Event: Wilderness Spirit Brunch & Award Presentation, Honoring Beth Pratt & Cougar P-22
Date: Sunday, May 21, 2023, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., VIP pre-reception begins at 10:15 a.m.
Location: Craft House at Corque, 420 Alisal Road, Solvang, CA 93463
General Admission: $150 | VIP Admission: $250
Website: www.wildlingmuseum.org/news/2023-wilderness-spirit-brunch
SOLVANG — The Wildling Museum is pleased to announce that tickets are on sale now for the 2023 Wilderness Spirit Brunch, taking place Sunday, May 21st at Craft House at Corque in Solvang. This year’s Wilderness Spirit Award recipients are Beth Pratt and cougar P-22.
VIP ticket holders will enjoy a pre-reception mixer with Pratt before savoring a delicious brunch buffet, complete with a Bloody Mary and mimosa bar. Attendees will also enjoy a spirited live auction supporting the Wildling Museum with opportunities to bid on getaways, including a once-in-a-lifetime Alaskan cruise, Santa Ynez Valley experiences, one-of-a-kind artworks, and more.
Beth Pratt, California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation and conservation activist will be honored with the Wilderness Spirit Award, along with cougar P-22, at the Wildling Museum’s 2023 event. Photo courtesy Beth Pratt. Courtesy photos.
The main festivities will include the presentation of the Wildling Museum’s Wilderness Spirit Award, an annual recognition of a person or group who strives to bring awareness to wilderness protection and preservation. The Wildling Museum is honored to present the 2023 Wilderness Spirit Award to Beth Pratt, California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, whose incredible work aligns with the Wildling Museum’s mission of bringing art and nature together as a means of preserving our wild spaces.
2023 honoree Beth Pratt has worked tirelessly as a longtime advocate for California cougars, most notably L.A.’s famous P-22, who was sadly euthanized last December after living for more than a decade in Griffith Park.
Pratt has worked tirelessly as a longtime advocate for California cougars, most notably L.A.’s famous P-22, who was sadly euthanized last December after living for more than a decade in Griffith Park. She initiated the Save L.A. Cougars campaign effort to build a southern California wildlife crossing across highway 101, resulting in the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, currently under construction with an anticipated 2025 completion date.
“I am very excited that the Wildling Museum is honoring Beth Pratt with this year’s Wilderness Spirit Award,” says Kevin Patterson, Wildling Museum Board President. “Beth was instrumental in bringing the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, the largest in the world when completed, to fruition. Her energy and breadth of knowledge are truly inspiring.”
To purchase tickets or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.wildlingmuseum.org/news/2023-wilderness-spirit-brunch or call (805) 686-8315. Advance ticket registration is required for this event.
Special thanks to leading sponsors, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Gold Sponsors and First Republic Bank, Silver Sponsors.
About Beth Pratt – 2023 Wilderness Spirit Honoree
A lifelong advocate for wildlife, Beth Pratt has worked in environmental leadership roles for over twenty-five years, and in two of the country’s largest national parks: Yosemite and Yellowstone. As the California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, she says, “I have the best job in the world—advocating for the state’s remarkable wildlife.” Although most of her career has been spent in national parks, she now focuses most of her work on helping wildlife and people thrive together in cities.
As part of her conservation work with the National Wildlife Federation, Pratt leads the #SaveLACougars campaign to build the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which broke ground on Earth Day, April 22, 2022. The largest wildlife crossing of its kind in the world, it will help save a population of mountain lions from extinction. Her innovative conservation work has been featured by The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC World Service, CBS This Morning, the Los Angeles Times, Men’s Journal, The Guardian, NPR, AP News, and more. A recent AP story featuring Beth’s work on building the wildlife crossing received over a billion media impressions worldwide.
Di Angelo Publications released her new book, I Heart Wildlife: A Guided Activity Journal for Connecting With the Wild World, in 2020, and Heyday Books published When Mountain Lions are Neighbors: People and Wildlife Working It Out In California in 2016. Her new book, Yosemite Wildlife, will be published by the Yosemite Conservancy in 2024. Beth has also contributed essays to the books The Nature of Yosemite: A Visual Journey, and Inspiring Generations: 150 Years, 150 Stories in Yosemite. She also has given a TEDx talk about coexisting with wildlife called, “How a Lonely Cougar in Los Angeles Inspired the World,” and is featured in the documentary, “The Cat that Changed America.”
Beth spends much of her time in Los Angeles, but makes her home outside of Yosemite, “my north star,” with her five dogs, two cats, and the mountain lions, bears, foxes, and other wildlife that frequent her backyard.
About the Wildling Museum — The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature, where art and nature meet, offers visitors a unique perspective on the importance of preserving our natural heritage. Through the eyes of artists, and education and field experiences, guests can renew their relationship with the wilderness and understand its fragile nature – hopefully leaving more committed toward ensuring those spaces remain for future generations. Visiting hours are weekdays 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. and weekends 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. For more information, and to volunteer or join as a member to support this important local arts and nature institution, please visit www.wildlingmuseum.org