Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders

Green Valentine Eco-Fest set for Feb. 14

BirdSong and the EcoWonders will entertain at EcoFest.
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By Anna Krajec
Updated: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 3:33 PM PST
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Anneliese's Schools will hold its Green Valentine Environmental Awareness Festival on Saturday, Feb. 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Willowbrook Campus, 20062 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach. Admission is free. There will be no parking available at the campus; attendees must park at the Act V lot at 1900 Laguna Canyon Road and use the free shuttle service.

The fun-filled family day will offer organic food ideas, green vendors, solar energy displays and workshops for adults and children. Visitors can enjoy a variety of activities: information-packed talks, garden activities such as making boxes to grow your own salad greens and planting milkweed to attract monarch butterflies, plus face painting and inflatable jumping areas for the younger children. Local gardening expert Green Gene will speak on "Reducing, Reusing, Recycling and Restoring." He will also teach a pruning and easy-composting workshop. Certified organic raw-food chef Jaia Lee will speak about eating choices and their impact on the Earth.

The musical lineup on two stages includes local band Soul Food at 11:30 a.m., popular musician Jason Feddy at noon, Chris Amodeo and Paul Mc Intyre at 1 p.m., Project Renaissance at 1:45 p.m. and Laguna's newest musical sensation Birdsong and the EcoWonders at 3 p.m. At 2 p.m., the Pachamama Alliance will sponsor an interactive, multi-media experience, "Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream:

Opening our Eyes and Hearts to What's Really Possible," facilitated by relational psychologist Jeanne Michele. At 3:45 p.m., Jeffrey Briar will close the event leading a Laughter Yoga session.

Food and beverages will be offered by several vendors, including La Sirena Grill, Z Pizza restaurants, chef Cathy Lam, who cooks with only solar power, and Jaia Lee, serving up raw cacao treats. Topping off the festivities will be a giant Valentine dessert served to all attendees.

The event was organized by volunteer Anna Krajec, Liesa Schimmelpfennig, president of SEEDS and program development director at Anneleise's School, and Elise Higley, the school's administration director, with a team of volunteers.

Krajec said, "We are creating a movement to inspire and educate our community into taking daily actions that support our health as well as our Earth. We invite the entire community to come celebrate Valentine's Day in a whole new way: as a Valentine for Mother Earth."

 The Green Valentine Environmental Awareness Festival is presented by SEEDS Art and Education, a non-profit organization committed to the advancement of children's education through funding programs in the Arts, Sciences and Humanities. SEEDS supports programs that promote stewardship of the land, such as organic gardening, environmental awareness, and conservation; and programs that foster academic excellence in literacy, math, science and humanities. SEEDS is devoted to enhancing the quality of life for children and their communities.

Call 949-494-7388 for more information about the Festival.
- Coastline Pilot

Awareness Magazine
January-February, 2009 Issue

KID'S REVIEWS
By Lyda Whiting
IF I WERE A FISH AND OTHER OCEAN SONGSFOR KIDS (CD)
Written and Sung by Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders 
This lively CD includes thirteen songs that will have children singing along with the catchy lyrics and dancing to the bouncy rhythms. Children will behaving fun while learning about the amazing life in the oceans and our connection to them. Best of all, the songs include sounds from the marine animals and the ocean environment so children can experience the beauty ofthe ocean world for themselves.
Children will meet unusual animals with "Oxford the Octopus" and "Sea Otter Groovin'." They will discover walruses, sea lions, and seals in "the most slippery parade in town": the "Pinniped Parade." They will hear humpback whales sing "The Most Incredible Songs".
They will wonder at the size of the largest creatures on earth with "So Big! Blue Whale.".They will explore different ocean environments with "The Tide Pool Song" and "Kelp Forest Dancing."
They will be captivated by "Fascinating Sharks" and travel along with gray whales in "Migration." They will hear dolphins talk to each other in" Clickety-Clack" and how baby turtles hatch and crawl to the ocean with" Here We Go". Children will become advocates to help "Keep the Oceans Clean."
At turns bouncy and silly, and relaxing and calming, this CD is a great balance between entertainment and education. The Laguna Ocean Foundation featured one of the songs in an educational DVD. Children, parents, and teachers will have a great time on this wonderful musical journey into the sea.
Recommended for ages 2-7.
Published by Little Ones Music, this CD is available at your local bookstore.

