National Wildlife Federation celebrates Earth Day with donation for San Francisco Porpoises

When I last reported on our new Return of the Porpoise to San Francisco Bay project, I had just finished running around San Francisco and the Bay Area impersonating a cetacean for our campaign video. I have to admit, dancing underneath the Golden Gate Bridge dressed as a porpoise is certainly a fun experience.

And all of my time in a porpoise costume has paid off. In celebration of Earth Day, The National Wildlife Federation California is making its first donation of $15,000 to Golden Gate Cetacean Research in support of its work to help keep porpoises in San Francisco Bay. It is the first step in a multi-year campaign to raise $500,000 for the animal’s conservation.

Response to the campaign has been amazing, and we’ve had a variety of people make donations large and small. One very dedicated group of school children, Ms. Mindelzun’s 2nd and 3rd grade class at the Wilkinson School, raised over $200 for the San Francisco porpoises and earned a visit from the porpoise mascot for the entire school! Ms Mindelzun taught a unit on the porpoise and I loved seeing all the wonderful artwork by the children on the classroom walls. See the great photos below from my visit to the school.

On Saturday, April 20 I’ll be presenting a check to our partners at Golden Gate Cetacean Research, accompanied by the porpoise mascot, at a special Earth Day Fair hosted by Alcatraz Cruises, another supporter of the campaign. The presentation will be at 2:00 pm, and we’ll have a table at the fair from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Pier 33 , Alcatraz Landing. Come meet the porpoise and join in the other Earth Day fun!

To learn more about the campaign, visit www.sfbayporpoises.org.

Ms Mindelzun’s class at the Wilkinson School raised over $200 for the porpoise campaign.
The porpoise mascot visits the Wilkinson School
Student artwork from the unit taught on the harbor porpoise
Beautiful porpoise artwork from the kids at the Wilkinson School