Geography of Hope

Highlights from the award-winning short film “The Sacred Place Where Life Begins” (Ep: 9)

Enjoy a discussion with filmmaker Kristin Gates about her film, "The Sacred Place Where Life Begins," which follows Kristin and her partner Jeremy Là Zelle as they search to find the Porcupine caribou migration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and in so doing, learn from leaders of the Gwich'in people about the value of their culture, the importance of the Porcupine caribou herd and its calving grounds on the Arctic Refuge coastal plain, and the continued protection of their sacred land from oil development.

 

Watch the film here.

For more information: jeremylazelle.com/protect-the-refuge

About the filmmakers: Throughout 2018 and 2019, Kristin and Jeremy have dedicated their lives and filmmaking expertise to many challenging expeditions within the Arctic Refuge to showcase the incredible wildlife, environment, and the wonderful Gwich'in Nation. Yet the journey to protect the Arctic Refuge still continues. In 2019, Kristin and Jeremy once again embarked on a freezing expedition into the heart of the Arctic Refuge to film various events as they unfold and bring awareness to the issue of land conservation and human rights.

This episode originally aired on May 7, 2020.

Earth Week Special: How Grassroots Efforts have Protected the Arctic Refuge (Ep: 8)

Join us as we celebrate the grassroots efforts that have helped protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from drilling for the past 25+ years. We're joined by activist and film producer Miho Aida, author and Trent University professor Finis Dunaway, and social media influencer Alex Haraus, highlighting the improbable story of how massive public support has helped us to successfully defend the Arctic Refuge for decades.

Watch the episode here.

This episode originally aired on April 21, 2021.

The Sun is a Compass: A 4,000-mile Journey into Wild Alaska, with Caroline Van Hemert (Ep: 7)

Caroline Van Hemert is a biologist, writer and adventurer whose journeys have taken her from the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean to the swamps of the Okavango Delta. She is the author of “The Sun is a Compass: A 4,000-mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds,” which received the 2019 Banff Mountain Book Competition Award for Adventure Travel. Her writing has also been featured in The New York Times, Audubon Magazine, Birding, L.A. Times, Outside Magazine and more. Caroline will present a reading from her book, as well as stories and photos from her time spent trekking in Alaska.

 

Read Caroline's article in the New York Times here.

 

This episode originally aired on May 12, 2020.

Alaska’s Land, Its People and Global Evolution: An Artist’s Perspective (Ep: 6)

What does Alaska have to share with the world? Through the artist’s perspective, guests Lindsay Carron and Polly Andrews describe the special qualities of Alaska’s land and people that connect us to the earth and its evolution.

Napiryuk Polly Andrews is Cup’ik from the villages of Chevak and Lower Kalskag in Southwest Alaska. She is currently pursuing a Master's in Education, with a focus on creating culturally responsive connections to enhance perspectives and positive outcomes between Native and non-Native professionals and the community. 

Lindsay Carron is an artist and educator residing in both Los Angeles and Alaska. In Los Angeles, she works with young children in nature-based learning as a mentor with EverWild. She partners with her local community on murals and creative assets for reducing our environmental footprint. In Alaska, Lindsay has worked for the past five years as an artist in residence with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska’s 16 national wildlife refuges.

 

Find out more information at alaskawild.org/geography-of-hope/

 

Photographic Inspiration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, with Chad Brown (Ep: 5)

Chad Brown is an accomplished portrait and adventure photographer, creative director and conservationist. Hear about his visits with local Indigenous communities, the humbling impact of moving silently through a vast open space, and how immersing himself in the wilderness has helped him to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder related to military tours in Iraq and Somalia.

In this Geography of Hope episode, Chad shares the magic from his journeys to the Arctic, both on his own and with the nonprofit he founded, Soul River Inc. These trips carried a medicinal-like quality, one that helped to heal the soul and mind. The Arctic Refuge is where Chad realized why the Gwich'in people call its coastal plain Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit — The Sacred Place Where Life Begins. 

Read more about Chad's explorations.

 

Find out more information at alaskawild.org/geography-of-hope/

A Shape in the Dark: Living and Dying with Brown Bears (Ep: 4)

In “A Shape in the Dark,” Bjorn Dihle blends personal experience with historical and contemporary accounts to fully explore the world of brown bears, from frightening attacks to the animal’s place in Alaska Native cultures to the ways habitat degradation and climate change are threatening the species. “A Shape in the Dark” is an elegant and lyrical work that thoughtfully weaves outdoor adventure, natural history and memoir together to present a fresh and vivid portrayal of these fascinating creatures.

 

Find out more information at alaskawild.org/geography-of-hope/

The Arctic: Our Last Great Wilderness, with Florian Schulz (Ep: 3)

Alaska Wilderness League presents award-winning photographer and cinematographer, Florian Schulz. Florian and Tom Campion, founder of the Campion Foundation and a tireless advocate for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, will take listeners to the refuge and give a sneak peek into their latest collaboration, a new big-screen film set for release in 2021 entitled “The Arctic: Our Last Great Wilderness.” Together, we will explore a land that has evolved intact and untamed since the beginning of time, a world few have truly seen.

 

Find more information at alaskawild.org/geography-of-hope/

Raven‘s Witness: Lessons From a Life in Alaska’s Wilderness (Ep: 2)

Before his death in 2019, cultural anthropologist, author, and radio producer Richard K. Nelson’s life’s work focused primarily on the Indigenous cultures of Alaska, and more generally on the relationships between people and nature. He spoke both Inupiaq and Koyukon and lived for extended periods in Athabaskan and Alaskan Eskimo villages, experiences which inspired his earliest books. His close friend and lifelong Alaskan, Hank Lentfer captures Richard's adventures and his life of learning across Alaska in his new book "Raven’s Witness." Join Hank as he shares his stories and times in Alaska’s public lands with the friend he fondly referred to as "Nels."  

 

Find more information at alaskawild.org/geography-of-hope/

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Artist-in-Residence: Michael Boardman (Ep: 1)

Enjoy an in-depth presentation featuring Michael Boardman, a member of the Maine Master Naturalist program, and the 2019 Arctic Refuge Artist-in-Residence. In the spring of 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service selected Michael as its 2019 artist-in-residence for the Arctic Refuge, and he was flown to its coastal plain in June 2019 to spend two weeks along the Canning River helping ornithologists study bird migrations to the Arctic tundra. Michael will share his unique experience in an extreme environment, with plenty of stories about how the migrating birds of the Arctic Refuge connect us all to that endangered landscape.

 

Find more information at alaskawild.org/geography-of-hope/