Santa Barbara Channel-Whales & Climate Connections

Santa Barbara Channel’s Whales and Their Climate Connection”

A Free Zoom Webinar with Marine Biologist Holly S. Lohuis

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) is pleased to present “Santa Barbara Channel’s Whales and Their Climate Connection,” a free Zoom webinar with Holly Lohuis, a marine biologist, marine educator, and naturalist in the Santa Barbara area. This presentation, which will share what Holly has learned about  research on whales and their influence on the ecology of our oceans and the Santa Barbara Channel, will take place on Thursday, April 21, 2022, at 7pm PT. The webinar is free, but registration is required, and donations are welcome. Register at: https://sbmm.org/santa-barbara-event/ .

By increasing pubIIc awareness of the pressing challenges facing the health of whale populations, Holly hopes to help enhance our connection to and relationship with these captivating animals and their ocean home. “Whales have the power to inspire millions of people to care about our oceans,” says Holly. “Let’s dive in together and learn more about our local whales.“

To that end and with support from the Ocean Futures Society,  Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, Condor Express and Island Packers, Holly is also helping to spearhead the effort to create a whale heritage site in the Santa Barbara Channel, under the World Cetacean Alliance. She is working with a group of local whale enthusiasts including whale watching tour operators, naturalists, biologists, fishers, educators, resource managers, artists, and local marine conservation NGOs. Her hope for the future is that the Santa Barbara Channel will be part of the growing network of Whale Heritage Sites where whales are celebrated for their ecological role in enhancing ocean productivity; where whales have an economic value through responsible tourism; where conservation and research is a priority in reducing the impacts on their longevity; and where we can continue to learn and appreciate the rich complex lives of whales and dolphins. Learn more about the Whale Heritage Sites initiative at: https://whaleheritagesites.org/about-us/  and at https://sbcwh21.wpengine.com/

Holly S. Lohuis’ twenty-eight-year career has taken her around the world with Jean-Michel Cousteau and his Ocean Futures Society’s expedition team.  Holly has appeared in many of Jean-Michel Cousteau’s documentaries and was also featured as a diver and on camera biologist in the eleven hours of the PBS series, “Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean Adventures,” and his IMAX film, ‘Secret Ocean 3D.”  In addition to the Ocean Futures Society, she works for a variety of organizations including: Santa Barbara Maritime Museum’s Ocean Connections, Maritime on the Move, and Marine Science programs, and Island Packers’ Floating Classroom program at the Channel Islands National Park.  Throughout the work she does, Holly shares important ecological facts on why ocean health is critical for the sustainability of our water planet and hopes to empower us all, especially the younger generations, to be stewards of our seas.

Holly has been a marine educator since 1991. For nearly a decade she worked as diver/naturalist with Island Packers, the Channel Islands National Park boats. She then moved on to a more global arena, working with Passage Productions-Live Dive organization on cruise ships in the Caribbean, Pacific and Mediterranean.  She was the on-site marine biologist at the eco-resort, Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort, for eighteen months where she shared her wealth of knowledge and passion about the importance of protecting our water planet for future generations with guests and the local villagers.

This event is generously sponsored by Marie L. Morrisroe.