Exhibition: Rare Baja Book Collection

The Keep Loreto Magical Foundation (KLM) invites you to discover the Norm Christie Library of Environmental Literacy, a special collection of books from Baja California Sur.

📚 Event: Public Exhibition
📍 Location: Plaza Benito Juarez
📅 Date: Tuesday, 20 March 2026
🕐 Time: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

This Special Collection of Books is a unique bibliographic collection about the Baja California Peninsula, which will be presented to the public this Tuesday, January 20, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., in Plaza Benito Juárez. The collection will be on public display so that the Loreto community can explore, enjoy, and discuss its contents.

It is an impressive collection of more than 3,000 books, research papers, maps, and original materials focused exclusively on the Baja California peninsula. The collection covers a broad spectrum of topics, including geology, geography, marine biology, the culture and history of the Baja California Peninsula, exploration journals, botany, guides to birds and reptiles, and many others. Expert historians and scientists say the collection is unique throughout Mexico.

The collection includes:

  • Original research papers from the California Academy of Sciences.

  • More than 150 detailed maps of Baja California.

  • First editions and rare works dating to the 1500s, 1600s, and 1800s.

  • Complete Dawson Series (51 volumes), a cornerstone archive of Baja history and exploration.

  • Scientific symposium proceedings dedicated to Baja California (1968, 1972, 1978).

  • Field guides covering birds, reptiles, insects, marine and freshwater fish, mammals, geology, tracks, skulls, and butterflies — all Baja-specific.

  • Travel and expedition accounts across the peninsula by land, sea, air, mule, kayak, sailboat, bicycle, and on foot.

  • Norm Christie’s personal annotated binders, documenting decades of exploration and research.

Many of these works are out of print and will never be republished, making their preservation especially critical.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to get closer to the knowledge and bibliographic heritage of our region.

Restoring Nopoló’s Coastal Dunes

Beginning the year with hands-on restoration of a fragile coastal ecosystem

The new year began quietly for KLM volunteers—on foot, in the dunes, with hand tools and long-term commitment guiding the work. On January 1, 2026, volunteers gathered at Nopoló Beach to continue restoring a fragile dune system threatened by invasive species and ongoing human pressure.

Unlike visible shoreline debris, invasive plants like buffel grass damage the coast slowly. They crowd out native vegetation, destabilize dunes, and leave wildlife without the habitat it depends on. Volunteers spent the day removing invasive growth, uncovering native plants struggling to survive beneath it, and replanting species adapted to this environment. Some plants were rescued; others were reintroduced and carefully tended until they could take hold on their own.

This restoration effort has unfolded over many years. What was once a uniform patch of invasive weeds has gradually become a living dune again—supporting native flowers, birds, butterflies, and pollinators, and strengthening the shoreline itself.

On New Year’s Day, KLM:

  • Began the year with hands-on dune restoration at Nopoló Beach

  • Removed invasive buffel grass and non-native plants

  • Protected and re-established native dune vegetation

  • Supported the return of wildlife and pollinators to coastal habitat

Starting the year in the dunes reflects the heart of KLM’s work—steady, patient restoration and a commitment to protecting Loreto’s most vulnerable resources over time.

Volunteer Cleanup at the Nopoló Boat Ramp

Closing the year by protecting where land meets sea

On December 31, 2025, KLM volunteers chose to close out the year the same way they opened it — by showing up for Loreto’s coast.

The Nopoló Boat Ramp is a small place with an outsized impact. This is where boats, people, hikers, and the ocean all converge — and where trash can quickly make its way into the Gulf of California. On the final day of the year, volunteers gathered at the boat ramp to remove bags of trash, plastics, beer bottles, and other debris before it could be carried into the water or harm marine life.

This hands-on cleanup helped protect water quality, wildlife, and safe access for local residents who enjoy this shoreline every day — and it served as a powerful reminder that caring for the environment doesn’t wait for a new year to begin.

