Recently I was hired to work on an event for a local environmental/conservation non-profit that I have admired for many years – The Gaviota Coast Conservancy (GCC) has been doggedly protecting the last 20 miles of rural coastline in Southern California for more than 20 years.  My first brush with the people who volunteer at Gaviota Coast Conservancy was through a local painters group that donated 40% of all its sales for a show dedicated to showing people the incredible landscapes we have in our backyard called “Visions of the Gaviota Coast.”

My heart beats loud and strong for environmental and conservation causes – like Audubon and the Sierra Club and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).  Now that last group has become a part of the fabric of Santa Barbara county with its’ stewardship of The Jack & Laura Dangermond Reserve – better know as The Bixby Ranch to most who live here.  It’s a hot bed of bio-diversity.  The Dangermond’s plopped down $165 million for the parcel and then donated it to TNC. Their personal story to this land is the thread that brought them back after 50 years to do something so generous and lasting.  On their honeymoon they camped on the Gaviota Coast and never forgot the beauty of the land.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llZcin6AulU

Come join us at the Coastal Legacy 2019 event on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 21 at the Music Academy of the West.

Here’s the details:

You are invited to the Gaviota Coast Conservancy special event on Saturday afternoon, September 21^stat Santa Barbara’s gorgeous Music Academy of the West

Gaviota Coast Conservancy(GCC) is a Santa Barbara based conservation organization that has been actively protecting 76 miles of coast stretching from Coal Oil Point Reserve to Point Conception for more than 20 years.  The Gaviota Coast is a globally significant bioregion with features qualifying it as a National Seashore.

In 2017 the biggest privately-owned ranch on the Gaviota Coast was preserved in perpetuity by philanthropists Jack and Laura Dangermond. The Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve, now under the direction of Michael Bell, protects 24,500 acresof the Cojo-Jalama Ranches (aka Bixby Ranch), with spectacular, undeveloped and largely undisturbed lands. We are thrilled to be honoring these two outstanding conservation heroes at our upcoming September event with the Coastal Legacy 2019Award. Michael Bell, Director of The Dangermond Preserve, will be accepting the award in their honor.

GCC has been holding the line on Gaviota Coast development since our inception in 1996, working with farm and ranch owners to keep land in productive agriculture, and keeping the coast open for the public to explore and enjoy for generations to come.

Join us at this fabulous event to protect the last rural stretch of undeveloped SoCal coastline.

Live and Silent Auction items so far:  Chris Potter original painting, “El Capitan Panorama,”;Jack Johnson personally signed Ukuleleand songbook; three nights in San Francisco Pied-a-terre; Plethora of Patagonia gear; GCC Guided Hike for eight;Dogtown-The Legend of the Z-Boysby CR Stecyk III, Glen Friedman, signed by alumni Zephyr Skate Team, donated by Team Member Peggy Oki; and more.

Follow us on Facebook to discover more auction items and other announcements as they come in.

http://www.GaviotaCoastConservancy.org/2019legacy