I'm excited to celebrate my 50th birthday in Mexico, and looking forward to visiting the canals of Xochimilco when we are in Mexico City. Xochimilco is home to the endangered axolotl, a species of salamander found nowhere else in the wild. It's under pressure from pollution and habitat loss but a team from UNAM, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, is working to preserve the wetlands in Xochimilco and restore lost habitat. They are starting to see encouraging results, and are fundraising to do more.

In lieu of birthday gifts, I'm asking if you would consider donating to this program. I'm aggregating donations through this GoFundMe and will then transfer them to the folks at UNAM. Because they are not a US 501(c)(3), contributions are not tax deductible, but even a small amount will go a long way.

You can read more about the work that's being done in this recent article: https://www.conservation.org/blog/axolotls-are-on-the-brink-can-we-bring-them-back