The Mangrove Action Project
6-Day Mangrove Kayaking & Whale Watching Tour
Benefit Paddle in Baja

Join Elaine Corets — MAP's Latin American Coordinator — on a trip
that promises to remind us why we do this work!

February 7 - 12, 2008

The Mangrove Action Project is dedicated to reversing the degradation and loss of mangrove forest ecosystems worldwide. Its main goal is to promote the rights of traditional and indigenous coastal peoples, including fishers and farmers, to sustainably manage their coastal environs.

Through its global network and offices in the U.S. (International Office), Thailand (Asia Regional Office), Indonesia, and Latin America, MAP is stimulating the exchange of ideas and information on the conservation and restoration of mangrove forests, while promoting sustainable livelihoods for coastal communities. Visit www.mangroveactionproject.org for more about their work.

Join the Mangrove Action Project for our first journey to the mangrove estuary in Magdalena Bay, a Gray Whale Nursery in southern Baja. This year, thanks to our friends at Blue Waters Kayaking, we’ll camp three days and two nights at an exclusive island camp in the heart of the whale nursery, where the Gray Whales are born. From camp you will experience whales spouting and playing, dolphins swimming by, pelicans visiting on the beach next door and coyotes howling at night—a nature lover’s dream. Mornings will be spent visiting the whales by motorboat and in great amazement these enormous mammals approach us to introduce their newly born young. We will kayak the mangrove labyrinth as flocks of white pelicans fly overhead and yellow crowned night herons stare at us at eye level between mangrove leaves. The trip begins and ends in the charming town of Loreto, where we will stay in a hotel on the Sea of Cortez.

Elaine Corets has worked with MAP since 2004, supporting regional partners by facilitating communications and catalyzing collaborative projects, with a focus on adapting MAP's mangrove curriculum in the region and networking on shrimp aquaculture issues in NE Brazil. She brings to MAP more than 20 years of diverse international experiences in plant ecology and conservation, community forestry, oceanography, sustainable agriculture, and environmental education. With more than 7 years of experience living and working in Latin America, including as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala, she is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, and currently spends more than half of the year in Brazil. When not in Latin America, Elaine lives in Seattle, Wash. Contact her at (206) 419-4503 or mapamericas@mangroveactionproject.org

Cost: $1280

Kayaking in the bird-filled mangroves will be available • No prior kayaking experience is necessary
Kayaking is not required, however, it is offered as part of this trip.
Each trip limited to 14 participants.