In 2025, KLM:

  • Closed out the year with a volunteer-led cleanup at the Nopoló boat ramp on December 31

  • Removed plastics, glass, and waste before it could enter the Gulf of California

  • Improved safety and access at a frequented coastal gathering point

  • Reinforced shared responsibility for caring for Loreto’s working waterfronts

Ending the year with action reflects what KLM’s work is about — consistent care, community commitment, and protecting the places that connect Loreto to the sea.

Community Harvests & Supporting Local Rancheros

Strengthening food security, livelihoods, and land stewardship in the Sierra

Photos of KLM volunteers at our recent “Harvest Day” on 12 December 2025.

Local agriculture in the Sierra de la Giganta depends not only on water and soil, but on people willing to show up and lend a hand. In 2025, KLM helped connect community members with local rancheros during harvest days, strengthening the human ties that make Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) work.

These volunteer harvest outings brought Loreto residents directly into the fields—helping plant, weed, and harvest fresh produce while learning where their food comes from and what it takes to grow it sustainably in a desert environment. For ranchers, this support reduces labor pressure during peak harvest times and reinforces a reliable local market for their crops.

In 2025, KLM:

  • Organized community harvest days, bringing volunteers to local ranches to support CSA production.

  • Strengthened relationships between residents and rancheros, building trust and shared responsibility for local food systems.

  • Supported pesticide-free, water-conscious farming, helping protect soils, aquifers, and long-term agricultural viability.

  • Expanded community understanding of desert agriculture, connecting food, water stewardship, and land conservation.

  • Helped keep ranching families on their land, reducing pressure from development and extractive industries.

By working side-by-side in the fields, neighbors become partners in sustainability. These harvest days are about more than vegetables — they are about preserving Loreto’s agricultural heritage, supporting rural livelihoods, and keeping the Sierra productive for generations to come.

Healthy land, resilient ranches, and strong communities grow from shared effort.

Activity Schedule & Environmental Update Coming up Next...

JOIN AND LEARN !

Announcement of Keep Loreto Magical activities:

www.keeploretomagical.org, a program of The Ocean Foundation in Loreto for the last 10 years. Program activities are advocated, lead and fundraised by neighbors and "vecinos"( neighbor in Spanish). So what can a group of volunteers do? A lot, come learn, and ask questions.

Dec 5th 3pm to 5pm Loreto time.

Environmental Update in Loreto by Cecilia Fischer:

By Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83150334675?pwd=i8X42eL68ncKOBPJEcZUxZAgqFWa5m.1

Meeting ID: 831 5033 4675

Passcode: 717806

Updates on topics:

Water and changes to Density and land use zoning in Loreto

Sewage treatment plant rehabilitation

Recycling + Toxic Residue + Improvements at Dump + Air monitors data after 1 year

Coastal restoration + planted coral after 1 year + collaboration with Parks system National Commission Protected Areas.

Why the above points + by whom + how we spend funds we fundraise

Dec 6th- Dune restoration in Nopolo - want to be part of it? Please connect with Lorene Archdekin at lwarchdekin@gmail.com. Its fun to do gardening for the environment and there is great food afterwards by Erik. Have you ever tasted tiny cured agaves? Time to start! They delicious and edible.

Dec 7th - Hike to Nopolo Park - north western perimeter. Great views, easy flat hike and visit to Rancho San Fellipe. Departure: 8am from south exit/entrance of Nopolo by highway. Back 12noon. No charge. Free hike, you can car-pool

Dec 9th - Hike to Loreto II park: new location you have been asking about. Departure 8am from south exit/entrance of Nopolo by highway back 1pm. No charge. Free hike, you can car-pool

Dec 10th - Help us recycle and in return you get delicious food by Erik and a San Javier made mango mermalade. Where: Meet at the Big Mart on the highway at 8am, then we drive to EnviroClean Recycling Loreto. Think about 2hr work and 1 hr enjoyment. Return by 11am.

Dec 11th - Coastal Restoration: We need to take out buffell grass close to La Negrita estuary in down town (buffel grass is outside of the estuary) so it does not migrate inside estuary area. Where: Meet at Auto zone by the highway entrance to Loreto at 9am, back 11am. Gift to you for supporting this activity is San Javier cured olives.

