Our first webcast blew the roof off — and the expedition isn’t over yet.

Join us for a live dispatch from the field as The Steinbeck Experience reconnects with the Green Flash Conservation Science team aboard their catamaran in the Sea of Cortez. They are out there right now — collecting samples, surveying tide pools, and doing the work.

Hosted by John Holland, The Steinbeck Experience
Featuring Rebecca Trinh and the Green Flash Conservation Science Team — LIVE from the Sea of Cortez

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WHAT YOU’LL SEE IN THIS BROADCAST

Since we last spoke, the team has been pushing deeper into the Gulf of California — retracing John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts’ legendary 1940 voyage site by site. In this live update, we go further into the science, the stories, and the surprises.

🌊 The Route — Chris and Captain Francisco walks us through the GPS track: La Paz to Loreto to Bahía Concepción and back, including why certain sites were surveyed out of order

🔬 Intertidal Science — Rebecca shares findings from the team’s 98-species survey list, photo quadrat analysis, and AI-assisted species identification

⭐ A Remarkable Discovery — The return of Heliaster kubinijii, the sun star, and what its presence signals about ecosystem recovery from sea star wasting disease

🧬 eDNA & Environmental Sampling — How the team is collecting seawater and rock scraping samples to detect species presence at the genetic level

🦠 Microbial Ecology — Jorge connects subsoil core sampling in the Sea of Cortez to NASA’s search for life on other planets

🪨 Geology Meets Biology — Max explains how rock formations shape the biodiversity at each survey site

📚 Honoring the Text — Rebecca and John examine three editions of The Log from the Sea of Cortez, including the a rare Mexican Spanish edition

🏛️ Culture & Community — Yvonne explores the Loreto Mission, Mission San Javier, and Steinbeck’s deep personal connection to the people of Baja

✨ The Wonder Moment — Bioluminescence in the Sea of Cortez, and what Steinbeck wrote about the night sky from the deck of a boat in these same waters

💬 Live Q&A — Submit your questions in the live chat throughout the broadcast!

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This is living science in real time. The team has been in the field for days. What they’re finding is rewriting what we know about how this ecosystem has changed in 85 years — and what it might yet recover.

Submit your questions in the live chat throughout the broadcast.

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ABOUT THE STEINBECK EXPERIENCE

Promotes the life, literature, legacy, and lessons of John Steinbeck in Monterey and around the world.

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ABOUT GREEN FLASH CONSERVATION SCIENCE

Citizen scientists inspired by Steinbeck and Ricketts, blending scientific discovery with storytelling for conservation.

Green Flash Conservation Science Website
Donate to Green Flash Conservation Science
Instagram: @greenflashconservation