LAKE MURRAY SHORES, S.C. — Right in our backyard is an internationally traveled documentarian who is highlighting a bird you might've come across on Lake Murray: Purple martins.
Zach Steinhauser is a Lexington resident who has spent the last five years traveling the world, studying and documenting these birds.
"I moved down here when I was 13-years-old and grew up just playing around on the lake and always went out to go see the purple martins when it was the summer," Steinhauser said. "The question hit me, what happens when we quit putting these birdhouses out, so that sparked me into doing this and I started doing all kinds of research talking to all different kinds of experts around the country and even down in parts of South America."
He's become a purple martin expert you could say.
"Just in my time working on this project I've realized that the culture of purple martin housing and purple martin land lording is a kind of a lost culture in America. It used to be very popular way back, decades ago, maybe a century ago when we were more, our society was more agrarian, more rural," Steinhauser said.
He's hoping his film springs people into action this Earth Day.
"By relating to the people who do this every day, you yourself will feel empowered to be able to do the very simple things like putting purple martin houses out," Steinhauser said.
The world premiere of the conservation film about purple martins will be hosted at the Icehouse Amphitheater in downtown Lexington on Saturday night from 7 until 10 p.m. EST.
This documentarian traveled to eight states in the US and the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil to gather his research about the purple martins.
As for what's next, Zach said he's working to set up more screenings and take the film on tour around the country.