11/21/2012 Topic: Vote for Anza-Borrego! Borregomike	The Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association has recently been named as one of eight "Eco Ambassadors" in San Diego County for a program that educates children about the desert. ABDNHA is now in a "people's choice" contest on the website of KFMB CBS 8 in San Diego, competing for a $25,000 grant. Voting lasts until Dec 6. This link will take you directly to the video about ABDNHA's program. You can vote there too. http://kfmb.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?p=V&c=75088&s=26698538&i=1&sort=VOTES_DESC#SD Rules say: One valid vote per device (computer, tablet, mobile) allowed every 24-hours during voting period - until Dec 6.
11/21/2012 Topic: Lecture: Saving the California Condor Borregomike	Friday, November 23, 2012  7:30 P.M. Borrego Springs Perfirming Arts Center By Dr. Mike Wallace, Ph.D   Dr. Mike Wallace, coordinator of  the California Condor Recovery Program that manages and reintroduces the endangered California condor in Baja California, Mexico, talks about his experiences from the first days he starting working with these magnificent birds to bring them back from the verge of extinction. Dr. Wallace, a wildlife scientist for the San Diego Zoo, is the California condor species coordinator for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and Condor Recovery Team leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.   The process started with Mike rappelling down a cliff to reach a wild condor nest.  In 1992, the first zoo-bred condors were released into the wild in California. As of April 30, 2012, the population of California condors had grown to 405, including 226 condors living in the wild. Reintroduction is not the end of the story, however. Appreciation and protection of the condors’ wild habitat is crucial for their ongoing survival. Don’t miss this excellent program of interest to all age levels.   No charge to ABDNHA Members. For non-members, there is a $5.00 fee at the door, which may be applied to a new membership in ABDNHA.  At the Borrego Springs Performing Arts Center. Seating is limited and on a first-come basis.  For more information, call (760) 767-3098.  Refreshments served following the program.   http://www.abdnha.org/anza-borrego-desert-lecture-series.htm
11/27/2012 Topic: Vote for Anza-Borrego! Borregomike	Looking at the results today, the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association, continues in first place with the childrens' education program but the lead is narrowing. To vote for ABDNHA on the CBS 8 website just go to: http://kfmb.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?p=V&c=75088&s=26698538&i=1&sort=#SD
12/9/2012 Topic: Vote for Anza-Borrego! Borregomike	Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association took second place and won $10,000. We are happy with that result. A big Thank You to all who supported ABDNHA and joined the race. For more details see: http://www.abdnha.org/2012_ecoambassador.htm
12/9/2012 Topic: Introduction to Anza-Borrego Geology Jan 11-12 Borregomike	Jan. 11, Fri., 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. Introduction to Anza-Borrego Geology http://www.abdnha.org/calendar1.htm#geology - You can register online for this program Instructor: Geology Professor Don Barrie, San Diego Mesa College. Hear an excellent overview of Anza-Borrego geologic highlights! The rocks, faults, and geologic history…almost half a billion years of geologic time, beginning with the ancient sea that produced Borrego's oldest rocks and ending with a discussion of Borrego's "monster faults," the San Jacinto and Elsinore. NM $15, M $13, V $11; Space is limited, call for reservations at the Nature Center. Takes place at the ABDNHA Library. Call early if you would like to go on the field trip tomorrow, Sat., Jan. 12; space is limited; mention if you are taking the Friday evening class. Jan. 12, Sat., 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Field Trip: Anza-Borrego Geology Leader: Geology Professor Don Barrie, Chair, Physical Sciences Dept., San Diego Mesa College. Agua Caliente County Park Following the Friday evening lecture, Professor Barrie leads a trip to Agua Caliente County Park to discuss the geologic history of the Salton Trough and various styles of faulting in the area. We’ll examine ancient igneous and metamorphic rocks that pre-date the opening of the Salton Trough, and take an easy-to-moderate hike of about one mile. Meet at Agua Caliente County Park at 9 a.m. Bring a sack lunch and plenty of water. 2WD okay. No charge; space is limited. Priority will be given to those attending the class on January 11; others will be added as space is available. Call the Nature Center for reservations. If you are holding a spot and cannot go, please call ahead to release your space so another can attend.
