Where I was…

Growing up in a small community on the outskirts of Vancouver where I’ve been bordered by the ocean on one side and forest on the other, the environment and the outdoors have always played a big role in my life. I have been experiencing nature and its gifts and making connections to it my entire life. Nature ignited a passion in me early on, inspiring me to share that passion with others – a passion to raise awareness and giving a voice to environmental causes. My hope is that everyone learns to embrace their local environment and the unique ecosystems they are surrounded by wherever they may live. I believe that in order for people to care about nature, they have to forge a connection to it.  After all, you can only care about what you know about.

 

Where I am…

Ruth Foster, who was the subject of my first film and the co-founder of a salmon hatchery in my neighbourhood, has had the most profound and lasting impact on the way I view nature. She taught me to see the world through a different lens. She educated me on issues I wasn’t even aware existed. She planted the seeds of my passions and was content to watch them take root over the past seven years. More recently, I realized the power of film when a teacher in Haiti contacted me with 30 letters from her students, written in response to one of my films. That was a light bulb moment for me. Hearing from kids around the world about their perspectives, their circumstances and their experiences where nature is concerned is the most rewarding part of what I do. To hear a child tell you what their challenges are to stay connected to nature leaves you not only with an appreciation for your own circumstances but a wish to help others improve theirs. Students are excited to discover how to help the environment and to share a passion to make a difference and that passion knows no bounds. Their ideas on how to save the planet are only limited by their own imaginations.

 

Where I’m going…

Enufsaid is a culmination of my passions and my desire to make more meaning of my movies. The lesson plans I’ve created can be used by educators in order to motivate youth to act on nature’s behalf and to make a difference in this world, because change can begin with just one person. Using film as a vehicle for change to communicate messages has allowed me to focus on environmental issues that have resonated with me. I plan to continue this journey of making films, curating lesson plans and in no time at all, to start my post secondary education in a field where I can spend the next chapter of my life finding new ways to give back to nature.