Palos Verdes Conservancy Planning First-ever "Engage The Natural World" Film Series

I loved finding out that in the coming months the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy will celebrate human interaction with the natural world in its first-ever film series titled “The Beauty of Nature”. As a supporter and participant in and of all things outdoors, I find it fantastic that the idea behind showing the films is that we become our true selves as well as something greater each time we truly engage with nature. And, once we do become moved by the beauty of the natural world, we become fierce protectors of it.

The first film was shown at the Warner Grand Theatre this past Saturday and was titled Yosemite: A Gathering of Spirit. I am sorry I missed it as it was directed by the amazing Ken Burns and celebrates the 150th anniversary of the landmark Yosemite Grant signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1864. This act preserved Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and if any of you have seen this I would enjoy hearing your comments.

The rest of the films are as follows:

• Riding Giants, to be presented in June at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, looks at the history and popularity of surfing and will probably be the one film that many in the South Bay might be most familiar with since it has a lot of local history (and residents along the coast are the ones whose lives are most impacted by ocean water quality). A cool note for this film is that after it ends, viewers can stick around for the grunion run.

• In August the film is Rivers and Tides, a documentary on sculptor Andy Goldsworthy as he seeks to “understand that state and that energy that I have in me that I also feel in the plants and in the land”. Presented by the Palos Verdes Art Center, and shown outdoors in the PVAC's renovated atrium, the evening will feature box dinners for a Hollywood Bowl-style evening.

• Palos Verdes Library District will host the fourth film in September, More Than Honey, which looks in depth at bee colonies, specifically in California, Switzerland, China and Australia, and shows amazing footage of the colonies while addressing the recent problem of disappearing bee colonies (a serious issue since 80% of plant species depend on bee pollination). Check out my recent blog about this topic here.

• It's back to the Warner Grand Theatre in November for the final film, Kon-Tiki, a historical drama that re-enacts the Pacific Ocean expedition of Thor Heyerdahl and five others aboard a balsa wood raft in 1947. Heyerdahl believed that people from South America could have settled Polynesia in pre-Columbian times and the Conservancy believes the film is all "about the courage to undertake new things and test new hypotheses, something the land conservancy wants to inspire in youngsters.”

It is a great thing that the PVPLC is doing this and if you are interested you can learn more on their website.