On December 11, CIR celebrated the holiday season last year by hosting our 6th annual holiday party open to all members, volunteers, and project partners. In the past, we've held the party in our Carpinteria office, but once we moved to Santa Barbara, we wanted to find another party location in Carpinteria, a nice halfway mark between our friends in Ventura and Santa Barbara. We were thrilled to find the Carpinteria Library's Community Room, with plenty of room for food, drinks, and raffle prizes!
Ten lucky people went home with amazing raffle prizes, ranging from a guided Channel Islands Outfitters kayak tour for two on Santa Cruz Island, REI and Patagonia gift cards, CIR t-shirts and hats, passes to the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, a signed copy of Canyon Voices by Karen Telleen-Lawton, and a whale-watching tour for two on the Condor Express! Our annual Natural History Photo Contest was another smashing success, too. First place went to Melinda Angle, for her incredible shot of a juvenile black-crowned night heron.Second place and third place winners Diane Borrelli and Don Mills were close behind for their beautiful landscape photos from Santa Rosa Island and Santa Cruz Island, respectively.