The Catalina Island Museum has announced the guest speakers for a fundraiser boat tour around the Island.
You can enjoy Catalina’s natural beauty in a way that few people ever have during the ‘Round the Island Cruise on Tuesday, April 9. Lush green hillsides full of blossoming wildflowers – some of which have not been seen in years – along with the potential to see whales and dolphins are all part of this unique experience offered by the Catalina Island Museum.
The cruise is a fundraiser for the museum aboard a Catalina Express boat.
You will ride in comfort on the Catalina Express boat as it leaves from the Cabrillo Mole (Avalon’s boat terminal) and heads along the leeward side towards Two Harbors, makes its way around the West End of the island, and returns via the ruggedly beautiful windward side.
Along the way, two guest speakers, Karla Heidelberg and Sean Conner, from the island’s Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies will speak about their research and work on the island and below the ocean’s surface. Information will be shared about the island’s native flora and fauna, especially the abundance of wildflowers in bloom.
Museum staff and board members will chime in with historic information about various landmarks and coves. Catalina Express founder Doug Bombard will also be on board as a special guest.
With any luck, he will share some stories along the way as well.
Guest speakers:
Karla Heidelberg is a professor in the Marine Environmental Biology section of the Department of Biology and is the director of the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Southern California. She received her Ph.D. in 1999 from the University of Maryland in Marine Science. Prior to USC, she was a Science Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of State followed by being appointed as the Global Programs coordinator for the J. Craig Venter Institute, where she coordinated an around the world oceanic research expedition. In 2006, Heidelberg and her husband, John, both joined the faculty of USC, splitting their time between the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island and the University Park Campus in Los Angeles.
Their kids grew up on the island and attended school at both the Little Red School House in Two Harbors and in Avalon. Heidelberg’s research and teaching has an ocean sustainability-themed focus, and she has done research in Antarctica, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and in many other marine systems around the world.
She has received several teaching awards including the USC Steven B. Sample Mentoring and Teaching Award, an appointment as a USC Center for Excellence in Teaching Fellow, an appointment as a National Academies Education Fellow, and most recently, the USC Associate’s Teaching Award.
Sean Conner has served as the associate director for Operations of the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island since 2007.
After relocating from North Carolina’s Outer Banks where he directed dining and catering operations for the Duke University Marine Laboratory, Conner has used his passion for history, science, camaraderie and sustainable living strategies to share the story of the Wrigley family’s heritage of natural preservation and the future of a science driven understanding of the natural world to island visitors.
Conner and his wife, Jill, have made their home in the community of Two Harbors for the last decade where they thoroughly enjoy running and hiking Catalina’s amazing trails, sharing the island’s intense beauty with friends and family, and working with a varied group of visiting students and researchers to make this world a better place.
This once-in-a-lifetime cruise around the island allows for certain bragging rights. In addition, you will earn the status of Shellback, a title given to those who have circumnavigated the island or you can upgrade your status to Trusty Shellback by doing it a second, third or fourth time.
Lunch is included. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase throughout the tour. Limited tickets are available. It is not every day that you can cruise all the way around Catalina Island.
The ‘Round the Island Cruise Fundraiser will take place on Tuesday, April 9, from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm. The museum will have a check-in table near Floats 4 and 5 at the Cabrillo Mole (Avalon’s boat terminal). Attendees are asked to check-in at 11:30 am.
The cruise will depart at approx. 11:45 am. Tickets may be purchased in person at the museum, online via CatalinaMuseum.org/calendar, or by contacting Kellie Costello at 310-510-4650 or events@catalinamuseum.org. Single tickets are $200 and double tickets are $350.
Visit CatalinaMuseum.org for more information. Special thanks to Catalina Express. All proceeds from this fundraiser benefit the Catalina Island Museum.
The Catalina Island Museum offers the best in art and history exhibitions, music and dance performances, lectures by guest speakers from all over the world, and the finest in silent, documentary and international film. Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except New Year’s Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
The Ada Blanche Wrigley Schreiner Building is located in the heart of Avalon at 217 Metropole Ave. For more information, call 310-510-2414 or visit CatalinaMuseum.org.
