Wetlands: Changing the Narrative
America’s wetlands have long been misunderstood, underappreciated, and underexplored. Historically, we have looked at them as wastelands - places to dredge and fill for economic development and agriculture. But today, finally, those attitudes are shifting. Americans are rediscovering why wetlands are so important for their families and communities due to all the amazing benefits they provide including clean water, flood protection, and groundwater retention, to name a few.
In Wetlands: Changing the Narrative, we’re going to shine a light on the people who are reshaping our relationship with the natural world. Hunters, anglers, ranchers, and small family farmers all depend on healthy wetlands for their way of life. From the most remote bison wallow in the Great Plains to the edges of the Everglades and beyond we’ll discover seemingly ordinary people making extraordinary impacts on their local wetlands through a mix of landowner stewardship, science, engineering, and sheer determination. Their stories, insights, and passion will be the conduit through which the wondrous natural history of our wetland heritage is presented to our viewers.
Why Now?
One answer to this question comes from a place of urgency. Anyone who has read the news lately has seen stories of habitat loss, species extinction, natural disasters, and pollution -- all things that scientists and environmentalists remind us can be mitigated with healthy, expansive wetlands.
But there is another, more positive reason for embarking on this effort now - momentum. Even though wetlands continue to be caught in the crosshairs of development and deregulation, there has been a palpable shift in public attitudes toward them. Stories like the following are continuing to gain traction in the news and on social media:
- In Oregon, a farmer has converted 70 acres of prime farmland into wetland, generating a burst of biodiversity while solving his ongoing issues with chemical runoff.1
- In Florida, farmers and ranchers have partnered with a leading conservation organization to preserve both the state’s wetlands and
ranchlands.2 - In Kansas, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has made an agreement with the USDA ensuring that a 32-acre parcel of wetland would be restored and preserved for decades to come.3
- In Wisconsin, in an area that has seen 90% of its wetlands decimated, a ten-acre patch of former farmland has been re-converted to a wetland, with the potential to absorb some 3 million gallons of stormwater.4
With the power of cameras and screens to amplify stories like these, we have a golden opportunity to reveal the true importance - and magic - of wetlands to a national audience.
Our Approach
The goal of Wetlands: Changing the Narrative is to bring diverse and hopeful stories about America's wetlands to American audiences through a range of traditional and new media avenues. “Story packages” will be built from single collections of footage, animation, and interviews and will seed programming aimed at those who get their information via tv, streaming, or social media. For example, a story package centered around the Colorado River might yield a 30-minute documentary, multiple 5-8 minute shorts, and multiple minute-long bursts aimed at TikTok, Instagram, and Reels. Each product will be built from the same bed of content but tailored specifically for the demands of different outlets.
The team would aim to produce 3-5 story packages per year, ensuring that the messaging flows consistently and predictably across the calendar. To kick off the effort, we suggest beginning with a pilot/proof of concept, allowing us time to go through a full production cycle - including debriefing with stakeholders - to identify obstacles and best practices. That pilot project could begin in 2024.
In addition, since we see this as a potentially long-term effort, we propose keeping the focus of each story package fairly narrow. Packages may be organized around a specific wetland, state, city, town, reservation, or river rather than by type of wetland, for example. Approaching the material in this way eases the worry of overlapping content and improves our chances of finding distribution for the documentary piece on local or regional PBS affiliates.
The Team
Wetlands: Changing the Narrative will be led by Marla Stelk and her team at the National Association of Wetland Managers (NAWM). From her office in Portland, Maine she will lead a group of experienced filmmakers, advocates, and campaigners who together will source, produce, and share these stories across various media. The key creatives on the project are stationed across the country - from the Northeast to the Midwest to the Pacific and understand that every wetland story is both unique and universal…intensely local and part of a much larger picture. Some of the creative partners NAWM has engaged so far include:
Wide Awake Films (Kansas City, MO): For more than 20 years the team at Wide Awake has produced award winning films for television, museums, streaming, and commercial clients. Their clients run the gamut, including PBS, John Deere, The National Park Service, and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
Platte Basin Timelapse (Lincoln, Nebraska): Since 2011 PBT has used film and multimedia to bring the stories of our nation’s waterways to a wider audience. Known for their timelapse nature photography and keen understanding of river systems and watersheds, PBT stands ready to lend their expertise to whichever watery habitat we choose to film.
If you would like to contribute to this project and help us reach our fundraising goal of $500k, please:
Or contact Marla Stelk at marla@nawm.org, or call our office at 207-892-3399.
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1‘This place wanted to be a wetland’: how a farmer turned his fields into a wildlife sanctuary
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/22/farm-wetland-bird-animal-sanctuary-oregon
2Ducks Unlimited, Florida Cattlemen’s Association Partner to Conserve Wetlands
https://www.ducks.org/newsroom/ducks-unlimited-florida-cattlemens-association-partner-to-conserve-wetlands
3Fridays on the Farm: Enhancing a Historic Wetland on Tribal Lands
https://www.farmers.gov/blog/fridays-on-farm-enhancing-historic-wetland-on-tribal-lands
4Wetland restoration project yields 10 new acres at Cliffside Park
https://racinecountyeye.com/2023/10/17/wetland-restoration-cliffside-park/