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New PBS documentary series highlights Texas Gulf Coast

New PBS documentary series highlights Texas Gulf Coast
2 months 5 days 17 hours ago Wednesday, October 02 2024 Oct 2, 2024 October 02, 2024 10:34 PM October 02, 2024 in News - Local

A couple that walked 370 miles across the Texas Gulf Coast in three weeks is now sharing what they've learned in a PBS documentary.

Jay and Chrissy Kelberg have seen the Gulf Coast in a way few other people have.

“The Texas Coast is probably the most biologically diverse, and it's the most undeveloped of certainly the Gulf of Mexico states," Jay said.

The couple is sharing what they love about the Texas Gulf with the public by documenting their journey. “Chasing the Tide,” a six-part documentary series of their journey, will debut on PBS on Saturday, Oct. 5.

Channel 5 News caught up with the Klebergs nearly one year ago when they visited Port Mansfield.

READ MORE: Couple exploring the Gulf Coast for upcoming documentary

The documentary will also explore the challenges the Texas Gulf Coast is facing.

“We have some of the highest rates of erosion in the country on the Texas coast," Jay said. “Sea level rise is a big issue. We’re in the top globally for sea level rise, especially in the Galveston area, so that's impacting our wetlands and our coastal communities."

During their trek, the couple crossed over the seven barrier islands that make up the coast. Those beaches and barrier islands are eroding at a rate of six feet a year, according to the Texas General Land Office. 

The couple says they can see that Texas is losing sand and gaining plastic. They documented the trash accumulation problem they saw along the way.

“Our currents are washing it up, and I was finding things from all over the world, and then also learning that our river systems are bringing trash down too,” Chrissy said. “And so if you live in any watershed around the state of Texas, whatever is on the ground or in our rivers is going to come down to the coast."

The couple is launching a statewide trash cleanup in May 2025.

The couple hopes their documentary series will show people a side of the state they may not be fully aware of, the problems it faces, and what it means for Texans.

More information on “Chasing the Tide” is available online.

Watch the video above for the full story. 

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