Location:
Farrand Hall, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara, CA 93105
Map – SBMNH
Presented by Naira De Gracia and Michael Love
Join biologist Naira De Gracia and filmmaker Michael Love for a screening of “Living with Penguins,” a 30-minute film which chronicles Naira’s two six-month seasons in Antarctica collecting data on breeding Gentoos and Chinstraps. It offers a rare and often humorous glimpse into the everyday life of a field biologist living in a remote outpost with three other researchers. Naira’s narration is a reflective journal that both educates us about these flightless birds and examines the spiritual rewards of working in such a starkly beautiful place. After the screening, both presenters will speak briefly followed by Q & A.
Naira De Gracia is a field biologist who works on remote sites in wildlife monitoring and habitat restoration. Her family is from Santa Barbara—Michael is her uncle—and she enjoys spending time back in town in between field seasons. She’ll be headed to New Zealand in January to complete her master’s in conservation biology. Michael Love is a prizewinning filmmaker specializing in natural history projects locally and nationally. He has had seven films selected for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and is now at work on “Endangered in California,” a film and series about endangered species in California that have been brought back from the brink of extinction.