Sharks, Rays, Turtles… Oh My! Protect Local Aquatic Species.
Aquatic species, including sharks, rays, sea turtles, fish, and invertebrates, are essential components of the marine ecosystem of San Diego Bay. By educating the public on how these species are impacted by contaminants such as pollution, visitors can better appreciate their connection to all living things and how their actions can affect our environment. When visitors engage with a species they might encounter in their “backyard,” it fosters a sense of stewardship, pleading them to become empowered to take action and protect their environment.
In honor of Giving Tuesday, we ask you to make a gift to enrich the care of more than 80 native species at the Living Coast.
Donating today can directly support the diverse marine life that represents vital native species in San Diego Bay.
Your Donation Makes a Difference:
- $25: Provides necessary substrate for an individual exhibit
- $65: Ensures a day of feeding for all the sharks in our Shark & Ray exhibit
- $125: Supplies enrichment items like rocks and caves to enhance exhibits
- $250: Helps maintain our aquatic habitats, ensuring a clean and healthy environment for local marine species
In the warm waters of San Diego Bay, the leopard shark plays a crucial role in our marine ecosystem. They feed on small fish, crustaceans, and invertebrates, which helps control these populations and ensures that no single species becomes too dominant in the food web. This predatory behavior contributes to the ecosystem’s overall health and supports biodiversity.
At the Living Coast, leopard sharks act as ambassadors for their wild counterparts, helping to educate the public about the importance of this species.
Your gift ensures a balanced diet and specialized habitat for leopard sharks in the Shark & Ray Experience. Regular feeding and enrichment, like sandy substrates and artificial reefs, allow them to express natural behaviors.
By making a gift of $65, you can feed the sharks in the Shark & Ray Experience.
Bat rays play an essential role in coastal ecosystems, helping to maintain balance by foraging on mollusks and small fish. Additionally, bat rays serve as prey for larger predators, such as sharks, contributing to the food web and supporting the ecological balance of these environments.
At the Living Coast, bat rays allow visitors to observe their natural behaviors, including gliding gracefully through the water between feedings or burying themselves in the sand.
Your support helps provide the necessary enrichment and care for the bat rays at the Living Coast, ensuring a healthy environment where they can express their natural behaviors and thrive.
$125 provides enrichment items, such as rocks and kelp, for the Bat Rays at the Living Coast, promoting their well-being and helping to create a stimulating, natural environment.
Atlantic green sea turtles play a critical role in maintaining the health of marine ecosystems. As herbivores, they feed on seagrass and algae, grazing on seagrass beds, which prevents overgrowth. Healthy seagrass beds are essential for the ocean ecosystem—they serve as nurseries for aquatic species, improve water quality, stabilize sediments, and support biodiversity.
At the Living Coast, our green sea turtle helps educate the public about ocean health and sustainability. Observing these creatures in their exhibits helps visitors understand their role in preserving underwater habitats.
Your support helps provide the care, nutrition, and habitat maintenance necessary for the green sea turtle and all animals at the Living Coast to thrive.
$250 helps maintain the clean and healthy aquatic habitats that the Green Sea Turtles need to thrive at the Living Coast, directly supporting efforts to inspire visitors to care for their local coastal environment.
Double Your Impact!
Thanks to a generous matching grant from Marine Group Boat Works, every dollar you donate will be matched for the first $1,500. Your support can go twice as far in helping aquatic ambassadors thrive!
There are a number of ways to support our mission:
- Give a cash donation
- Become a member
- Volunteer
- Give appreciated securities/stock
- Include us in your estate plans
Does your company offer an employee charitable match?
Your gift could be doubled – ask us how!
Here are some of the exciting programs and projects that need your support:
Environmental education for K-12 students:
- Living Lab Field Trips
- Our Wild San Diego Outreach
- Wildlife Day Camps
- Provide the items needed for the specialized care of the animal ambassadors at the Living Coast.
Please make gifts by check payable to:
Living Coast Discovery Center
1000 Gunpowder Point Drive
Chula Vista, CA 91910
Tax ID: 33-0750177
The Living Coast Discovery Center is a 501(c)(3) organization that inspires the community to connect with and care for our coastal environment. Your donation is tax-deductible as permissible by law.
