Music for Relief has kicked off a new project closer to home with WiLDCOAST, an organization of fifteen years dedicated to the protection of coastal and marine ecosystems and wildlife in California and Latin America. With Music for Relief, sixty one miles of mangroves in Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
#WhatsAMangrove? Mangroves are botanical amphiphibians creating forests where land and sea meet, in areas of desiccating heat, mud and salt levels ordinary plants wouldn’t survive. These magnificent ecosystems support a wealth of life- from starfish to people, birds in the canopies, shellfish in the roots, nursing grounds for fish; which feed snakes, crocodiles, monkeys, deer, crabs, the forests also a nectar source to bats and honeybees.
Mangroves also provide protection and shelter against extreme weather events, these ‘bioshields’ fighting against storm winds, floods and tsunamis as they stand strong against powerful waves, mitigating damage and saving lives.
The complexity of their roots and branches to live where other species cannot is stunning, National Geographic describing their intelligent beauty:
“They range from prostrate shrubs to 200-foot-high (60 meters) timber trees. Though most prolific in Southeast Asia, where they are thought to have originated, mangroves circle the globe. Most live within 30 degrees of the Equator, but a few hardy types have adapted to temperate climates, and one lives as far from the tropical sun as New Zealand. Wherever they live, they share one thing in common: They’re brilliant adapters.
Each mangrove has an ultrafiltration system to keep much of the salt out and a complex root system that allows it to survive in the intertidal zone. Some have snorkel-like roots called pneumatophores that stick out of the mud to help them take in air; others use prop roots or buttresses to keep their trunks upright in the soft sediments at tide’s edge.”
WiLDCOAST have chosen Music for Relief and their dedicated community of support to help save these threatened habitats, these life systems. Together, WiLDCOAST and Music for Relief will work with partners and supporters to:
- Keep inspiring people into action to defend the coast and ocean and wildlife that is endangered or threatened with extinction.
- Help conserve 17,536 acres of Marine Protected Areas in Southern California.
- Apply conservation tools such as land acquisition, zoning and developing protected areas.
- Continue to work with local communities in Baja California to clean, restore and conserve the amazing coastal and marine resources.
- Protect 71,415 acres of mangroves in Baja California Sur. with local communities and the Mexican government.
The partnership started with a $7,000 contribution fundraiser by the LA Marathon team for Music for Relief this past March. The first milestone to protect 61 miles of mangroves is $100,000. Be part of the impact and donate HERE.
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