide the children the opportunity to discover they have an interest in becoming scientists to study the oceans, or in becoming active stewards of the environment, or to know they have the power to create positive change now and for future generations. 

Jenna Contuchio, Education Coordinator, engaging kids at the Boys & Girls Clubs, the Salinas unit.

Presented to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County in July

​The Seaside Club will host the program on Wednesday, July 24, and the Salinas Club will host the program on Tuesday, July 25. Children from both Clubs go whale watching on July 31.

In the classroom, children learn how to identify whales and dolphins and fun facts, like how and what marine wildlife eats. Then the class goes whale watching on the boat “Greatland” with Princess Monterey Whale Watching at Fisherman’s Wharf. Peggy Stap remarks, “The program is an exciting learning experience for the children. While observing marine wildlife on the whale watch, they see firsthand what they learned in the classroom. They really have a whale of a good time!”

The Marine Life Studies Whale and Wildlife Adventure Program at the Boys & Girls Club of Monterey County is made possible in part by a grant from the Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation.

For more information, contact Michelle Slade at 831-394-5171 or mslade@bgcmc.org

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County (BGCMC) has played an integral role in the community for over 43 years.  With Clubhouses in Seaside and Salinas, BGCMC provides youth between the ages of 6-18 an afterschool safe haven where they are mentored to achieve academic success, acquire healthy lifestyles, and develop good character and citizenship.  Over 95% of the total budget comes from generous individuals, corporations and foundations. The Clubs are open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. during summer and school breaks, and from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. when school is in session.  Additional information is available at www.bgcmc.org or via phone at 831-394-5171.

Salinas and Seaside, CA – March 15, 2012. Jenna Contuchio and Peggy Stap of Marine Life Studies will be facilitating the new program, Take it to the Streets™, a Marine Life Studies Plastic Police education and activity initiative for Club Members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County. Take it to the Streets™ goes inland, getting Club Members involved in cleanup efforts in the streets of their neighborhoods. Since greater than 80% of pollution found during beach cleanups is from land-based sources, the program gives children who do not live directly on the ocean (which is in their own backyard) the opportunity to actively play a part in the solution and help keep pollution out of the eco-system before it ever gets into our waterways and into the ocean. Club Members learn why it is important to keep our waterways clean and our oceans healthy, and how changes in their everyday lives can bring about positive change to the environment.

Take it to the Streets™ helps build self-esteem while encouraging the children’s commitment to environmental stewardship. The program gives them the knowledge base and tools necessary to make a change in their community.

The Seaside Club will host the program on Wednesday, March 28th at 1 pm for 10 - 13 year olds,
The Salinas Club will host the program on Wednesday, April 4h at 1 pm for 10 - 13 year olds,
For more information, contact Michelle Slade at 831-394-5171 or mslade@bgcmc.org

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County (BGCMC) has played an integral role in the community for over 43 years. With Clubhouses in Seaside and Salinas, BGCMC provides youth between the ages of 6-18 an afterschool safe haven where they are mentored to achieve academic success, acquire healthy lifestyles, and develop good character and citizenship. Over 95% of the total budget comes from generous individuals, corporations and foundations. The Clubs are open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. during summer and school breaks, and from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. when school is in session. Additional information is available at www.bgcmc.org or via phone at 831-394-5171.

Marine Life Studies is a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching and inspiring the public to protect the oceans, whales, dolphins and other marine life. Through our educational programs, children learn about the oceans and marine life, and the importance of protecting the environment entrusted to us all. Additional information is available at the website www.marinelifestudies.org or via phone at 831-901-3833.

I first met Peggy a year and a half ago when I spent a month living in her home, assisting with her research and writing about her life. As friends warned her at the time, “It’s a risk having a stranger stay in your home for a month!” But, Peggy had a good feeling about it and, love and gratitude, luckily enough she was right and we became good friends. If you read the previous post you will know that I consider Peggy to be a Fool, (a compliment indeed when you know the context), and she is probably the one woman in the world most able to make me laugh until my whole body crumples to the floor in exhaustion.

Staying with her again this April felt like a home coming… even though she has moved house. And seeing as her new home is like a tree house, (one in which Whiskie drapes herself luxuriously onto every comfy chair, rug or bed available), I felt instantly relaxed and back in touch with the natural world.