For years, KZYX news has covered the devastation of the bull kelp forest off the Mendocino Coast, and its resulting impacts, including purple urchin barrens, the loss of the abalone and red urchin fisheries, the economic impacts on coastal businesses and local communities, and the related demise of the sunflower sea stars.
Sequoias of the Sea is a documentary about this bull kelp disaster. Directed by Natasha Benjamin and Anna Blanco, it will be featured at a long list of film festivals and climate conferences, nationally and internationally. And it's showing at the Mendocino Film Festival on May 30th. It looks back at the last seven years and what amounted to an emergency response from the local community. Most of the people featured in the documentary live and work on the coast in a variety of professions. They all have one thing in common: bring back the kelp.
Benjamin and Blanco spoke to KZYX about the film and their inspiration. In the film, they cover many aspects of the story and engage with scientists, local tribes, fishermen, and sport divers.
For more information, you can access their website at sequoiasofthesea.org