January 28, 2015

UW Bothell lecturer Kristy Leissle in PBS ‘Nature’ episode Jan. 28

Kristy Leissle, a lecturer in the UW Bothell School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, will appear in an episode of the PBS television series “Nature” tonight, Jan. 28.

The episode, titled “Penguin Post Office,” is about a unique British post office located in the heart of the Antarctic Peninsula at Port Lockroy, about 700 miles south of Argentina and Chile. The spot is Antarctica’s most popular tourist destination, with cruise ship passengers from around the world coming ashore to see the colony of 3,000 gentoo penguins that takes up residence in the area each summer.

The show follows the daily lives of the gentoos as they find mates, build nests and raise their young. Leissle was among the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust’s seasonal staffers who ran the post office during the four-month tourist season in 2013-14. Leissle is shown on camera about 22 minutes in, discussing life as a staffer in Port Lockroy.

After its initial screening, the episode will be available for online streaming at www.pbs.org/nature. A preview of the show also is online.