FOCUS AREA |

WILDLIFE

Habitats, migration routes and species health are shifting as climate change and human pressure reshape the conditions wildlife depend on.

COMPLETED PROJECTS

Comparing Historic And Current Cervid Population Estimates

Rhiannon Kirton • Shuswap Nation Territory, British Columbia • 2021

Reassessed declining deer, moose, and elk populations in Shuswap Nation territory using camera traps and Traditional Ecological Knowledge from the Shuswap Band.

By comparing current wildlife populations against historical records, the project supported more locally grounded wildlife management approaches.

Ryan Tidman • British Columbia • 2022

On Vancouver Island, old-growth logging is eliminating the massive hollow trees black bears rely on for winter dens.

Through aerial photography, camera traps, and field documentation, the project revealed how shrinking old-growth forests are reducing critical habitat and increasing competition among bears.

  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems


Showcasing Wildlife Corridors In The Northeast

Kateri Monticone • Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick • 2022

  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

As climate change pushes wildlife northward, fragmented landscapes are making movement increasingly difficult.

Through a series of short films created in partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Kateri Monticone highlighted the wildlife corridors reconnecting habitats across eastern Canada and the communities, conservation groups, and Indigenous partners working to keep those pathways open.

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions


The Impacts Of Old-Growth Logging On Vancouver Island Black Bears

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions


  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems

Direct Effects of Global Heating and Heat Waves on Temperate Zone Bats

Zenon Czenze • British Columbia • 2022

Extreme heat waves are creating new survival challenges for bats in British Columbia.

Zenon Czenze examined how overheating and dehydration affect bat species living in some of Canada’s hottest regions, helping identify which populations may be most vulnerable as temperatures rise.

  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions


Combatting Trace Element Deficiencies in Muskoxen in a Changing Arctic

Susan Kutz • Nunavut • 2023

Muskoxen are central to many Arctic Indigenous communities, providing food, income, and cultural connection, but climate change is altering the plants and nutrients these animals rely on to survive.

Susan Kutz investigated how deficiencies in trace elements such as selenium, copper, and zinc may be affecting reproduction, immune function, and long-term survival in wild muskox herds across the Canadian Arctic.

  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems

Beneath The Ice: A First Look At The Endangered St. Lawrence Beluga Whales In Their Winter Habitat

Camille Martel • St. Lawrence River • 2023

For the first time, filmmaker Camille Martel documented endangered St. Lawrence belugas in their winter habitat beneath the ice.

The project revealed a rarely seen part of the whales’ life cycle while helping expand public understanding of the habitats they depend on year-round.

  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions


  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions


ACTIVE PROJECTS

Walking with Caribou

Malkolm Boothroyd • Yukon • 2023

Across the Yukon-Alaska borderlands, the Fortymile caribou herd has rebounded after decades of decline, reshaping landscapes and relationships along its migration routes. Working with Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in community members,

Malkolm Boothroyd is creating an immersive exhibition exploring recovery, stewardship, and ecological change in the North.

Scott Parent • Lake Huron • 2024

Plastic pollution is increasingly turning up in the nests and stomachs of Great Lakes waterbirds, particularly colonial species like cormorants.

Through documentary filmmaking focused on shoreline ecosystems, Scott Parent explores how debris moves through freshwater food webs and accumulates across connected habitats.

  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems


  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions


Oiseaux - How Anthropogenic debris is be-fowling the Great Lakes and infiltrating the food web.

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems

Atlantic Salmon: The Fight to Survive

Nick Hawkins • Atlantic Canada, Quebec • 2024

Atlantic salmon once returned to eastern Canadian rivers in vast numbers, but many populations are now in steep decline.

Through underwater filming and long-form storytelling, Nick Hawkins follows salmon from Canadian rivers to the open Atlantic while documenting the people working to help the species recover.

  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions


Sara Cannon • Pacific Coast • 2024

Along Canada’s Pacific coast, wild salmon are facing mounting pressure from habitat loss, aquaculture, and climate change. C

ombining community-led research, Indigenous knowledge, and storytelling, Sara Cannon explores what a more sustainable and equitable future for salmon fisheries could look like.

  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems


Southern Bears

Mitch Bowmile • James Bay • 2025

  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

Along the coast of James Bay, disappearing sea ice is drawing polar bears and Cree communities into closer contact.

Mitch Bowmile’s documentary explores coexistence, community-led research, and Indigenous knowledge at the southern edge of polar bear habitat.

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions


Towards social justice and sustainability in Canadian salmon fisheries

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions


Shorebirds: Sentinels Of The Mudflats

Isabelle Groc • Pacific & Atlantic Flyways • 2024

Every year, migratory shorebirds depend on coastal mudflats across Canada’s Pacific and Atlantic flyways to survive journeys spanning thousands of kilometres.

Isabelle Groc documents the fragile ecosystems supporting these migrations while contrasting threatened habitats with regions where conservation efforts are helping shorebird populations recover.

  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

Investigating Wild Salmon Health in Relation to
Heat Stress from Logging

Robert Masaki Hechler • Coastal British Columbia • 2025

Rising river temperatures and habitat disruption are placing growing stress on wild salmon populations in coastal British Columbia.

Working with the Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw Fisheries Group, Robert Masaki Hechler is investigating whether environmental RNA can detect heat stress in salmon without handling the fish directly.

Ryan Tidman • British Columbia • 2025

Once reduced to fewer than 30 wild individuals, the Vancouver Island marmot remains one of the rarest mammals in North America.

Ryan Tidman’s documentary follows the species’ fragile recovery through intimate footage and the work of scientists, conservation teams, and Indigenous knowledge holders.

  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems


Open Video Library of Canadian Microorganisms

Ariel Waldman • Across Canada • 2025

  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

Most microbial life remains invisible to the public despite forming the foundation of Earth’s ecosystems.

Through a free Creative Commons video library, Ariel Waldman is capturing microorganisms across Canada to support educators, researchers, and science communicators with accessible visual resources.

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions


Rise of the Marmot

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions


  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems

Road to Recovery: Protecting Ontario’s Freshwater Turtles
From Car Strikes

Samantha Stephens • Ontario • 2025

Ontario’s freshwater turtles are increasingly threatened by roads that cut through nesting and migration routes.

Through field documentation and conservation storytelling, Samantha Stephens highlights the people, rehabilitation efforts, and roadside solutions working to reduce turtle deaths and support long-term recovery.

  • Documented logging in Quatsino Sound linked to government mapping errors

    Identified one of British Columbia’s largest Sitka spruce trees

    Captured rare before-and-after imagery of old-growth forest loss

    Recorded the scale and pace of clear-cutting across vulnerable ecosystems

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions

  • Images supported public awareness campaigns across British Columbia

    Work contributed to advocacy tied to the province’s 30x30 conservation commitment

    Helped strengthen support for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

    Photography continues to inform conservation planning and policy discussions


EXPLORE OTHER FOCUS AREAS

WATER

HISTORY & CULTURE

HISTORY & CULTURE

LAND

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