Solana Beach nonprofit launches Wildlife Jewels Rescue Crew

Wildlife Jewels held a ribbon‑cutting ceremony at La Colonia Community Center on June 9, 2026, to officially launch its Wildlife Jewels Rescue Crew, a program that trains volunteers to spot, guard and transport injured marine and coastal animals [1]. Founder and executive director Azi Sharif, a Solana Beach resident, said the crew aims to “bridge the gap of wildlife being injured and not being found” by teaching community members what signs to look for on the beaches [1].

The Rescue Crew builds on three years of Wildlife Jewels’ art‑driven conservation work. Sharif blended her background in fine arts, computer science and wildlife education to create the nonprofit in 2023, later expanding the effort with beach clean‑ups at Fletcher Cove and Corona del Mar State Beach [1][5]. The new program adds a proactive “EYES” component that empowers volunteers to monitor and report distressed wildlife in Newport Beach, Solana Beach and La Jolla Cove, while also gathering data to support rescue operations [2].

Training sessions already underway in La Jolla illustrate how the crew operates. At a March 19 workshop, Sharif and retired wildlife biologist Joop Kuhn demonstrated proper seabird handling, from spotting injured birds to using nets and carriers for safe transport to licensed rehabilitation centers such as Project Wildlife and SeaWorld San Diego [4]. Volunteers are taught that observation is often the most critical step—many birds simply need a moment of rest or guidance back to their parents—while also learning legal limits on handling marine mammals [4].

Beyond immediate rescues, the Rescue Crew’s broader impact hinges on community engagement. By coupling art displays of rescued animals with educational talks, Wildlife Jewels hopes to raise awareness of threats like domoic‑acid poisoning and harmful algal blooms that affect local seabirds and marine mammals [1][4]. The organization’s mission, as described on its Idealist profile, is to protect wildlife from human‑driven threats through a fusion of arts, science and technology [5].

The launch raises a clear question: can a volunteer‑driven, art‑focused model sustain the rapid response needed for increasingly frequent coastal wildlife emergencies? As Sharif notes, scaling the program to reach “as much wildlife as possible that needs help” will depend on attracting more supporters and volunteers [1]. The answer will shape how effectively Southern California’s shoreline can be defended against the growing pressures of human activity.