Scenic fundraiser backs local conservancy’s effort to save a rare Newport Beach estuary
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For more than half a century, the Newport Bay Conservancy has wrapped its collective arms around the 1,000-acre Upper Newport Bay to protect the ecologically important habitat from the encroachment of development, invasive species and other worldly harms.
Since 1967, a stalwart team of biologists, philanthropists and legions of volunteers have worked to educate the public about the estuary that provides a home, refuge and crossing to hundreds of species of fish birds and other wildlife, many of which are endangered.
From school visits and kayak tours to coastal cleanups and a volunteer-run native plant nursery, the conservancy’s outreach touches more than 50,000 visitors annually. A broader, multiyear effort to reconstruct and restore the Bay and its watershed began in 2018 and is about to head into its largest and most transformative work to date.
Yet, on one evening each year, the conservancy’s stakeholders join together, surrounded by the pristine natural beauty they’ve vowed to preserve, to raise their glasses to the efforts of the past year and to look ahead to the future — and it’s time once more for Gourmet by the Bay.
The seventh annual fundraising dinner takes place this Saturday, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center in Newport Beach, with sunset views, live music, a silent and live auction as well as a farm-to-table dinner catered by Chef Nicoletta Grippo and drinks from Tap Truck Orange County, all served on a patio overlooking the scenic Back Bay.
Billed as “an evening designed to delight your senses,” Gourmet by the Bay is both a gathering of and a thank you to the many people who bring the organization’s mission and vision to life through their volunteerism and philanthropy, according to Heather Cieslak, the conservancy’s operations director.
“This gives us an opportunity for our friends to come together and have a night at the Bay on the patio and get a chance to celebrate the accomplishments of the conservancy throughout the year,” she said Wednesday.
“It’s a natural evening, a chance to see birds flying by, see the changing of the tides and watch the sun set — it’s really stunning,” Cieslak added. “We don’t really decorate — one of our things is to let the resource speak for itself.”
Proceeds from the event will support the work of the Newport Bay Conservancy as it embarks on a crucial third phase of a larger “restoration era,” during which it will lead a multi-million dollar restoration and adaptation of the Big Canyon, a natural canyon on the Bay’s east side.
That work is set to begin this fall and includes restoring 14 acres of historical salt marsh and creating transitional wetland habitats that will help build the resilience of sensitive species as sea levels rise and salt water intrusion increases.
A collaboration of partners, from the city of Newport Beach and California Coastal Conservancy to state and federal wildlife agencies, are helping to fund the project, through grants and reimbursements, and monitor the restored areas in the years after work has been completed.
But as the project lead, the Newport Bay Conservancy will be responsible for initiating the work and coming up with the funds to get the ball rolling, another reason why this year’s Gourmet by the Bay’s fundraising efforts are especially crucial, officials say.
The state Coastal Commission approved the coastal permit application for the third phase for the Big Canyon Restoration Project on Thursday.
For Cieslak, the important effort is worth undertaking if it means restoring and preserving the Bay’s ecological presence in Orange County and California at large.
“These natural estuaries are few and far between on our California coastline, because over 90% of coastal estuaries have been developed over,” she said. “These areas, these buffer zones, are so important for wildlife, for migrating birds and for our own health and wellness.”
Gourmet by the Bay takes place Saturday, at 5 p.m., at the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center, 2301 University Drive, Newport Beach. General admission is $120 for members, $145 for non-members. For more details, visit newportbay.org.
