Monthly meetings held the 1st Wednesday of each month and open to the interested public.

The September 3rd Meeting is NOT TO BE MISSED!

Featured Speaker: Christine Heinrichs

SLO At-Large Advisor for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

We are so excited to host naturalist, author, & local marine enthusiast Christine Heinrichs for a presentation on the National Marine Sanctuary System, with a special focus on the one just to our north in Monterey Bay.

Christine Heinrichs has lived on the Central Coast for more than 20 years. She's been a Friends of the Elephant Seals docent since 2007, and has written the elephant seal column for the Tribune since 2014. She became certified as a California Naturalist in 2016. Christine currently serves on the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council as the SLO At-Large Member. She has also written several books about Standard breed poultry and keeps a backyard flock of a dozen hens. 

Christine will talk about the National Marine Sanctuaries system, and highlights of California's beloved Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The southern MBNMS boundary is in Cambria, but it's one of the largest marine sanctuaries, with 276 miles of coastline and 6,094 square miles of ocean. It includes the Monterey Canyon, more than two and a half miles deep, and Davidson Seamount, which rises 7,400 feet from the sea floor, but is still 4,100 feet below the surface.The sanctuary encompasses many ecosystems that support at least 36 species of marine mammals, 180 species of seabirds and shorebirds, 525 species of fishes, and an abundance of invertebrates and algae. She is excited to speak with such a knowledgeable group so dedicated to ocean health.

We will also be sharing information about the latest happenings, meetings and events to attend.

Meeting locatation is The Benedict - 1401 Quintana Rd. Morro Bay