Lighthouse Lecture Series - Shari Goforth
Past Events
Shari Goforth presents "We are All Whale Photographers: How community members can contribute important visual information to the knowledge and conservation of gray whales and other species in a rapidly changing climate."
Lighthouse Lecture Series Saturday, November 18 at 4 p.m.
Shari will share basic gray whale behavior, how to spot them, photo techniques, and simple equipment, such as a cell phone and binoculars or spotting scope, so that anyone can contribute valuable photos to the scientific knowledge of whales seen in our area. Community science, in our case photo documentation, is a vital part of the understanding and conservation of not only gray whales but other species, too.
Biography
Shari has spent her career life as a Registered Veterinary Technician, mostly in small companion animal medicine. She not only loved animals growing up, but she was also interested in their biology, behaviors, and conservation. Since moving to the coast nearly seven years ago she has pursued her passion for understanding Eastern Pacific Gray whales, photographing them and submitting photos to databases for identification. She developed her Mendonoma Gray Whale Photo ID Project, taking her first photo in 2018 with basic camera gear. Over time, she invested in high quality camera equipment and studied settings and techniques to improve photo resolution. Her gray whale interest-turned-obsession led her to recently travel to Monterey Bay, the Oregon coast, and one of the gray whale breeding and birthing lagoons, Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, Mexico.