All photography shown is included in Costal Califorina The Wild Life
9 Wildlife Organizations, 20 World Class Photographers, Jeff Corwin and Two Palos Verdes Locals Collaborate to Save California’s Wildlife Through Beautiful Coffee Table Book.
The Palos Verdes Peninsula is a place of extraordinary beauty. The exquisite allure of PV is obvious to all who visit the Peninsula but what lies beyond the view of the naked eye, on a different level, is equally as captivating. While putting together the book Palos Verdes, The Great Peninsula, an epic photographic journey across the Palos Verdes Peninsula with photographer Erik Jay, local resident and PV Magazine’s very own publisher Kristin Borden had an epiphany about the magical place she calls home.
With the recent raging wildfires and news of climate change leading the evening news night after night Borden knew she had to do more to shine a spotlight on the area’s wildlife and the amazing conservation efforts at play behind the scenes.
“Seeing all the hundreds and hundreds of photos, and working with the amazingly talented Erik Jay on the first book, there were so many photos of incredible wildlife in the photo library, I knew I had to figure out how to use them. They just made me smile. I couldn’t get them out of my mind even after the book published. I just knew once I acquired this vast photo library, I had to do something with these photos and that it was an opportunity to bring awareness to the challenges facing these animals up and down the California coastline,” Borden says. ”I certainly was not an authority on these challenges so I decided to reach out to Amber Becerra and presented the idea to her. It took quite a few meetings about the project, but once we fine-tuned our vision, within a production period of about eight months, we had a stunning 220 page hard cover book with an incredible amount of passion and love behind it.
Becerra, President and CEO of the Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles and the book’s Co-Creator says the idea to create Coastal California, The Wild Life became clear as she and Borden were marveling over the incredible wildlife that call the California coastline home. One thing that makes the book so powerful, says Becerra, is the thousands of dollars in proceeds that will go directly to benefit the nine wildlife conservation organizations showcased in its pages. These conservation heroes fight daily to ensure the survival of several iconic California species we rarely get to see, until now. “Coastal California, The Wild Life allows every person an opportunity to peek behind the scenes and catch a glimpse of the beauty around us, beauty that conservationists work so hard to protect,” says Becerra. Becerra worked tirelessly for the last three years bringing the Marine Mammal Care Center back from the brink of financial disaster, and recently secured a one-million dollar donation from Melanie and Richard Lundquist for the Center.
The center not only rehabilitates and releases our local marine animals but also contributes to important research on the state of ocean health as well as educating tens of thousands of local students and visitors who come to the center to see and learn about marine life.
Readers are provided a sneak peek into the magnificent array of creatures that reside up and down the beautiful California coastline. With breathtaking photography donated by twenty of California’s most respected wildlife photographers, it’s no wonder that Jeff Corwin, world-famous biologist and conservationist was inspired to get involved.
The book is dedicated to P-54, a beloved Los Angeles mountain lion who was tragically hit by a car and killed while the book was being created. One of P-54’s beautiful cubs is featured on the title page of the book in her honor. Becerra and Borden said they both cried when they heard the news of P-54, as they had been so enmeshed in the imagery of these majestic creatures that roam the Santa Monica mountains at the time of the accident.
Borden speaks from her heart when she explains that this book goes further than just inspiring readers to appreciate the variety of beautiful flora and fauna that graces our coastline. It actually raises awareness about the environmental threats that are facing our lands and its wildlife. “The stunning beauty of the wildlife photography absolutely moved me, it was like the photos were alive. I had to share that. I wanted to create a piece of tangible history, which I think this book is, but without the 20 incredible world class photographers who capture the perfect moments, that dream never would have been possible”.
Amber Beccera and Kristin Borden hope you will support the organizations showcased in this book who who tirelessly work to care for the animals living on the California coastline that make Palos Verdes and all of California such a beautiful and dynamic place to live.”
Top: Well-known whale named Scarback. Photo by Mark Girardeau. Center: Rescued baby skunk at the San Diego Humane Society’s Project Wildlife. Photo courtesy of SDHS Project Wildlife. Bottom: Photo courtesy of Jami Leslie Feldman.
