May Updates Meeting this Friday + Kelp Magic Weekly Seminar Series

Catch up on our latest projects, plus join in on a new weekly marine seminar series

Chat with the CALeDNA team this Friday, and a new kelp community seminar every Wednesday at 12PM PDT!

May is here with much warmer weather and longer days. Be sure to take advantage and spend some time outdoors! Need some inspiration? Join us this Friday, May 14th at 11AM PDT for our monthly updates meeting. We'll be discussing ways to best share our updates on our main website. Interested in presenting? Email us at uc.caledna@gmail.com for a 5-min time slot. All are welcome to listen in and provide feedback!

Kelp Magic is a new initiative between researchers and community organizers to showcase kelp forest ecosystems in Southern California and improve sustainability practices. Hosted by several researchers at UCLA including one of CALeDNA's post-doctoral researchers Dr. Maura Palacios Mejia, the Marine Storytelling Series invites community members every Wednesday at noon to hear more about the latest work on kelp forests. The next virtual seminar will be on May 19th and feature Dr. Martha Arciniega discussing ways to connect students to marine environments both in person and virtually. All are welcome, bring your lunch and your questions!

With vaccination rates increasing and CDC guidelines updating, CALeDNA members have begun to join in-person sampling events with the Palos Verdes Conservancy and the City of Long Beach to monitor restoration efforts. These data will help improve restoration efforts and provide insight on how eDNA can monitor these efforts.

A huge congratulations to all who have participated in this year's City Nature Challenge! As a whole, over 1 million observations were recorded internationally. Check out the latest news report to read more about this year’s stats.

See you at our updates meeting on Friday!