The fourth event honoring the La Jolla oceanographer’s legacy was the largest yet.

A well-rounded group of exhibitors, organizers and attendees came together Oct. 5 to honor the legacy of famed oceanographer Walter Munk, who “was a wonderful example” of a community role model, his widow says.

This year’s “Walter Munk Day: Celebrate Our Oceans” at Kellogg Park was larger than ever and the fourth such event to honor Munk, whose work as a geophysicist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego led to groundbreaking observations of waves, ocean temperature, tidal energy and more.

Munk, who died in 2019, would have been 107 on Oct. 19 this year; the Walter Munk Foundation, established by Munk’s widow Mary Coakley Munk, puts on Walter Munk Day and other events to encourage marine education.

The all-day celebration featured 58 booths – a dozen more than last year – of educational activities, community groups, entertainment and more, and began with Kumeyaay ceremonial songs and a blessing from Kumeyaay tribal elders.

The Kumeyaay, La Jolla’s indigenous people, believe the ocean is where all life began.

“The creator came from the ocean,” Kumeyaay leader Kenneth Meza said at the opening ceremony. “He left us here to watch the land. If you take care of the land, the land will take care of you.”

Walter Munk Day continued with a ribbon cutting to open the “Ocean Alley” booths and tours of the lithomosaic Map, concluding with the launch of Kumeyaay tule boats made throughout the day.

The event was “really great,” Coakley Munk said. 

“The world needs some positive models these days,” she added. “Since I was a part of this community before I met Walter, … it’s extremely special because to see a community come together. … I hope we can continue to grow it.

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