'Tis the Season to give thanks!

Thank you for your support and kindness throughout the year from all of us at Marine Life Studies. Your encouragement, support and donations make a difference! We wish you a very wonderful holiday season and a prosperous New Year!

I would also like to extend a huge thank you to all the volunteers that are the driving force behind Marine Life Studies. Their hard work, unparalled dedication and passion are an inspiration to me.

​Upcoming Events:

-  December 27, 28, January 2 and 3: Marine Life Studies providing free educational programs at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County, both Seaside and Salinas units. Jenna Contuchio, Education Coordinator, and Peggy Stap, Research Director, are excited to bring marine deris awareness programs for the kids at the Boys & Girls Clubs. The topic, "Pollution Solutions", empowers kids with the knowledge that everyday choices they make do make a difference. We will be screening the film "Bag It". There will be interactive hands-on activities for the kids. 

Put a smile on a child withMonterey County gives! 2011....Click here to read more about it. Donate by midnight Dec. 31st& your donation will
receive a match.

-  Whalefest, 2012, Saturday January 21: Whalefest - a free, public event. Join the fun at Old Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey, California for Whalefest 2012. There will be games, activities and educational events throughout the day including a Scavenger Hunt, Bocce Ball Tournament, Climb Inside a 60-foot Gray Whale, Marine Life Studies will be presenting a special screening of "Bag It" and Jenna Contuchio, Education Coordinator for Marine Life Studies, will give a special presentation afterwards. Peggy Stap, Executive Director, will give presentation on “Whales and Dolphins of Monterey” after the BLUE Ocean’s screening of Humpback Code. Stop by the Marine Life Studies booth for fun hands-on activities for kids and adults. Get a free Origami Whale Kit. Click here for more details. See the YouTube video.

-  Whale Tales 2012, Maui, Hawaii: Peggy Stap will see you in Maui on February 3rd and 4th as she will be there assisting with Whale Tales. Whale Tales – a free, public event that provides ocean enthusiasts an opportunity to learn about whales and the oceans from world-renowned scientists, photographers, and filmmakers – will be held at the Ritz Carlton, Kapalua on February 3 and 4, 2012. Click here for more details.

Have fun, win prize worth over $2200 and stretch your dollar as all donations receive a 15% match from the Monterey Peninsula Foundation during the Birdies for Charity. Donate today!!!!!!Make a difference.  

Click Here to Donate now.

Make your donation in someone's honor or memory with "Give A Gift That Gives" and still enter to win the grand prize.

Click here for details.

To bring you up to speed on what has been going on let's start with the most recent and work back since it has been a while since the last blog post. Time flies way too fast for us at Marine Life Studies.

December 12, 2011: Marine Life Studies was invited to be part of Community Day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was great fun meeting people from all over.... even more fun to watch them play "Guess What This Is?". Some of the guesses were a palm frond a plant, sculpture, and it goes on. Everyone was amazed to learn that is was baleen from a blue whale that washed ashore back in 2005 on Del Monte beach. Kids loved to touch and feel the baleen, were excited to see the big black eyes on the tiny krill and to hold the bone from a whale.               

A couple different kids stopped by all excited when they saw us at the aquarium. One little girl from Salinas ran up and said, "You're the ones who took us on the boat this summer." Another young boy exclaimed, "You took us whale watching and we saw a blue whale. It was so much fun and I learned about whales." Both of the children were from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County where we provided free educational programs last summer and then took the children whale watching. It really had an impact on the kids and it was the first time either of them had ever been on a boat on the ocean. Your donations were essential in providing these opportunities to the children. Thank you and please continue to support us. Donate today!

November 13, 2011: Marine Life Studies' Jenna Contuchio, Education and Volunteer Coordinator, along with Peggy Stap, Executive and Research Director, joined Theresa Wright, host of Feedback at Five as her featured guests on KSBW-TV. With all of the excitement going on with the whales feeding so close to shore in Santa Cruz and the amazing photographs of whales and kayakers that made the national news, Peggy and Jenna stressed the need for people to observe the proper viewing guidelines for whales and dolphins, for their own safety and the safety of the whales, dolphins and other marine wildlife. Marine Life Studies developed a waterproof ocean users' guide, "Marine Mammals of Northern California".

October: What a fun but busy month for Marine Life Studies. First I want to thank all of you that supported us by eating dinner at Hula’s Tiki Grill every Monday night in October as we received 10% of the total sales. We all had fun catching up and breaking bread with a lot of people throughout the month that came to support our efforts. Mahalo!!!!!

On October 21st we had our very first fundraiser Flip for Whales™. We plan on having it as an annual event it was so much fun. We were fortunate to have as our featured guest, National Geographic photographer Charles “Flip” Nicklin. We left Moss Landing harbor on a sunset cruise aboard "High Spirits" with Blue Ocean Whale Watch. Rick Cortes, an amazing singer and songwriter, graced us with his music for the evening. It was a small, intimate affair where people could mingle and talk to Flip about his life with whales. Flip signed his new book, 'Among Giants: A Life with Whales'. Wine and appetizers were served. The food was incredible, catered by Whole Foods Monterey Catering Team and we had yummy brownie bites from Rosine's of Monterey.

It was a fabulous evening. We really lucked out as the sun appeared just as we were shoving off. The seas were calm and the skies blue, which enabled us to actually see the elusive phenomenon, “The Green Flash”. Some say it is a myth but it is an actual occurrence but so rarely seen as the conditions have to be just perfect. It was a thrill for all on board.

Flip Nicklin

Rick Cortes

People that attended Flip for Whales™ called to tell us that the whole evening was so much fun.... first class.... top notch.... and they definitely will be there next year. Thank you to all that made the evening a success.

Check out the video on YouTube!

The funds raised enable us to continue our important programs including classes for the children at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County, both Seaside and Salinas Units, our on-going whale and dolphin research out on Monterey Bay, and our conservation efforts such as our Plastic Police initiative "Take it to the Streets™".