Production of the Video “Returning Home – Bringing the Common Murre Back to Devil’s Slide Rock”

In 1986, a breeding colony of Common Murres on Devil’s Slide Rock off the coast of San Francisco was devastated by an oil spill. Using innovative restoration techniques in a challenging location over the span of ten years, dedicated scientists worked with local schools and government agencies to restore these diving seabirds to their ancestral home. Part of the How On Earth Video Series.

Production of the Video “Restoring Balance – Removing the Black Rat from Anacapa Island”

Narrated by John Cleese, this film chronicles the efforts of state and federal resource managers to remove non-native rats from Anacapa Island, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California. Faced with evidence of widespread predation on endangered seabird eggs and chicks, including the rare Xantus’ Murrelet, the land managers and scientists must decide how to balance the needs of endemic species in their efforts to remove the rats and restore balance to an important island ecosystem. Part of the How On Earth Video Series.

• Year of grant: 2005
• Amount: $2,000
• Grantee: Filmmakers Collaborative