Maritime Museum to Host Earth Day on the Bay

San Diego – The Maritime Museum of San Diego, in collaboration with a large and growing complement of regional partners, is preparing to inaugurate an event, Earth Day on the Bay, that will provide a new opportunity for residents of and visitors to our region both to celebrate and contemplate the waters of Planet Earth, and our relationship to those waters as users and stewards. The first annual Earth Day on the Bay will take place at and around the Maritime Museum of San Diego on the 26th of April, 2015 from 10am-4pm. The Maritime Museum believes that, at a time of particularly heightened concern regarding the effect of human activity on the earth’s environment, it will be important to make this event as accessible as possible. For that reason, there will be no charge to attend Earth Day on the Bay, and the Museum will be open to all who wish to attend without charge. Opportunities to go on a bay cruise or sailing adventure with a naturalist aboard will be available for a nominal charge.

The physical footprint of Earth Day on the Bay will encompass the Museum itself and a portion of the street directly in front of the Museum. The centerpiece exhibits at the heart of the event will be Fragile Waters (as described below); and the Wyland Foundation’s Wyland Clean Water Mobile Learning Experience, which provides an opportunity to increase visitors’ knowledge of the function of watersheds and a broader understanding of the impact that communities have on these systems and our ocean through an exhibit that is contained within a specially designed truck trailer. Created particularly for children and youth, participants become new recruits to the Clean Water Challenge Task Force, with a mission to solve mysterious disturbances in the health of our nation’s water habitats via a 4D theater experience and hands-on science activities.

To date, the Maritime Museum has recruited the following additional organizations to participate in Earth Day on the Bay:

Cabrillo National Monument/National Park Service – National monument dedicated to education regarding San Diego’s genesis and environment.

Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Department The Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office (CFWO) works in partnership with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.

The Living Coast Discovery Center – The Living Coast Discovery Center is a nonprofit zoo and aquarium situated on the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, offering visitors an ideal setting in which to explore the amazing animals and plants that call the coastal region home.

Ocean Connectors – Ocean Connectors is an interdisciplinary environmental education project that crosses borders and cultural boundaries, linking students to create a shared sense of stewardship and to promote an early interest in environmental issues.

Ocean Discovery Institute – Ocean Discovery Institute was created 10 years ago to leverage San Diego’s natural environments as a means to engage young people from underserved communities and inspire them to become part of the next generation of scientific and environmental leaders.

The Ocean Project – Through cutting-edge communications research and building strong collaborations with zoos, aquariums, and museums, The Ocean Project aims to spur a significant increase in successful ocean and climate conservation efforts. Ocean Project partners are the leading gatekeepers worldwide in providing the public with experiences that engage them, inspire them to take action at home and in their communities, and increase their understanding of science and conservation.

San Diego Coastkeeper – San Diego Coastkeeper protects and restores swimmable, fishable and drinkable waters in San Diego County.

San Diego County Office of Education & its Science Outreach Program – The County Office of Education is the educational public organizing and oversight body in our region.

San Diego Port Tenants Association – Formed in 1989, the San Diego Port Tenants Association is a coalition of businesses and industries on San Diego Bay dedicated to enhancing trade, commerce, and tourism on San Diego Bay’s tidelands, while protecting the area’s environment.

Sea World San Diego – SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment™ inspires guests to celebrate and conserve the natural world. Through up-close animal encounters, educational exhibits and innovative entertainment, guests leave with a heightened sensitivity to the world around them and an awareness of the plight of animals in the wild.

Surfrider Foundation – The Surfrider Foundation has evolved into one of the largest non-profit grassroots organizations, with a volunteer-activist network dedicated to its mission to protect and enjoy our oceans, waves and beaches.

Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve – The Reserve preserves, protects, and manages the natural and cultural resources of the Tijuana River Estuary by focusing on research and education with compatible recreation and resource use. Critical issues confronted by the Reserve include habitat conservation and restoration, endangered species management, management of wastewater from Mexico, sediment management, and integration of recreation.

University of California San Diego, Birch Aquarium – Birch Aquarium at Scripps is the public exploration center for the world-renowned Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. The aquarium features more than 60 habitats of fishes and invertebrates. An oceanographic museum showcases research discoveries by Scripps scientists on climate, earth and ocean science.

Wild Coast – Wild Coast exists to inspire people into action to defend the coast, ocean, and wildlife that are endangered or threatened with extinction.

Each of these organizations will be setting up an exhibit related to its educational, environmental, and/or conservation efforts, with representatives available to make presentations and engage in information discussion with members of the public.

The Maritime Museum of San Diego will also present the exhibition, FRAGILE WATERS, from Sunday, March 1, 2015, through September 15, 2015. FRAGILE WATERS is a powerful artistic and ecological statement reflected in the inspiring black and white images of three renowned photographers and consummate environmentalists: Ansel Adams, Ernest H. Brooks II, and Dorothy Kerper Monnelly.

From Ansel Adam’s first magical trip to Yosemite at 14, Ernest H. Brooks II’s first scuba dive at 13, and Dorothy Kerper Monnelly’s infatuation with the salt marshes at 18, these photographers have lived their conviction, passion and commitment, and now share it with us, through FRAGILE WATERS. The stunning exhibit calls attention to water, our most basic and critical resource, in all its beauty and power, inviting the viewer to engage the inner vision of these three dynamic and dedicated photographers.

The traveling exhibition of 119 photographs, many not previously exhibited, takes viewers from the Pacific Coast's Big Sur, to the piercing cold waters of Antarctica. All three artists have spent their lives near an ocean; all three have used their strong “integrity of place” to protect the sanctity of the environment through the universal language of black and white photography. FRAGILE WATERS suggests our ability to change the course of the future ‒ to protect our most fragile resource.

And what better place to view these timeless works of art than aboard a ship, floating on our Fragile Waters.

Dr. Michael and Jeanne Adams (son and daughter-in law of Ansel Adams), Ernest Brooks II and Dorothy Kemper Monnelly will attend the opening festivities

A series of panel discussions and lectures are scheduled. Admission to the exhibit is included with normal Museum admission, $16 for adults, $8 for children, and group rates are available as well. Some lectures and presentations may be an additional charge. Please check our website at http://www.sdmaritime.org or call 619-234-9153 ext 101 for additional information.