Birds of a Feather Gala

Buy Gala Tickets and Tables: San Elijo.org/Gala

This fun-filled evening features natural and organic cuisine, live jazz and sophisticated swing by Randy Fontaine and the Swingers, and captivating auction packages, all with the focus on educating children to become the next generation of conservationists through free guided nature walks and public programs.

“We are grateful to our gala sponsors and guests for joining San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy to help provide meaningful nature experiences,” said Doug Gibson, executive director and principal scientist of the conservancy. “In coastal North County, we can enjoy one of the largest and most restored wetland ecosystems. Environmental education for today’s children is crucial preparation for future generations. We’re here to ensure that every child has a connection to nature at San Elijo Lagoon.”  

As a biennial benefit for San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy’s environmental education program, the gala raises funds to build childhood connections with Southern California’s rare wetland environments. The conservancy is “growing future stewards” by providing science-based field trips, free public walks, and co-produces, with county rangers, seasonal family weekends reaching more than 7,000 area students and visitors during the year. Many field trips are offered free of charge to schools with demonstrated need, so that students can bond with nature—a demonstrated necessity for healthy childhood development.  

This celebrated North County gathering includes environmental philanthropists, elected officials, media personalities, citizen naturalists, and supporters of kids in nature. Gala tickets are $150 per person and are available by online reservation at www.sanelijo.org/gala, or by phoning (760) 436-3944 ext 711. Tables for 6 or 8 can also be reserved, online or by phone, with discounted incentives until June 30. Suggested attire is garden cocktail.

The 2013 Great Blue Heron Sponsor and Honorary Gala Chairs are community philanthropists Carol Childs and Peter House. Both Carol and Peter are long time members and supporters of San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy. Carol's parents moved to Solana Beach in the mid-1940s. In the 1960s, Carol's mother was instrumental in the removal of billboards that blighted views of San Elijo Lagoon along Pacific Coast Highway 101. Now retired from a legal career in both private practice and corporate general counsel, Carol serves as an elder at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church and as director of an affiliated foundation. She is the immediate past president of Solana Beach Civic and Historical Society, an organization that her mother helped create in the early 1950s. Peter formerly served as a director in policy analysis for federal agencies (including, at its creation, the Environmental Protection Agency), and later became the first Smithsonian Institution Webmaster. Peter is currently an executive committee member of Solana Beach Chamber of Commerce, president of the 101 Merchants Association, and on the board of North Coast Repertory Theatre. 

Birds of a
Feather is also sponsored by:

Peregrine Falcon Sponsor $15,000

RF Products 

The Scott Group at Morgan Stanley 

Underwriters $1,500      

Cardiff Seaside Market 

Tom & Donna Golich

Dave & Denise Stillinger

Gala Co-Chairs:          

Sally
Foster and Paul Worthington, Board
of Directors for San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy

Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club is located at 17025 Avenida
de Acacias in Rancho Santa Fe. Onsite parking is available.

San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy protects and restores the resources of San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve, its watershed and related ecosystems, for the benefit of current and future generations. www.SanElijo.org