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Santa Monica Bay Audubon Funds Seven Local Eco-Projects

Santa Monica College, Walgrove Elementary School and Ballona Wetlands are among the recipients.

Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society has funded seven eco-projects that will benefit the local area and beyond.  These gifts cover a balanced slate of projects including education, research, habitat restoration, and the arts.  

“The recipients’ extraordinary contributions support the Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society’s  mission of conserving natural ecosystems for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity through education,” said Lillian Almdale, who chaired the donation committee.  The gifts were made possible through a one-time bequest from the estate of Norma Foster, a former chapter member.

Ballona Wetlands Education Project, Abigail King Bus Scholarship — set-aside funds to provide a minimum of ten buses per school year for an estimated 7 to 10 years.  Bus funding will not be dependent on annual budget allocations for the term of this grant. 

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Birds at the Beach Exhibit — set-aside funds for a photography and artwork exhibit proposed for display at the Annenberg Community Beach House in late 2014. 

Loyola Marymount University, Seaver College of Science and Engineering — a lifetime endowment gift to provide assistance to faculty and students in Biology or Environmental Science whose study and research further the understanding of ecological, environmental and biological variables on birds and other wildlife.  The money will, in part, fund student presentations at student science conferences. 

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Loyola Marymount University, Seaver College of Science and Engineering, Watts Lab — a one-time gift to Watts Lab to help fund the study of birds and the relationship of environmental variation on the behavior of individual birds.  The research will shed light on the potential for a species to adapt to environmental changes.

Santa Monica College — a lifetime endowment gift to provide financial aid to a continuing student in the field of Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences or Policy Studies impacting the birds of Los Angeles County. 

Student Conservation Association — a one-time grant to provide full funding for one 2-year internship in the Santa Monica Mountains, or partial funding for an intern in the Butterbredt Spring area.  SCA will use our gift to secure matching funds.

Walgrove Elementary School Wildlands Project — funding provided for the purchase of plants, signage and seating platforms.  Walgrove, a LAUSD elementary school, is converting 25,000 square feet of asphalt into a Wildlands of native plants to attract birds, insects and butterflies. 

A committee of board members chaired by Almdale and including Jane Beseda, Lu Plauzoles, and Ellen Vahan spent six months researching potential grant recipients whose use of the funds would have a substantial impact in our local area.  After reviewing 24 proposals, 10 were submitted to the Board of Directors, and  seven were selected.  


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