About Us
NatureTrack is a 501(c)3 non-profit that provides cost-free outdoor field trips for Santa Barbara County school-aged children, utilizing local trails and beaches throughout the county.
NatureTrack Film Festival is a program of the NatureTrack Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Santa Barbara County that hosts outdoor field trips for students, transporting them from their indoor classrooms to “natural” classrooms, where learning comes alive as all their senses are engaged. Since its founding in 2011, NatureTrack has provided thousands of outdoor experiences for K-12 students in Santa Barbara County. NatureTrack Foundation gives thousands of K-12 students from a wide variety of socio-econimic backgrounds and circumstances the opportunity to engage with the outdoors in a way they may not have had the chance to in their everyday lives. As an extension of NatureTrack’s mission to inspire passion for nature, the NatureTrack Film Festival was born, bringing education through art and the outdoors together by showcasing inspiring and thought- provoking films to the community.
The NatureTrack Film Festival features filmmakers selected from all over the world.
NatureTrack Film Festival (NTFF) is a celebration of nature and outdoor adventure through film. Started in Los Olivos in 2018, the festival has showcased hundreds of national and international filmmakers’ works to the thrill and delight of thousands of attendees. The 7th Annual NatureTrack Film Festival returns this October to kick off a year-long celebration of nature, adventure, and environmental stewardship. Set in the bucolic Santa Barbara area, the 2025 festival will serve as the cornerstone event of NatureTrack Foundation’s 15th anniversary year.
This year’s festival transcends traditional boundaries with a dynamic year-long schedule of events showcasing the power of visual storytelling to inspire environmental stewardship while directly supporting NatureTrack’s dual mission: fostering a lifelong fascination with nature through curriculum-aligned outdoor field trips and providing wheelchair users with accessibility to natural spaces through innovative adaptive technology.
We welcome long and short form submissions in the categories of Adventure, Animation, Biography, Conservation, Kids Connecting With Nature, Scenic, Student, and a special genre called Outdoors & Out of Bounds. Juried awards will be determined by a panel of film industry professionals, outdoor guides and teachers. Awards will be given out for Best in Category, Best Depiction of Children Connecting to Nature – the “Dan Conaway Award,” Best in Festival Overall, and an “Igniting Passion for Film Award.” There will also be an Audience Favorite award.
The concept of a Santa Barbara County based film festival dedicated to the outdoors and situated in the stunning natural setting of the Santa Ynez Valley, originated with NTFF founder and director Sue Eisaguirre who conceived the idea for a local nature film festival as an extension of the non-profit NatureTrack Foundation that she started in 2011.
Sue then recruited co-directors KC Murphy Thompson and Holly Cline. KC brought a film degree and a diverse industry background in TV, film and music to the team, while Holly brought tech muscle, graphic design and an extensive nonprofit arts pedigree to her role. By year 3 the three co-directors had succeeded in positioning NTFF in the international film festival firmament capturing Fest Forum’s Best in Fest award for Best Charitable Film Festival in 2018.
NatureTrack introduces school children to outdoor spaces from the seashore to the inland oak woodlands of Santa Barbara County by providing cost-free outdoor field trips. Utilizing local trails and beaches throughout the county, NatureTrack instills students with leadership skills, attitudes and habits for lifelong learning, inspiring them to be respectful stewards of the natural world. Since 2011, thousands of students have had been gifted the opportunity to experience a NatureTrack field trip. Demand for the curriculum coordinated program has increased every year with teachers praising the docent-led excursions that align with classroom instruction. Sue was inspired to bring her outdoor vision indoors and onscreen for more people to enjoy and appreciate what her docents and students practice and experience in their outdoor “classrooms.”
The NatureTrack Film Festival welcomes sponsor and advertiser inquiries and offers numerous participation levels for businesses and individuals who wish to support the NTFF as a sponsor, partner or advertiser.
Please contact: Sue Eisaguirre Sue@NatureTrackFilmFestival.org for information on sponsor and advertising opportunities.