12/9/2012 Topic: Borrego Springs Intro to Photography Class Borregomike	Sponsored by the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Associatin Feb. 23-24 Saturday and Sunday Introduction to Digital Photography: a two day course Instructor: Photographer Mike McElhatton http://www.abdnha.org/calendar1.htm#photography Feb. 23, Fri., 3 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Part I) Feb. 23, Sat., 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. (Part II) Feb. 24, Sun., 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Part III) – Field Work Feb. 24, Sun., 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (Part IV) – Wrap-up Join Mike McElhatton over the Martin Luther King weekend to explore the basics of digital photography. With this course you will get more from your photography than simple snapshots. Learn about exposure control, focus, F stops, shutter speeds, how to use your flash, and what all those settings on your camera really mean. We’ll discuss composition, the use of software, and different ways to take “interesting photographs.” The course will be a mix of classroom lectures, hands-on experience, and questions and answers. Participants need a digital camera that permits manual exposure settings. No experience is required. Bring your camera, your camera manual, and your questions for three days of photo fun. Held at the ABDNHA Library. Call the Nature Center to reserve. NM $40, M 35, V $32. edited by Borregomike on 12/13/2012 edited by Borregomike on 12/13/2012
12/9/2012 Topic: Program: Native American Rock Art Jan 25-26 Borregomike	Jan. 25, Fri., 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. - Sponsored by the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association Program: Native American Rock Art in Southern California Instructor: Dan McCarthy, Anthropologist & Archaeology Researcher http://www.abdnha.org/calendar1.htm#rockart Join us for this fascinating program about the petroglyphs and pictographs of southern California, beginning with Paleolithic rock art, and contrasting styles by location and time. For more than 40 years, Dan has been compiling photographic inventories of rock art sites at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Joshua Tree NP, and throughout southern California and the West. Learn how, who, and why rock art was made. NM $14, M 12, V $10. See below for information about our instructor. Jan. 26, Sat., 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Field Trip: Corn Springs Petroglyphs and Ancient Lake Cahuilla Instructor: Dan McCarthy Visit Corn Springs off of I-10 in the Chuckwalla Mountains southeast of Desert Center, a location that is said to hold the most extensive collection of rock art in the Colorado Desert. Time permitting, we will conclude with a visit to the fish traps and other petroglyphs, along the ancient shoreline of Lake Cahuilla. Discussions will place these sites in a cultural context with background information about how the Cahuilla and other tribes lived in times past, for thousands of years. This is a long trip with lots of driving. Bring a full tank of gas, water, lunch and snacks, folding chair, closed shoes, dress for weather. Meet at ABDNHA Library and carpool from there. Space is limited. NM $25, M $22, V $20. About Archaeologist-Anthropologist Dan McCarthy: Dan has an extensive professional background that includes 35 years working with Tribal Elders and Traditional Practitioners; 17 years as Tribal Relations Program Manager for San Bernardino National Forest. Dan works with tribal governments of the Serrano, Cahuilla, and Luiseño. He serves as vice president of the Southern California Indian Basketweavers Organization, and he is the coordinator of the Malki Museum Agave Harvest and Tasting event. . Dan is the recent recipient of the National Lifetime Achievement award by the Office of Tribal Relations, and is currently the Director of the Cultural Resources Management Department, for the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Highland, CA. Dan’s research includes desert archaeology; aboriginal trail systems of the Sonoran, Mojave, and Colorado deserts; rock art distribution; and working with tribal communities in public education of Native culture. During the lecture and field trip, Dan will share with us his extensive knowledge of native cultures
12/9/2012 Topic: ABDNHA Outdoor Learning Center & Desert Garden Borregomike	The Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association has announced plans to use the recent award of $10,000 from the EcoAmbassadors competition to expand the ABDNHA Desert Exploration program (Anza-Borrego Just for Kids) with development of an outdoor learning center, a beautiful garden of desert plants and bird habitat on property ABDNHA owns adjacent to it's headquarters building, one block west of Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs. Situated among mature palo verde trees, the outdoor learning center will be a place of beauty, education, inspiration, and relaxation. It will extend the Desert Exploration Hands-on and Online program by providing a place where school children, families, visitors, and local residents can learn about the desert and enjoy the desert landscape. ABDNHA says "It is our intention that the ABDNHA Desert Garden will become a community project, something all of Borrego Springs will be proud of. It will also be a place where everyone who voted in the ECO Ambassador campaign can come to see the results of their efforts." ABDNHA plans to get started on the project in the year ahead, using the $10,000 award plus additional donations and in-kind contributions. Read more here: http://www.abdnha.org/2012_ecoambassador.htm
12/23/2012 Topic: Tracing Anza’s Trail: Dec 29 Borregomike	Dec. 29, Sat., 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Tracing Anza’s Trail: A Photographer’s Journey Presenter: Nina Egert, Ph.D. Photos from Dr. Egert's Book (Above) After Nina Egert returned from conducting doctoral fieldwork in the Himalayas, she became interested in discovering the history of her own surroundings in the East Bay Hills. The earliest documentation were the journals of the Spanish explorers who rode through the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay in search of an overland route northward. Fascinated by the insightful writings of Pedro Font, the chaplain on the 1775-1776 Anza Expedition, Dr. Egert began to seek out and photograph vestiges of Alta California as Font described it at the moment of first contact with European settlers. This resulted in her book, Tracing Anza’s Trail: A Photographers Journey. Tonight, Dr. Egert shares Font’s vision of California, with an eye to environmental issues. NM $10, M $8, V $7. At the ABDNHA Library. Call to reserve.
12/23/2012 Topic: For Those Denied the Night Sky Dec 28 Borregomike	Dec. 28, Fri., 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Film: For Those Denied the Night Sky Documentary film produced by Korean Public Television. See this fascinating film that examines the role of the disappearing night sky as a part of human culture and the human spirit. The film was produced in Korea and filmed partly in the U.S., including in Borrego Springs, because of Borrego’s status as the world’s second International Dark Sky Community. This film is a captivating cultural experience. At the ABDNHA Library. Space limited, call to reserve. NM $10, M $8, V $7.
12/23/2012 Topic: Solar Telescope Program Jan 1 Borregomike	Jan. 1, Tues., 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Special Astronomy Program - No Charge Join Ken Conway, Ocotillo Wells SVRA interpreter in front of the ABDNHA Nature Center, one block west of Christmas Circle to look for solar flares, sun spots, and prominences with the OWSRVA's new Coronado SolorMax II sun scope. No charge, no signup needed, just show up and have a fascinating look at the Sun, the star that powers everything on earth. Just have a look at this incredible Sun shot!

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