Dec 12th: - Help out on day of harvest at San Javier. Meet at 6am at Big Mart by highway to go to San Javier and witness the actual organic crops and help out preparing boxes of harvest. In return you will be gifted with cured olives from San Javier + home made vaquero coffee / with home made bread with butter and/or fruit. Return is between 9am and 10am.

Have questions? Call: at 613 100 4271 or email: ceci.fischer2023@gmail.com

BOOK COLLECTION TREASURE!

Discover Baja California Through Books: The Norman Christie Collection Comes to Loreto

Are you passionate about Baja California’s nature, scientific research, or rich history? Then this is for you!

📚 Event: Presentation of the Norman Christie Book Collection
📍 Location: Community Center of Loreto Bay
📅 Date: November 14th, 2025
🕐 Time: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

About the Collection

Norman Christie has spent decades exploring and studying the Baja California Peninsula. In doing so, he has amassed an extraordinary private library of nearly 3,000 titles — including original research papers from the California Academy of Sciences, historical works, magazines, and novels focused exclusively on Baja California.

Mr. Christie has generously donated this collection to the community of Loreto. The nonprofit organization Keep Loreto Magical (www.keeploretomagical.org) has helped catalog and organize the books in collaboration with the Teachers College of Loreto, which already boasts an impressive public library open to everyone.

Event Highlights

At this special presentation, visitors will have the chance to explore a selection of these rare and valuable materials — most of them in English — including:

  • Over 150 detailed maps of the Baja California Peninsula.

  • Identification guides on birds, reptiles, insects, freshwater and saltwater fish, mammals, butterflies, geology, flora, and fauna — all specific to Baja California.

  • Original and first editions dating back to the 1500s, 1600s, and 1800s.

  • Proceedings from the Symposiums of Science of the Baja California Peninsula (1968, 1972, 1978).

  • Accounts of expeditions across Baja by land, air, and sea — including travel by mule, kayak, sailboat, bicycle, and even coast-to-coast hikes!

  • The complete Dawson Book Collection, a landmark series of 51 volumes preserving rare and unpublished primary sources on Baja California’s history, exploration, and natural heritage.

  • Mr. Christie’s own annotated binders documenting his personal expeditions across the peninsula.

A Cultural Treasure for Loreto

As recognized by the Cultural Institute of Baja California Sur, no other library, bookstore, academic institution, or government archive in the state holds such a vast and specialized collection devoted solely to the Baja California Peninsula.

Later this year, the collection will find its permanent home at the Public Library of the Teachers College of Loreto, where it will remain accessible to researchers, students, and the public.

This remarkable donation is truly a treasure for the community — a gift that will inspire curiosity, learning, and exploration for generations to come.

Come and celebrate the spirit of discovery that defines Baja California. We look forward to seeing many enthusiastic readers and explorers at this special event!

https://youtu.be/0NEHNu5Fpp8?si=UZsW4Wnu0SWjrB_F

ENVIRONMENTAL UPDATE INVITATION

English Version:

Environmental Update of

Date: 17th Oct 2025 at 1.30pm by zoom:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84640560243
Meeting ID: 846 4056 0243
Passcode: 573536

Presentation will be about 1hr and then lots of Q & A. I can do bilingual presentation.

It was Nov 2015 when this neighborhood organization was born (we celebrate 10 years this year). All activities are suggested, advocated and fundraised by neighbors and "vecinos" (Spanish for neighbors) with the support of The Ocean Foundation . So what do a bunch of volunteer get done? A lot, actually.

Since our last environmental update in Feb 2025, we have a lot to share:

  • Third party citizen oversight to water use in Loreto Municipality as per law: This means the mechanism awarded by Mexican law to ensure use of water, management of water, treatment of sewage, fees of water is done correctly by public servants of water department (OOMSAPAL)

  • New additions to produce of CSA (thank you for all your feedback) + support to ranchers

  • Sahuaro project: risks associated with transporting liquified natural gas inside the Gulf of California / Sea of Cortes, and what coastal communities are doing to ensure our marine ecosystem is protected.

