Welcome to my first post! I’m happy you’re here.
This will be pretty simple to start — by giving a run-down of some highlights from the year. In the future I’d like to go into more detail about my thoughts and approach to these projects and the impact that they create but for now, this will have to do.
The past year has been a big learning curve in many ways and I’ve had so many opportunities to work on incredible projects with so many talented and passionate people. Below I’ve summarized a few stand-out collaborations from 2023 that were all about creating an impact on our collective relationship with the world around us — from our global ocean, to the river down the road.
Everything is connected and I feel so lucky to have had a small hand in contributing to the missions of these incredible organizations who are building a better world for the next generation. Enjoy!
Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition at IMPAC5
My year started with supporting the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition leading up to and on the ground at the International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5) in Vancouver. My role here was to create short films that showed the impact that COLC and their partners made at IMPAC5 through free, accessible ways for the public to engage with ocean issues in the same space as global decision makers, scientists, and lobbyists. Throughout the week, I jumped from session to session while editing in between — turning around an edit in a few short hours after the Ocean Festival, which ended up on screens throughout the convention centre for the rest of the week and as part of the conference wrap-up video at the closing ceremonies.
Beyond the work, just meeting/spending time with the rockstar team that Diz and Meg from COLC assembled for the week was such a privilege.
Ontario Greenbelt Foundation
This one was close to my heart. The wonderful Claire Foran tapped me to help the Greenbelt Foundation produce a 3-part mini series that highlights opportunities for paddling, hiking, cycling, and more in Ontario’s Greenbelt, a protected region in the Greater Toronto Area reserved for conservation, agriculture, and recreation.
The 3 stories that we told represented both the variety of recreation opportunities within the Greenbelt as well as the ways that communities across the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area connect with the Greenbelt in their own way.
The future Greenbelt in recent years has been majorly threatened by the Ford government under the veil of a housing crisis. Fortunately, within a week of this series being released (as well as blatant corruption and incredible public pressure!), Ford reversed his decision.
Living and playing in the Greenbelt was instrumental in defining what I valued as I grew up. I wouldn’t be where I am now without that connection to my place in nature so working on a project so rooted in celebrating joy in the outdoors was a dream for me.
Water Rangers + Val-des-Monts
After working in-house as their Science Communication Coordinator in 2022, the summer season wrapped with another project with the fantastic team at Water Rangers (Kat, Gabi, Laura, Nik, and others) — this time on a joint project with the Municipalité de Val-des-Monts to highlight a program that leverages community action to monitor over 150 lakes and countless other water bodies in this small, sparsely populated region in Quebec.
The great thing about this project was loosely inspired by the Ripple Effect, an 8-part mini-doc series that I produced and directed with Water Rangers when I was on staff that served not only as a celebration of the power of community-based water quality monitoring, but also to show the incredible versatility of Water Rangers’ tools to educate, empower, and inspire.
Speaking of the Ripple Effect series, Water Rangers’ Saskatchewan episode screened at 3 film festivals in 2023, including Good Natured Film Festival in Oxford, UK and World Water Film Festival at UN Headquarters in New York City
See how the Municipalité de Val-des-Monts is engaging its residents to take action to secure the future of their water quality:
Jackson Wild Summit
One of the keystone moments of this year was attending the Jackson Wild Summit and Media Awards in Grand Teton National Park this past September as a delegate. This “conference” is about as big as it gets for science, nature, and conservation filmmaking — the Oscar’s of wildlife filmmaking.
Being trusted by partners to manage productions solo can be a privilege and comes with a lot creative freedom, but can also be tiring without the support and inspiration that naturally comes with feeling like you’re part of a community. Going into Jackson Wild, I wanted to embed myself as much as possible in the endlessly creative, talented, and global community of environmental storytellers that were there. The workshops, keynotes, and pitch sessions were insightful and inspiring but casual chats eating dinner at sunset are somehow even more irreplaceable.
Jackson felt like some sort of a homecoming or reunion. Meeting so many new friends and reconnecting with old ones, seeing how we thrive as individuals while imagining new ways to work together is invigorating.
Next steps
By the time you’re reading this, I’ll be backpacking in Chile🇨🇱; spending time to recharge after a busy year while building some new skills to bring into my work in the new year🌊🏄🌋
That being said, I’m still available for projects this winter and spring! I can’t guarantee a quick response but reach out with any leads and I’ll do my best to get back to you asap. Send me a note at hello@grahamperry.ca
Thanks for sticking around and see you in the new year!