Topside by NDMK is open at the Trailhead! The restaurant, with the same head chef as NDMK, Joel Perez, focuses on Italian-Spanish-American tapas with a twist. Fresh ingredients combine into flavorful dishes like a pork loin marinated overnight in a citrus herb brine, the ‘Dark Seas Pasta’ featuring seafood in a squid ink pasta, and a creative specialty cocktail menu that includes the restaurant’s signature take on a bloody mary with the ‘Bloody Topside.’ Visit any day from 8 a.m. to approximately 8:30 p.m.

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Conservation

Mountain Mahogany Micropropagation
The Conservancy’s newly assembled Plant Tissue Culture Lab is providing the tools and technology to help save the rarest tree in North America. It is here that Conservancy Rare Plant Ecologist Kevin Alison is developing a method to allow the Catalina Island mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus traskiae) to overcome the challenges of traditional propagation. Focusing on micropropagation, Alison hopes to buttress and, someday, perhaps expand, the population of this federally endangered species.

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Education

Discovery Kits Look to the Skies
For the fourth year in a row, Catalina Island Conservancy provided education Discovery Kits to local families. The birding backpacks encourage youth in the community to connect with their Island home and deepen their appreciation of nature and native species. Thanks to the support of L.A. County Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn, the Conservancy was able to provide these resources free of charge

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Recreation

A Little Help from our Friends
The nonprofit Catalina Island Conservancy’s acreage of Catalina Island (42,135 acres, to be exact) is larger than Buffalo, New York. The 62 miles of coastline on the Island’s shores is longer than the Panama Canal. Caring for this special place is a weighty responsibility and privilege. Though all are passionate, the organization’s less than 115 employees can only cover so much ground – literally. Conservancy volunteers are a vital part of the organization and help create positive change on Catalina.

Volunteering at Ackerman Native Plant Nursery is one of the Conservancy’s most popular and plentiful opportunities. In fact, there will be eight chances in August to head to the nursery to help. Work tasks vary based on need and can include anything from watering to repotting to cleaning. There are duties available for all activity levels.

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