Hello All!

Apologies for skipping March's newsletter, but exciting things have been keeping me busy here at PEEC! We had a very successful fundraiser at the end of February, and dove head first into staff training week and our first few groups of the Spring 2024 season. I'm excited for my first spring season as Director, and love getting to meet more of our school groups!

Welcome Back!

Kylie 'Koala' Galliani

Pictured Above: All the great players who came out to enjoy a day of disc golf in the sun

The NorCal Winter Charity series selected PEEC again as the recipient for the proceeds from their February Disc Golf Tournament! PEEC has a lot of thanks to give, so please stick with us! First, thank you North Coast Refrigeration & Electric (NCR&E) for sponsoring this tournament again! We also want to thank all the local businesses that donated awesome items for raffle prizes: Ficus & Fern, Feet First, Gallery Bookshop, Mendocino Cookie Company, North Coast Brewing Company, Out of This World, Sherwood Company, and Snap-on! Two special shout-outs to Derrick Robbings for putting so much effort into this tournament (and many others), and Sean 'Yeti' De Lapp for keeping the course in such good condition. Finally, thank you to all the players who came from near and far to support this event!

The proceeds from this event helped Fort Bragg Middle School 8th graders come to PEEC for the first time ever! Any leftover funds will continue to be used for local scholarships to help students attend PEEC.

Pictured Above: PEEC Naturalists meeting with CA State Parks Natural Resources Team Member during training in the Sand Dunes (L), 4th grade students in PEEC's dining hall (R)

This season we welcome two new (to PEEC) naturalists (Flicker and Sunny), in addition to our two returning naturalists (Woof and Brook). Staff training brought wind, rain, and eventually sun, and our season has so far been a mix of wild weather as well. Due to the weather changes, we have had to adapt and adjust, just like the other organisms we share our environment with. CA State Parks have been attending to a lot of trail impacts from the weather, and we are now able to safely access our favorite tide pool spot at MacKerricher! We are excited for our remaining spring groups, and hope for mostly clear skies from here on out!

Pictured Above: A Gray Whale spout & back surfacing (Alan Berner / The Seattle Times)

Pacific Gray Whale populations have been experiencing a decline since 2016. NOAA had previously declared an "unusual mortality event" (UME) for the Pacific Gray Whales in 2019, but new research on migrating populations has caused NOAA to declare an end to the UME. This is very exciting news for the ocean ecosystem, especially here on our Mendocino Coast, where we see Gray Whales during their annual migrations.

Want more information about the Pacific Gray Whale UME? Click here!

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