Birds & Their Sanctuaries
October 15 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Along the SC coast, a series of near-shore and wild islands provides key habitat for nesting and migratory birds, but overdevelopment, habitat loss, and sea-level rise threaten them. We look forward to hosting the debut of the short film Wind Birds, along with the short film Black Rail’s Tale. A powerful duo focused on culture and conservation, the two films also offer an influential way to approach conservation outside the typical box. Following the screenings, by a panel discussion on the beauty of shorebirds, the tradition of their study from great naturalists of history to today, and their status as we look to the future. J. Drew Lanham, author and poet as well as one of the most prominent ornithologists in America, will join Director and Producer Joel Caldwell, Captain Chris Crolley of Coastal Expeditions and mayor of Awendaw, along with Founder of Coastal Conservation League Dana Beach for a deep discussion about the essential value of South Carolina’s five breeding islands and the critical importance of our bird habitats.
Image credit: Joel Caldwell
About BirdStory
BirdStory, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit, supports and creates independent, innovative, and impactful creative media to: 1) raise awareness of the wonder and urgent plight of birds; 2) inspire action to sustain birds; and 3) help us understand how our future is inherently connected to theirs.
About J. Drew Lanham
J. Drew Lanham is a cultural ornithologist, naturalist, educator, and writer using robust science, artful essays, and evocative oratory to color the conservation conversation. Guided by principles of interconnectedness and interdependence, Dr. Lanham’s work centers on the growing issues within environmental justice as observed through the multifaceted perspective of a Black Southern man. As a storyteller, poet, and passionate advocate for accessibility and stewardship, his writing is in praise of wandering and wildness and in protest against all not justice or joy. Lanham is a Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Master Teacher at Clemson University. He has received a MacArthur “Genius” Grant (2022) as well as the Dan W. Lufkin Conservation Award from the National Audubon Society (2019), the Rosa Parks and Grace Lee Boggs Outstanding Service Award from the North American Association for Environmental Education (2016), and the E. O. Wilson Award for Outstanding Science in Biodiversity Conservation from the Center for Biological Diversity (2020) and the Thoreau Award in 2024. He served as the Poet Laureate of Edgefield, South Carolina (2022). Lanham and his family live on a farm in the Upstate of South Carolina.
About Dana Beach
Dana Beach founded the South Carolina Coastal Conservation in 1989. Since that time, the organization has grown from 2 staff members and an annual budget of $90,000 to 35 staff members, with offices in Beaufort, Charleston, Georgetown, and Columbia, supported by an annual budget of $3.5 million. The Conservation League is recognized as one of the most successful state-level conservation groups in the country, particularly for its work in the field of land use reform. The Conservation League works with citizens and government to develop policies that promote sustainable patterns of development for people and the environment. In 2001, the Conservation League launched GrowFood Carolina, the state’s first local food hub. Beach graduated magna cum laude from Davidson College with a degree in mathematics. He earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Beach is married to Virginia Randolph Christian of Richmond, VA. They have two children, Nellie and Francis Beach.
About Chris Crolley
You can spot Capt. Chris Crolley by his yellow hat—its leather band always adorned with feathers found by his daughters and a pewter sea turtle pin front and center. It’s a subtle emblem of what drives him: a deep commitment to conservation and the wild places of the Lowcountry. Along with being the mayor of the town of Awendaw, as owner and CEO of Coastal Expeditions, Chris has spent more than 30 years guiding others into the natural world. He’s a licensed captain, accomplished naturalist, and a passionate advocate for environmental education. From blackwater rivers to barrier islands, he’s led trips up and down the Eastern Seaboard—but always returns to the salt marshes and creeks of South Carolina. In 2018, Chris launched the Coastal Expeditions Foundation to take action for the places he loves. Since then, the foundation has helped rebuild Crab Bank Seabird Sanctuary, funds the Sea Turtle Nest Protection Program in Cape Romain, and leads resilience-based outdoor programs for veterans. Under his leadership, thousands of students each year explore coastal ecosystems through STEM-based field trips. With five outposts from Awendaw to Beaufort and partnerships with state and federal agencies, Coastal Expeditions continues to grow under Chris’s direction—earning praise from Garden & Gun, who named him a “Champion of Conservation” in 2022.
About Joel Caldwell
Joel Caldwell is a photographer, writer, filmmaker, and co-founder of The M.A.R.S.H. Project. For the past ten years, he has focused on telling conservation and environmental justice stories from around the world. In recent years, his focus has shifted to uplifting stories of ecosystem restoration and humanity’s connection and place within nature.