- AWARENESS MAGAZINE

“[Birdsong] has a clear voice and upbeat manner that engage listeners. If you are looking for something new and fun to play in the car for little ones, this CD is a winner.” Parenting OC Magazine
- PARENTING OC

Tidepool Scene Film Wins Emmy in Children’s Programming



(Laguna Beach, CA) The Laguna Ocean Foundation’s ‘Tidepool Scene’ produced by Barnstormer Productions and the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau won the Emmy in the category of Children’s Programming. The Emmy Awards for the Pacific Southwest Region of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences were held Saturday evening in San Diego, California.



“We are thrilled that the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau was asked to spearhead this Emmy-winning project by the Laguna Ocean Foundation. It accomplishes many goals including spotlighting one of our most valuable natural resources; the importance of our tidepools and the protection of them; and it allowed us to showcase the ‘real’ Laguna Beach. Jeffrey Lehmann’s captivating footage, generously donated to the project, made it all possible,” said Judy Bijlani, Executive Director of the Laguna Beach Visitors Bureau.



Fred and Jan Sattler (of Laguna Ocean Foundation), Cheryl Procaccini (Birdsong), Chris Quilter (No Square Theater), Calla Allison (Marine Safety Officer, City of Laguna Beach), Vivian Ecclefield (Voice-over), Chuck Everts Sound, and Judy Bijlani (Laguna Beach Visitors Bureau Management Team) worked directly with Jeffrey Lehmann of Barnstormer Productions on the development of the 7-minute production to educate children and adults on the importance of protecting our exceptional natural resource, the tidepools of Laguna Beach. The feature short plays on in-room channels of many area hotels, is distributed to schools prior to their field trips to Laguna Beach, is showcased on several Web sites and has been shown on regional cable television.



The purpose of the Emmy Awards is to recognize outstanding achievements in television by conferring annual awards of merit both nationally and in their chapters throughout the United States. The Pacific Southwest region includes San Diego, Bakersfield, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada.

The annual presentation of these awards is intended to be an incentive for the continued pursuit of excellence for those working in television and to focus public attention on outstanding cultural, educational, technological, entertainment, news and informational achievements in television.


Other nominees in the Children’s Programming category included Mojave Max Emergence Contest, Joshua Tree Productions; Respect the Ride, Joshua Tree Productions; Theatre of the World Festival: Jungle Book, San Diego State University; Periodistas del Manana/Journalist of Tomorrow, KINC-TV. - The Visitors Center and Conference Bureau, Laguna Beach, CA

"There is something very fishy about this album and it's fishy in a fun, musical and edutaining way - a valuable asset for the teacher's tool box."
- John Wood, Kidzmusic.com - Kidzmusic.com

IF I WERE A FISH AND OTHER OCEAN SONGSFOR KIDS (CD)
Written and Sung by Birdsong and the Eco-Wonders
This lively CD includes thirteen songs that will have children singing along with the catchy lyrics and dancing to the bouncy rhythms. Children will behaving fun while learning about the amazing life in the oceans and our connection to them. Best of all, the songs include sounds from the marine animals and the ocean environment so children can experience the beauty ofthe ocean world for themselves.

Children will meet unusual animals with "Oxford the Octopus" and "Sea Otter Groovin'." They will discover walruses, sea lions, and seals in "the most slippery parade in town": the "Pinniped Parade." They will hear humpback whales sing "The Most Incredible Songs".

They will wonder at the size of the largest creatures on earth with "So Big! Blue Whale.".They will explore different ocean environments with "The Tide Pool Song" and "Kelp Forest Dancing."

They will be captivated by "Fascinating Sharks" and travel along with gray whales in "Migration." They will hear dolphins talk to each other in" Clickety-Clack" and how baby turtles hatch and crawl to the ocean with" Here We Go". Children will become advocates to help "Keep the Oceans Clean."

At turns bouncy and silly, and relaxing and calming, this CD is a great balance between entertainment and education. The Laguna Ocean Foundation featured one of the songs in an educational DVD. Children, parents, and teachers will have a great time on this wonderful musical journey into the sea.

Recommended for ages 2-7.

Published by Little Ones Music, this CD is available at your local bookstore. - Awareness Magazine- January-February, 2009

Video Teaches Tidepool Visitors to Tread Lightly
By COURTENAY NEARBURG

Staff photo by Courtenay Nearburg Marine Protection Officer Calla Allison regularly patrols the tidepools at Heisler Park marine reserve. She appears in an educational DVD released this week by the Laguna Ocean Foundation.
After years of modeling appropriate "etiquette" to tidepool visitors by its docents, Laguna Ocean Foundation is stepping up its efforts at protection by producing an educational video for distribution to schools planning tidepool field trips and to vacationers staying in local hotels.

Framed by footage of aquatic recreation available to Laguna Beach visitors, "Tidepool Scene" features music by local musician Cheryl Procaccini [a.k.a.Birdsong], an informative segment by tidepool docent Jan Sattler, and an appearance by the city's marine protection officer, Calla Allison, who lays out the rules for shore visitors intrigued by coastal tidepools in Heisler Park. "Look, don't touch," is the dominant theme.

A first-time trek to tidepools, visible at low tide in several locations in addition to Heisler Park, is a special experience, Allison said. She described making kids her "deputies" to protect the tidepool creatures as a way of sharing the message of stewardship. Allison said the city recently hired three new part time tidepool educators to help with marine protection duties.


Staff photo by Courtenay Nearburg Local songwriter and tidepool docent Cheryl Procaccini [a.k.a. Birdsong] wrote an original composition featured in a seven-minute DVD targeted for school kids and visitors due to arrive at local tidepools.
"The best enforcement is education," Allison said. "That's really been the clear message with these students that come down, and with educating the people that visit and stay in our hotels."

Just as the video is being released, city officials say they anticipate receiving a $2.5 million grant from the State Water Quality Control Board for water quality improvements in Heisler Park, another effort at tidepool protection. According to city manager Ken Frank, the city is prepared to match state funds with $900,000, sufficient to complete planned Heisler Park renovations.

Allison hopes to see significantly more signage about the marine reserve rules and tidepool ecosystem in Heisler as a result of the grant. Construction

EVERYTHING could start in September of 2009 if funds are secured, Frank wrote last Friday.

Foundation chairman Fred Sattler approached the Convention and Visitors' Bureau late in 2007 with a proposal for an educational video to introduce visitors and children to the fragile marine ecosystem before they ever hit the sand, according to Judith Bijlani, bureau director.

Widely distributing a message of appropriate tidepool responsibility and maintenance has been a goal of the Laguna Ocean Foundation since its inception in 2003, said chairman Fred Sattler. "Our tidepools are fun, interesting, valuable resources that are worthy of protection," he said in announcing the video, joined by Mayor Jane Egly and Councilmember Elizabeth Pierson. "It has taken us nearly five years to finally achieve this goal, but I am sure that you will think, as I do, that it was worth the wait."

Del Mar-based Barnstormer Productions produced the video. Jeffrey Lehman, host of the PBS travel show "Weekend Explorer" and Barnstormer's owner-producer, contributed existing footage shot in Laguna and filmed additional scenes of Allison and Sattler at Heisler Park to create "Tidepool Scene". Local writer Chris Quilter was tapped for the script.

A self-described "lifelong tidepooler" who was born and raised in Del Mar, Lehman said he intends to distribute "Tidepool Scene" as widely as his syndicated program "Weekend Explorer." "Explorer" reaches 75,000 classrooms internationally through Global Classroom, is broadcast on Cox channel 3 in Orange County, and on mass transit systems nationally as travel shorts.

Lehman had just completed an "Explorer" episode featuring Laguna Beach when Bijlani asked him to get involved with the foundation video. "The most important thing was to make sure that the message was full and incorporated everything they wanted to say, but yet we wanted to do it in a fun and entertaining way, so that we ended up with something that is education disguised as fun," she said.

[Birdsong's] original "Tidepool Song" was inspired by the songwriter's experience as a Laguna Ocean Foundation docent. "The melody elicited in me the same feeling that the tidepools did, and that was a sense of awe and wonder, protection and care," she said.

While individuals volunteered their services to the making of the video, the foundation project received public funding through a community service grant.

Tidepool docent Jan Sattler described several encounters with marine life that made a lasting impression, including Humboldt squid washing up and sighting an octopus, both at Treasure Island Beach. "When you are docenting, you never know what you are going to encounter when you go down to the tidepools at low tide. Special things happen," she said. "We can still help our visitors have a wonderful experience in the tidepools and memories to take home."

See the foundation tidepool video online at www.lbindy.com. or go to www.birdsongandtheecowonders.com


- The Laguna Beach Independent

Equinox Celebration to Feature CD Release and Family Fun
Laguna Beach, Calif., August 2, 2008 ─ A celebration of music and art will usher in the Autumnal Equinox on September 21 at Endangered Planet Gallery. The event will mark the debut of the CD “If I were a Fish and Other Ocean Songs for Kids” by Cheryl Procaccini’s Birdsong & The Eco-Wonders. The Laguna Beach resident popularly known as ‘Birdsong’ will be performing songs from the CD.

A song writer and singer for more than 20 years, Birdsong began composing children’s music after being inspired by her work as a tide pool docent. Educational, environmentally-themed songs have become her signature, with a mission she says of “inspiring earth stewardship through the power of music.” The 13-song CD features “The Tide Pool Song,” already familiar to thousands of children due to its use by various organizations and area state parks for teaching purposes. The animal/ocean habitat songs, or “eco tunes” have become a favorite at local schools. The students enjoy acting out with body movements and gestures during the songs which contain easy to memorize choruses. Birdsong also incorporates real animal sounds in the recordings as much a possible. For example, birds and sea lions can be heard on certain tracks which are accompanied by various instruments - from ukuleles to steel drums. There is a hip-hop sounding song about sharks; and children as young as three are able to sing along to the tune about gray whale migration. Over the years Birdsong has collaborated with a number of well-known Orange County musicians on her recordings. For example, John Heussenstamm and Evren Ozan accompanied her on "Adapt to the Habitat," a song written for the Laguna Wilderness Park. The CD will be available for sale at the event and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Endangered Planet Foundation.

In addition to live musical performances and guest speakers, the third annual Autumnal Equinox celebration will feature art activities for children. As part of the Art-for-Miles project, seven inch canvas squares will be provided for youngsters to paint ocean/environmental themes on. These painted canvases are to be used as “family passes” to the upcoming One Earth | One Dream “Autumnal Green Festival” (to be held in Laguna Beach, October 3-5, 2008) at the Festival of Arts. The canvas squares will be sewn together into a large mural.

The Autumnal Equinox celebration will begin at 2 p.m. on September 21 and will conclude after the “Equinox” occurs at 7:45 PM PDT. Endangered Planet is located at 384 Forest Avenue, Gallery 13 in Laguna Beach. The third annual “Autumnal Equinox” bring a dish or beverage for three friends or a suggested $5 donation to the Endangered Planet Foundation event is open to the public. For further details, membership or volunteer opportunities please visit www.EndangeredPlanet.net or telephone (949) 497-5690.
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- Endangered Planet Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA/Press Release