“As the time nears the IWC (International Whaling Commission) meetings, I've been putting in some 10-12 hour days on top of doing my best to maintain my livelihood and life,” said Oki.

Far from being your typical save-the-whales activist however, Oki chose another route: art, and the natural enthusiasm of children and lovers of nature.

The project is called Origami Whales Project, a curtain of folded whales that draws the eye with its color, but more importantly, its size. This year’s curtain is going to be almost 30,000 origami whales big, representing the number of whales targeted in the oceans all over the world. It’s both beautiful and saddening, and Oki hopes that its impact will be enough to motivate the hearts and minds of IWC attendees at their meeting next month, because, while the IWC has maintained a moratorium on whaling since 1982, whales continue to be slaughtered all over the world.

Putting together a 28,500 origami whale curtain is not an easy task, acknowledges Oki. But it’s fun, and because she’s spent her life doing things that are fun, she knows exactly where to go for the kind of boundless energy and enthusiasm needed to get the job done.

“It was wonderful to be working with children again,” said Oki. “They seemed very interested in the ‘cool things about whales’ that I shared with them.” The kids in question are 11-12 year olds from a school in Camarillo, and children in the Kid’s Club at Patagonia in Ventura.

“For the Kid's Club at Patagonia, we had the large conference room with big screen. With the little ones seated on the floor, and the large screen, 7 minutes of ‘Blues, Bryde's, & Humpbacks’ from Earl Richmond, and my personal one minute of close encounters with bubblenet feeding Humpbacks in Alaska, the whales seemed lifesize, bringing lots of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhhs’,” she said. “I think that between the two groups, probably 500 whales were folded!”

Then it was off to Cate School, a private school in Carpinteria, where the community service educator rallied her kids around the project.

“We had about 20 students in and out, some stitching with us, and all folded enthusiastically, making nearly 1,500 whales. We accomplished our goal of 22 strands, and the instructor wants to promote continued involvement of the school. There are about 4,600 origami whales towards the goal of 28,500--with additional pledges of whales coming in.” said Oki.

28,500 origami whales aren’t going to fold themselves however, and Oki is calling out to anyone willing to fold even a single paper whale for her curtain/art project/ whale memorial.

“It is a small sacrifice compared to the suffering of thousands of whales; and I am glad to do what I believe to be the most important action I can dedicate to them at this time.”

Visit http://www.peggy-oki.com/cu_origami.part.html to get information on Origami Whales, and how you can contribute your mad paper folding skills to the project. The page has links to folding diagrams and petitions you can download, as well as contact and deadline information, as well as links to Oki’s other projects. Don’t wait – you have one more month to become part of this year’s Origami Whales Project.

Volunteers needed to stitch strands of origami whales with a simple hand-sewing method at the “Origami Whale Stitching Parties” in creating the “Curtain of 28,500 Origami Whales” to raise awareness about commercial whaling. All ages & genders are most welcome.
All materials, including origami whales, will be provided.
Please check the online calendar at:
http://www.peggy-oki.com/events.html
• TUESDAY, 17th of April
“Curtain of 28,500 Origami Whales” Stitching Party
5:30-8:30 PM
The Treasure Hunt
919 Maple Avenue, Carpinteria, CA. 93013, ph: 684.3360
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