Ormond Wetland Wonderland, a half- hour documentary on Ventura County’s Ormond Beach, is the second in Earth Alert’s series on the Central Coast. It presents a narrative by coastal wetlands expert Wayne Ferren, overlaid with video footage and photographic stills, captured by Alan Sanders over more than a decade at Ormond. The narration and video have been artfully combined with a subtle, lyrical soundtrack by Mike de Martino. “I’m pleased with the documentary,” said Janet Bridgers, who wrote and edited the documentary, “because it draws the viewer into a gentle educational experience of surprising scientific depth.”
The documentary educates the viewer on the basic biology of the Ventura County coastal wetland, describing the difference between types of marshes, natural sand dunes and surrounding transitional areas, and how they foster different kinds of plants and animals, particularly birds. Ferren describes how this geographically small area is not only important to Ventura County, but also to wetland restoration efforts throughout Central and Southern California. He makes the case for it being one of the most important coastal wetlands in Southern and Central California. Ferren believes that the Ormond Beach wetland, because of surrounding undeveloped agricultural land, is the only Southern California wetland that has potential to survive rising ocean levels, which will cause the wetland to move into the upland areas that now face intense development pressure.
Ormond Wetland Wonderland premiered in Oxnard on February 11, 2009 in a free event at the Del Norte Regional Recycling & Transfer Station.
“The documentary has real potential to show people of Ventura County what a treasure lies at Ormond,” said Bridgers. “Hopefully, it can help rally needed community support for this biological treasure.”
Videos produced by Earth Alert:
Heroes of the Coast — the Documentary
Sand Sun Oil + Gas
Ormond Wetland Wonderland
Sharing the Santa Barbara Channel
Stories of the Spill
