Marine Life studies stands with maui, HAWAII
Our hearts are broken as we watched the catastrophic wildfires that devastated Lahaina and other communities on the island of Maui. We are mourning with them and have reached out to all who we care about on the island. Our hearts go out to the families who have lost loved ones or their homes and livelihoods in this horrific tragedy.
We extend our prayers and support to our volunteers, donors, friends, and family who have a connection to the island. Marine Life Studies has strong ties to Hawaii, especially Maui. Peggy Stap, our Executive Director and Founder, has been conducting research since 1998 in both the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (HIHWNMS). Peggy was a Co-Investigator on a research permit under Dr. Dan Salden from 2000 to 2011 in Maui.
As a child growing up in Michigan, Peggy dreamed of swimming with dolphins. Years later, while on a family vacation in Hawaii, she saw a humpback whale for the first time at age 41 and it sparked a dream that changed her life forever. Peggy sold her business in Michigan and became a researcher for the Hawaii Whale Research Foundation (HWRF). From there, she found her way to Monterey, California and began working with local research organizations, and eventually started our nonprofit, Marine Life Studies in 2006.
The Whale Entanglement Team (WET)® may be Marine Life Studies’ greatest achievement. Peggy and Mary Whitney (founder of Fluke Foundation and Board Member of Marine Life Studies) received a call from a fisherman reporting an entangled humpback whale in Carmel Bay while at Marine Life Studies’ first garage sale fundraiser in 2006. They had both volunteered in Maui for different research teams and were part of the whale disentanglement network lead by Ed Lyman, who was the Marine Mammal Response Manager for the HIHWNMS. After receiving the entangled whale report and making some phone calls, Peggy was surprised to learn there was no disentanglement network in central and northern California. After exhausting all of her resources, Mary suggested Peggy call Ed Lyman. Together with NOAA Enforcement and Ed’s guidance, Peggy and Mary put together a team that responded and disentangled the humpback whale. Afterwards, the they started their quest to form a regional network.
Peggy called Maui home for a big chunk of her life and is eternally grateful for the experiences and opportunities she had there. She made connections with people and formed everlasting friendships. Just a few years ago, a group of 7 women from WET® traveled to Maui to participate in whale disentanglement training to experience a different style and protocol they have in Hawaii in relation to efforts in Monterey Bay. We had a classroom portion where we reviewed case studies and checked out new or innovated tools that have been used for responses. And more recently, we have partnered up with HWRF to help them scan and go through photo slides that have never been scanned since Dr. Dan Salden passed away before things could get properly organized.
This is why we are so connected to Maui. We hope the people of Maui are resilient and find strength for the recovery in the next days, months, and years ahead. As the relief efforts unfold, Marine Life Studies is dedicated to respond where help is needed. Although we are a small organization, we have started our efforts by donating hundreds worth of personal hygiene items, such as: soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. We also plan on shipping our Marine Life Studies merchandise (logo shirts and hoodies), along with personal items of clothing. We also plan on sending hundreds of goodie bags with educational material, coloring sheets, crayons, small toys, and stickers to the children that have lost everything.
We are donating these items to the United Public Workers (UPW). They can distribute the supplies to families affected by the devastating wildfires. If you are interested in sending items, UPW is accepting donations of warm clothing and bedding, toiletries, non-perishable food items, baby items, and water. Their address is 841 Kolu Street, Wailuku, Maui, 96793. You can easily ship your goods yourself or you can order off of Amazon and ship to their address. You can mark the items as a “gift” online when you order and write a note in the description box so they know who sent it.
If you are interested in donating to Marine Life Studies to offset our costs of the items we are shipping above, please donate on our website at www.MarineLifeStudies.org/donate. Be sure to pick Maui Wildfire Relief Fund as the project you are funding. 100% of the money will be used to fund the educational goodie bags or printing costs of our logo shirts/hoodies.
We extend our prayers and support to our volunteers, donors, friends, and family who have a connection to the island. Marine Life Studies has strong ties to Hawaii, especially Maui. Peggy Stap, our Executive Director and Founder, has been conducting research since 1998 in both the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (HIHWNMS). Peggy was a Co-Investigator on a research permit under Dr. Dan Salden from 2000 to 2011 in Maui.
