Dean emeritus and professor emeritus Val Klump is part of “The Natural World of the Bay,” a new feature‑length documentary by filmmaker Dan Larson. This film is the third in a series Dan has produced highlighting the local environment. His recent documentaries include The Great Ledge (2017), focused on the Niagara Escarpment, and The Power of the River (2023), which explored the Lower Fox River.
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will host the local premiere of the film on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at 6 p.m. in the University Theatre. Pre‑event exhibits open at 5 p.m. so guests can explore community tables and talk with scientists, conservation groups and students advancing freshwater solutions across Northeast Wisconsin. The screening will be followed by a live conversation with the filmmaker and local experts featured in the film, after which guests are invited to explore student art focused on the estuary and meet representatives from local watershed organizations.
The “Natural World of the Bay” takes audiences inside the world’s largest freshwater estuary to reveal the bay’s dynamic blend of birds, fish and plants, the nutrient cycles and invasive species that shape its health, and the people who influence its future. From interviews with biologists to community stewards, viewers will see stories of northern pike migration, the seasonal spectacle of migratory birds, and the complex role of nutrients that fuel productivity while also driving algal blooms and hypoxia (“dead zones”) in some seasons – challenges that state and regional partners are actively working to address in the Lower Fox River–Green Bay system.
“UW–Green Bay had the strongest connection to this film,” Larson noted. “From UW-Green Bay emeritus scientists like Bud Harris who helped frame the ecology of the bay, to collaborators at UW–Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences like Val Klump who’ve advanced our understanding of dead zones, to Sea Grant partners and on‑the‑water monitoring with NEW Water, this is the right place to premiere a film about freshwater science, community and solutions.”
Event Details
- What: “The Natural World of the Bay” — Local Premiere + Community Conversation
- When: Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, 2026
- 5 p.m. open house with community tables
- 6 p.m. screening (59 minutes) + conversation with filmmaker and experts
- 7:30 p.m. explore estuary-focused student art and community tables with representatives from Green Bay watershed organizations
- Where: UW–Green Bay campus, University Theatre
- Admission: Attendees are asked to pay what they can to attend, with a suggested $8 entry fee. Register to attend.
- Trailer: The Natural World of the Bay trailer
- Beneficiaries: UW–Green Bay Scholarships and the Lower Fox River Watershed Monitoring Program