Read Ranch & Coast Virtually Anywhere
Issue link: http://ranchandcoast.uberflip.com/i/1523080
I T'S EASY TO FEEL PROTECTIVE ABOUT OUR gorgeous San Diego coastline and the vast ocean that stretches beyond it. It's our natural compass; the setting for innumerable photos, both as the backdrop and the star; the destination for countless hours of activity or blissful idleness; a perfect meeting spot and an ideal space for peaceful solitude. Caring for it and conserving it, however, is a job that goes far beyond just loving it. For the people behind Del Mar-based nonprofit Wildcoast, that love translates into meaningful action. An international conservation organization, Wildcoast's work touches coastal and marine ecosystems from the Oregon border to Southern Mexico. "We are working on on-the-ground or in-the- water conservation projects with some of the world's most amazingly beautiful and ecologically important and wildlife-filled ecosystems," says Wildcoast Executive Director Serge Dedina. "Our goal is to proactively work with government agencies and local communities and the business community to preserve these wondrous, inspiring places, but also, when it comes to places like the Tijuana River, to prevent the onslaught of marine debris and pollution from destroying what are also California's crown jewels: our coast, ocean, wetlands, and marine protected areas." In helping to establish new protected areas and manage established ones, the organization works proactively with government agencies of both countries as well as collaboratively with other nonprofits and private citizens. "e idea is conservation from the ground up, where you're really saying, 'How can we support efforts to protect these amazing places and protect and recover wildlife and restore nature?'" Of course, a portion of that assistance comes in the form of financial support to fast-track efforts that might otherwise be stalled as Waves of Change Del Mar nonprofit works to conserve our western coastline for future generations budgets await confirmation — a process that can take years. "at's been our strength," says Dedina. "To move really quickly and to work really fast and on the ground to make places that are 'paper parks' [become] parks in real life." Fortunately, the local community shares Dedina's and Wildcoast's commitment to conservation. Last month, Wildcoast hosted its annual benefit, Baja Bash, which welcomed more than 300 guests with gourmet tastes from top local chefs at a private Solana Beach residence. e event raised roughly $250,000. ough generating funding for projects is a critical and essential function of the organization, Wildcoast is very much a boots-on-the- ground outfit. Dedina grows animated as he discusses specific ways that the group has affected significant and meaningful action in the real world, whether that's by building trashbooms, restoring mangrove forests, or activating the power of local partnerships. "Last year, we were in the field in Oaxaca and met up with community members at the entrance to an amazing tropical forest on the coastline," Dedina recalls. "A year later, because of extensive work with our staff [including] local staff who are from these communities, an indigenous community just agreed to set aside 25,000 acres of pristine coastal forest that includes a sea turtle nesting beach on its coastline, as an indigenous community reserve." Turtle lovers owe a debt to Dedina and Wildcoast. rough Dedina's efforts to save turtles from being on the menu in Mexico, the little creatures which were all but extinct off our coasts have returned to snack on seagrass in the coastal waters of San Diego. "at's something that really shows me that the minute we give the ocean and these animals a break, they can come back," he beams. wildcoast.com BY DEANNA MURPHY FEATURED IMAGE: PHOTO BY VINCENT KNAKAL WILDCOAST RESERVE: PHOTO COURTESY OF WILDCOAST @ranchandcoast RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE JULY 2024 55 Wildcoast staff at the Valle de los Cirios wildlife protection area in the southern portion of the municipality of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico