Join us for the Catalina Island Conservancy Symposium!
We hope that you can join us for the Catalina Island Conservancy Annual Symposium at Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach on Friday, October 8, beginning at 10:30 a.m.! This one-day mini-symposium offers a series of short presentations by Conservancy biologists, educators and research partners, with each followed by an interactive Q & A segment. We look forward to sharing a very interesting day with you as we offer a quick overview on projects that delve into the challenges and success of conservation in our unique island environment.
The Conservancy is excited to offer both in-person and virtual options for attending this enlightening event. The live event will include food and beverage, as well as opportunities to further discuss the Conservancy’s work with our speakers and field staff.

Keep an eye on our website for more specific information on Symposium speakers and topics!
Avalon City Summer
Here on Catalina, a day at the beach can be fun as well as educational. This summer, the Conservancy partnered with the Avalon city summer camp program to bring local youth to one of the Island’s backside beaches, Little Harbor. Conservancy educator, Cressita Bowman, led students in exploring the intertidal zone and catching both shore and hermit crabs for further examination. "It was really great to be back together doing in person learning and to be able to provide some of the students with their first trip to Little Harbor. Seeing the students overcome their fears of the water or the crabs, learning new things, and enjoying the outdoors together was extremely rewarding!" Explore our education programs.
Catalina Island Breeding Bird Survey
The Catalina Island Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) celebrated its tenth consecutive year monitoring the Island’s native and endemic birds, and its 18th year of data collection. On July 2nd, visiting biologist Jim Howard completed the USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) route for Catalina. Conservancy wildlife biologist Emily Hamblen and ACE wildlife intern Ricky Robbins assisted in the survey. The BBS is an annual effort that started in 1966 as a way to monitor breeding birds throughout North America, helping population trends. It is an efficient way to monitor many species at once and then concentrate on specific species that have shown significant change. Today there are over 4,100 active routes where qualified observers count every bird seen or heard within a 3-minute period at each point along designated routes. We are excited to be able to contribute to this international data collection effort. Learn more about our conservation programs.
Long Beach Gives
We are thrilled to once again participate in Long Beach Gives, a fundraising event for local nonprofit organizations, this September 23. Catalina Island's proximity to urban Los Angeles and Orange County makes it one of the most accessible locations in the region to experience nature. This will be the third year that the Conservancy has been invited to join Long Beach Gives, beginning with the organization’s inaugural event in 2019. Since its inception, Long Beach Gives has helped raise more than $2.5 million with more than 150 participating nonprofit organizations. We hope that you will join us for this 24-hour giving event!