Woohoo NPR & Bears!

Last week I was listening to NPR on my way to an interview and was fascinated by the guest, Chris Morgan. At the end of the program, they mentioned that Chris was speaking at the Seattle Public Library that night. He was very entertaining on the radio (a lovely British accent never hurts) and the library event was playing a preview of the special in addition to a Q&A session, sounded like a great Thursday night plan! I immediately texted the fiance and we made a "bear date."

Chris Morgan is a bear biologist who recently completed a PBS special on bears in Alaska.  After a short detour in downtown Seattle we made it to the event and had a great time from the get-go.

The series and book are based off of Chris' research in Alaska and Canada on motorcycle, during isolated camping trips, and other journeys. In the preview we saw, Chris and his photographer were dropped off by plane into an Alaska park where they set up camp in a valley surrounded by bears. In the snippet preview we saw adorable cubs, fighting grizzlies, and curious foxes. I'm sure the whole series is just as wonderful.

The preview of the PBS show "Nature" special was impressive and had some amazing footage of wild bears in Alaska-black, brown, and polar bears. There were also copies of Chris Morgan's book based on the experience and we bought a copy for the coffee table. It is full of beautiful pictures and information about bears in our region.

Chris is also working on an upcoming film called BearTrek. Producers at a nature film festival liked Chris' work so much, they recruited him for another production!

Growing up in Britain the largest mammals he saw in the wild were foxes. During an exchange program as a camp counselor in the PNW he met a bear biologist during a lecture at the camp for the younger children. He was blown away. Chris begged the man to take him out to see bears and a couple nights later the man picked him up for a night of bear tracking. They found a group of bears near a local dumpster and a chase ensued after the man shot a tracking device into the bear. In the darkness Chris nearly collided with the tranquilized bear. Terrified but fascinated, Chris quickly forgot his dreams of becoming a graphic designer and pursued bear biology. 

Without the radio spot on NPR I would've never known about this opportunity and I love how KUOW and NPR give me access to local events and tips for interesting books, lectures, or groups that actually interest me. Other radio stations only plug concerts, gambling, and store sales.

We also met a representative from Conservation Northwest, a conservation group based out of Bellingham. Oddly I hadn't heard of the group and the representative and I talked about the lack of presence on WWU campus. The fiance and I are interested in exploring Conservation Northwest and possible volunteer activities. We've had a lot of fun volunteering for Washington Trails Association-and we're always looking for productive weekend activities. 

In other news: I can't win an eBay auction to save my life. All I want is a reasonably priced typewriter, but I can't seem to focus on an ending auction long enough to bid before the time runs out. AHHHH! It's not that hard-but I fail so much!

Millie has been acting a little odd and was all over the desk today begging for pets and playing with the plant. Iroh isolated himself in his bookshelf cubbyhole while I did laundry and cleaned, although he made sure to make an appearance in the living room to pull hair and sit and pout once things quited down. Lovely.