In the spring of 1940, friends and colleagues John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts set off in the Western Flyer for a journey down to the Gulf of California, then known as the Sea of Cortez. Collecting specimens and writing their story became the basis for a renaissance in marine biology and scientific writing. On Thursday, June 19th we’ll be joined by an expert panel from some incredible local nonprofits: Lisa Josephs, Archivist with the National Steinbeck Center, Sherry Flumerfelt, Executive Director of the Western Flyer Foundation, and Dr. Gregor Caillet, Professor Emeritus of Moss Landing Marine Labs. Our panel will speak to how this unique story created an explosion of knowledge and interest in marine biology, and sparked understanding and a conservation ethos that has carried into the present.

With a happy half-hour sponsored by your very own English Ales Brewery it’s sure to be a fun and interesting evening.…