Donor Wall and Van Sant Sculpture, Marsh Birds Rising
The Peter & Mary Muth Interpretive Center was turned from a dream into a reality by a very generous supporters. Public funds including state grants, local taxes and redevelopment moneys were added to this seed money to allow the Interpretive Center to be built. But support continues to be needed to allow the Center and it’s grounds to continue educating thousands of members of our community each year. Since the opening of the facility in 2000 we have raised over $500,000 to expand and enhance the education facilities at the Interpretive Center. Funding partners include:
$125,000 Hausman Family Foundation
$100,000 Ray and Elsa Watson
$50,000 Irvine Ranch Water District
$45,000 Boand Family Foundation
$25,000 Alice Culver
$20,000 Fletcher Jones Motor Cars
$10,000 Keating Family
$10,000 Howard & Frances Cork
$9,000 Sea and Sage Audubon
$5,000 Dick Newell Family
$5,000 John J. Handzel
$5,000 Lane & Linda Koluvek
$5,000 LSA Associates
$5,000 Kling Family Foundation
$5,000 Friends of Newport Bay
Each is permanently recognized with bronze lettering on the Donor Wall. Donations to the Interpretive Center can be made in a variety of ways. Gifts to an endowment offer an excellent opportunity to establish a named fund and insure that it provides ongoing benefits and support. Endowments will be established so that only the annual net investment income (or portion thereof) will be spent in accordance with the direction of the benefactor. Named funds can be used to support a specific program or project that is dear to the donor. Donations may also be made in memory of a special person in the benefactor’s heart. For information on these and other opportunities, please contact Operations Director, Heather Cieslak, 949-923-2269 or heather.cieslak@newportbay.org.
About the Artist, Tom Rowley Van Sant (1931 to 2023) was an American sculptor, painter, and conceptual artist. In his professional work he executed 77 major sculpture and mural commissions for public spaces around the world, including Marsh Birds Rising at the Bay completed in 2003. He is best known for his digital artwork and map, The Earth from Space, which was the first satellite composite map of the Earth, Free of clouds, Completed in 1990, it broke cartographic precedent (Wiki)