  • Norman Christie Book Collection donation to Teachers College of Loreto: 3000 titles of books, science journals and magazines all of the Baja Ca peninsula.

  • Challenges of the two new parks community help to create: Nopoló Park and Loreto II park

  • More help to wildlife in distress.

  • What we learned from Conapesca (National Commission for Fisheries) in Forum held in Loreto.

  • Coastal restoration: how are we doing after 3 years of this activity along 17kms of coastline we participate.

  • Air monitoring: dump fires, citizen network, science with air monitors/weather stations around town

  • Grants to Stray Paws, Soft Paws, Baja Mobile Steri Vet, Caritas de Loreto, Casa de Perros, Patrick McGorky, Hospital Vet Cortes, ORCAS Explora tu Mundo AC (benefits children with autism).

Version en Español:

Avances en temas ambientales por la organización "Mantén Loreto Mágico" en temas de:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84640560243
ID REUNION: 846 4056 0243
CONTRASENA: 573536

  • Manejo del agua en Loreto

  • Agricultura apoyada por la comunidad

  • Proyecto Sahuaro y sus amenazas a las comunidades costeras, como Loreto.

  • Acervo bibliográfico del Sr Norman Christie: Donación de 3000 títulos de libros, publicaciones, mapas y demás para la comunidad de Loreto.

  • Los retos de nuestros dos nuevas áreas naturales protegidas: Parque Nopolo y Parque Loreto II.

  • Restauración costera: cómo vamos después de hacer esta actividad cada 3er día por 3 años a lo largo de 17kms de playa en la zona urbana de Loreto.

  • Apoyo a vida silvestre bajo estrés.

  • Monitoreo de calidad de aire en Loreto con estaciones meteorológica en conjunto con UABCS La Paz

  • Lo que aprendimos del 2do Foro de Pesca FONMAR en Loreto

  • Donativos a organizaciones / colectivos / grupos que ayudan a perros y gatos. También a Caritas de Loreto y ORCAS Explora Tu Mundo AC (apoyo a niños y niñas con necesidades especiales como TEA).

Ojalá puedas asistir. EL vinculo zoom esta arriba. Será reunión bilingüe, abierto a todo publico. Oct/17/ 2025 1.30pm, aprox. 1 hora, con sección de preguntas y respuestas al final.

KLM joins CONSERVA LORETO during naturalist challenge!

What is a BioBlitz, and Why Does It Matter for Loreto’s Parks?

Have you ever joined a BioBlitz? These events began in the United States in the mid-1990s, when scientists and citizens came together for a simple but powerful idea: document every species they could find in a short amount of time within a specific place.

The first BioBlitz was organized in 1996 by the U.S. National Park Service and the National Geographic Society. Since then, the movement has spread worldwide. The name itself comes from “bio” (life) and “blitz” (a sudden, energetic effort). And that’s exactly what a BioBlitz is: a burst of community science where everyone—biologists, teachers, students, families, hikers, divers, photographers—works together to observe, record, and celebrate biodiversity.

Why BioBlitz Matters

A BioBlitz is much more than a species count:

  • Raises awareness: People discover the hidden plants and animals living right in their backyard.

  • Collects valuable data: Scientists gain snapshots of biodiversity that can reveal changes over time.

  • Connects people to place: Communities feel pride and ownership of their natural spaces.

  • Empowers conservation: The knowledge gathered becomes a tool to defend and manage parks more effectively.

BioBlitz in Loreto

We are blessed with three protected areas. Every observation is proof that our parks are alive, play an essential role, and are worth defending.

Parque Nacional Bahía de Loreto – a marine park home to whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and countless fish species.

Parque Nopoló & Parque Loreto II — coastal and mountain parks where desert strips, mangrove forests, sand dunes, hidden canyons, and arroyos create vital habitats.

By hosting BioBlitz events in these parks, we can:

  • Document the incredible biodiversity of our land and sea.

  • Learn how species interact and depend on each other.

  • Detect threats like invasive species or pollution.

  • Show authorities and decision-makers the true value of protecting these ecosystems.