Dr. Keith Flamer

On today's episode of Talk Humboldt, we begin part one of a series about what it's like teaching art and education inside Pelican Bay.

Eureka Artist Lynn Jones talks about vintage presswork and linoleum block printing.

If you love nature documentaries, you've probably seen some footage captured by Arcata's Will Goldenberg. "I think Humboldt is a fantastic place to be a wildlife filmmaker, because I still naturally discover stories," he says. He's worked on shows for Netflix, Nat Geo, the BBC and Tom Hanks' latest documentary, The Americas, which features scenes from around the North Coast.

It’s in-between classes at McKinleyville High, and teacher Nicole Peters’ classroom is plastered with Yurok words and pronunciation guides. Her grandma spoke Yurok to her as a child and she says that "growing up Yurok, you’re living it literally every day. You’re also going to school in these communities where you have Yurok language available to Head Start students, middle school students, and now - high school students." Today, she teaches Yurok at McKinleyville High and Eureka High.

Dean Hunt's great-grandfather couldn't the afford mountain acreage he hoped for, so he settled for 80 acres in the Arcata bottoms. "Little did he know, that 80 acres was more productive than 2,000 acres in the hills," Hunt says. "This country always grows grass… it may not be quality grass, but it's always growing a little bit."

In a nondescript building on the north side of Eureka, recovering addicts are reclaiming their lives from substance abuse. It takes a village to support their work: kitchen crew, medical professionals, caseworkers, intake staff, technicians - and chief operations officer Jamaica Bartz.

In this two-part episode, Keith Flamer of College of the Redwoods and Tom Jackson with Cal Poly Humboldt tour the boathouse and hear from Hamilton and Carter about what life is like at Coast Guard Station Humboldt Bay.

In Yurok Tribal Court, reading to children is one form of restorative justice. "Yurok people care," says Lori Nesbitt. She's the Wellness Program Manager for Yurok Tribal Court in Klamath. Under Judge Abby Abinanti's leadership, Nesbitt's career has included helping turn parolees into better parents, distributing Narcan, facilitating rehabilitation classes for domestic abusers, home visits, and advocating for harm reduction.

"We've got some from Arcata High, we've got some from Fortuna High... we've got a lot of good competitors," says Marco Luna. "Those kids are chasing their dreams."

If time is a river, it makes sense that the historic Requa Inn sits at a river mouth. For over a century, guests have come and gone - but so have families, industries, and even dams. "There's six dams between here and the Klamath Falls in Oregon. And so they've taken down two dams now. And a lot of that conversation happened in that dining room," says innkeeper Cass Kuck.