Anyone who has visited Catalina Island in the past few years knows that the number of Catalina Fox has grown substantially just by seeing the scat around camp every morning. Many of us will even see a Fox exploring around camp after dark. This link is to an article in the Los Angeles Times about the resurgence of the Catalina Island Fox after becoming nearly extinct a decade ago.

Support and Gear Vehicle (SAG) and the riders!

The Sustainable Living Bike Tour gives volunteer educators from the Catalina Environmental Leadership Program (CELP) the opportunity to visit students in their home communities and continue the education process where they left off at Howland’s Landing.  The message of sustainability and practices at CELP provide a strong focus for the bike tour.  Sustainable practices can be implemented into almost all areas of our day to day life.  Whether it be what we eat, the way we get around, how we dispose of waste or the health of our community.

Aquaponics System provided by Eden Aquaponics

The highlights of the 2011 Sustainable Living Bike Tour included:

• Closing the loop through Aquaponics
• Building Compost Bins, Revitalizing School Gardens, and Restoration Projects
• Urban Homesteading
• From Bikes to Biodiesel Workshops

The Sustainable Living Bike Tour continues to grow with the founding of the Catalina Ecology Project, a non-profit organization whose mission is to create educational experiences and provide resources that connect individuals, schools, and communities to natural systems and empower them to live more sustainably.

Building a Compost Bin for Markham Middle School

Clean-up at Hahamongo Park with the Arroyo Seco Foundation and Crestview Prep

What will it take to connect a critical mass of people to natural systems? How do we inspire ourselves and others to embrace a sustainable lifestyle? What is quality of life and how can we best achieve it for ourselves and our communities? The answers to these questions come in many different shapes and colors, but year after year, one answer is the bike tour. 14 volunteer cyclist-educators, 700 miles, 23 days, 17 schools, 12 gardens, 15 flat tires, 3 brand new compost systems, and thousands of students.

Please check out the blog to learn more about this year’s bike tour!   www.sustainablelivingbiketour.blogspot.com

We look forward to the arrival of our first group of students for the season. This Monday, 3 schools will be traveling to Howlands Landing on the Catalina Express. They will be greeted with gorgeous weather and excited CELP staff.

We just finished our fall staff training. Some wildlife sightings include bald eagles, large schools of rainbow colored juvenile blacksmith (relative of the famous bright orange garibaldi fish), and our resident (harmless) hornsharks and leopard sharks. The water temperature is comfortable for snorkeling, averaging about 68 degrees.

After a busy summer on the island, its nice to see the crowds clearing out and the wildlife setting in. We can’t wait to share this amazing island with the hundreds of students that will be visiting us this fall.  A special thanks to all the teachers, parents and administrators that have been busy preparing for the trip.

See you soon!

We look forward to celebrating the wedding of two former CELP staff here at camp next weekend. On September 17th, Laurie Henry and Chris Evelyn will wed on the shore of Howlands Landing. Attending the wedding will be family and friends traveling from across the country. After the beach ceremony, guests will enjoy an organic, gourmet meal prepared by our world-renowned kitchen staff. After dinner, we look forward to dancing the night away to the famous Langen Brothers Band.

For information on having your very own “green” weddings at Howlands Landing, please contact us at info@celp.net.

Thank you for visiting our new CELP website! We hope you find the information you came looking for. We encourage you to check back often, as we will continue to add resources, photos, and more detailed information about our program.

We encourage your feedback! If you have any suggestions on how this website can be most useful to you, don’t hesitate to send a note to info@celp.net. We look forward to your ideas.

Thanks! We look forward to seeing you on the island!