As a child growing up in Michigan, Peggy dreamed of swimming with dolphins. Years later, while on a family vacation in Hawaii, she saw a humpback whale for the first time at age 41 and it sparked a dream that changed her life forever. Peggy sold her business in Michigan and became a researcher for the Hawaii Whale Research Foundation (HWRF). From there, she found her way to Monterey, California and began working with local research organizations, and eventually started our nonprofit, Marine Life Studies in 2006.
The Whale Entanglement Team (WET)® may be Marine Life Studies’ greatest achievement. Peggy and Mary Whitney (founder of Fluke Foundation and Board Member of Marine Life Studies) received a call from a fisherman reporting an entangled humpback whale in Carmel Bay while at Marine Life Studies’ first garage sale fundraiser in 2006. They had both volunteered in Maui for different research teams and were part of the whale disentanglement network lead by Ed Lyman, who was the Marine Mammal Response Manager for the HIHWNMS. After receiving the entangled whale report and making some phone calls, Peggy was surprised to learn there was no disentanglement network in central and northern California. After exhausting all of her resources, Mary suggested Peggy call Ed Lyman. Together with NOAA Enforcement and Ed’s guidance, Peggy and Mary put together a team that responded and disentangled the humpback whale. Afterwards, the they started their quest to form a regional network.
Peggy called Maui home for a big chunk of her life and is eternally grateful for the experiences and opportunities she had there. She made connections with people and formed everlasting friendships. Just a few years ago, a group of 7 women from WET® traveled to Maui to participate in whale disentanglement training to experience a different style and protocol they have in Hawaii in relation to efforts in Monterey Bay. We had a classroom portion where we reviewed case studies and checked out new or innovated tools that have been used for responses. And more recently, we have partnered up with HWRF to help them scan and go through photo slides that have never been scanned since Dr. Dan Salden passed away before things could get properly organized.
This is why we are so connected to Maui. We hope the people of Maui are resilient and find strength for the recovery in the next days, months, and years ahead. As the relief efforts unfold, Marine Life Studies is dedicated to respond where help is needed. Although we are a small organization, we have started our efforts by donating hundreds worth of personal hygiene items, such as: soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. We also plan on shipping our Marine Life Studies merchandise (logo shirts and hoodies), along with personal items of clothing. We also plan on sending hundreds of goodie bags with educational material, coloring sheets, crayons, small toys, and stickers to the children that have lost everything.
We are donating these items to the United Public Workers (UPW). They can distribute the supplies to families affected by the devastating wildfires. If you are interested in sending items, UPW is accepting donations of warm clothing and bedding, toiletries, non-perishable food items, baby items, and water. Their address is 841 Kolu Street, Wailuku, Maui, 96793. You can easily ship your goods yourself or you can order off of Amazon and ship to their address. You can mark the items as a “gift” online when you order and write a note in the description box so they know who sent it.
If you are interested in donating to Marine Life Studies to offset our costs of the items we are shipping above, please donate on our website at www.MarineLifeStudies.org/donate. Be sure to pick Maui Wildfire Relief Fund as the project you are funding. 100% of the money will be used to fund the educational goodie bags or printing costs of our logo shirts/hoodies.
Additionally, if you are looking to donate to a local organization in Hawaii, we recommend donating to the Hawaii Community Foundation: https://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/maui-strong Honestly, we were a bit worried about providing financial resources to the Hawaii Community Foundation, because normally community foundations take fees out for administration costs, but the Maui Strong Fund is fee free. They mentioned that 100% of the funds will be distributed for community needs. This is where we will be donating our monetary contributions.
We know that our contributions may be small, but it feels so good that we are able to help in the slightest. At Marine Life Studies, we feel that Maui served as a foundation to our organization and we wouldn’t be where we are today if Peggy hadn’t seen her first whale in Maui back in 1990’s. We’d appreciate it if you could stand with us to support the Maui community as they go through this trying time. Thank you so much!
We know that our contributions may be small, but it feels so good that we are able to help in the slightest. At Marine Life Studies, we feel that Maui served as a foundation to our organization and we wouldn’t be where we are today if Peggy hadn’t seen her first whale in Maui back in 1990’s. We’d appreciate it if you could stand with us to support the Maui community as they go through this trying time. Thank you so much!
