As a conservationist, filmmaker, and Emerging League Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers, Katie Bryden is committed to telling stories that inspire change. Formerly the Senior Producer of Visual Storytelling at Conservation International, she has most recently taken up the role of Director of Video Storytelling with Florida Wild and Path of the Panther. I caught up with Katie to chat about promoting endangered species conservation through film, building equitable partnerships in the filmmaking industry, and the importance of compassion.

Tell us a little about what you’re working on and what’s got you excited these days?

I’m working on a short film about the most endangered bird in North America for the Florida Wildlife Corridor Campaign. The Corridor Campaign is a partnership between multiple organizations including Florida Wild, The Florida Wildlife Corridor Coalition, and Archbold Biological Station with the goal to connect, protect, and restore a network of Florida’s land and water critical for people and nature. This year, the Corridor Campaign and other conservation organizations guided policymakers to enact a bill, Florida Wildlife Corridor Act, and secure $400 million in funding to help protect the state’s vast network of natural areas. The short film I’m working on highlights the endangered Grasshopper Sparrow and its home within the Florida Wildlife Corridor that is being protected thanks to this recent legislation. 

That’s quite a landmark campaign! How do you see your film continuing the work in protecting the Grasshopper Sparrow and other species which inhabit the same region?

The funding secured for the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act should be just enough to conserve the same amount of land that’s being lost to development this year and while this legislation is a great start to create incentives for conservation and sustainable development in Florida, we will still need several billion dollars to conserve the missing links in the Florida Wildlife Corridor and achieve a balance between conservation and development. 

I’m hoping this film inspires policymakers to value nature and connected wild spaces because the conservation investment in the Florida Wildlife Corridor will help secure the land that over 40 federally listed endangered species in Florida (including the iconic Florida Panther) need to survive. Plus it will help humans, too: connected forests are important for our freshwater systems, and they provide natural protection from flooding, erosion, and storms.

It’s clear that you bring a lot of novel expertise to the table as both a conservationist and filmmaker. How have your prior experiences shaped your approach to conservation storytelling?

I grew up in central New Jersey – the sea of suburbs that I called home hosted a myriad of shopping malls, diners, and NYC commuters. You might say that it’s not a typical place for an environmental filmmaker to come from, and I’d agree. I was totally naive to all of the environmental problems that existed in my surroundings: the sprawl, air and water pollution, and – of course – toxic waste. New Jersey is the state with the most Superfund sites in the entire nation. 

It wasn’t until I was 17 and taking an environmental science class at my local community college that I learned more about our planet and the environmental injustices happening right in my own backyard. I remember watching the documentary ‘Who Killed the Electric Car?’ and thought that the government would prioritize the long-term interests of the American people over the short-term profitability of big corporations. I now understand how laughable and ignorant that thought was. So that’s when I decided to become an environmental filmmaker. I realized that if I really wanted to help protect the planet, people, and wildlife, I needed to connect my interests in environmental science with the power of storytelling. Facts don’t always change minds, but stories can. 

I went on to study at American University’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking during which I was lucky enough to have a variety of internships with nonprofits, government agencies, independent photographers, and production companies. I graduated with intentionality for what I wanted to do and with such a broad skillset in knowing how to communicate effectively for a variety of audiences.

It must have been daunting jumping into the deep-end of the conservation filmmaking right after graduating. What is something you’ve learned about being a conservation filmmaker in the years since your classes and what would you want up-and-coming storytellers to keep in mind?

I learned that being a conservation filmmaker requires constant curiosity. Whether it’s researching a story, interviewing potential characters, experimenting with the latest gear, testing out new marketing tools, or exploring a new camera style, I’ve found that I’m always trying to learn as much as possible and to question the status quo. 

For those interested in conservation filmmaking, I would advise them to do the same! Explore new topics – you never know what might pique your interest – teach yourself new skills or techniques and share this knowledge with others. It’s important to uplift those who might be where you were yesterday. Find mentors and a community that gives you critical feedback on your work. If you’re not succeeding at first, stay patient and persistent. And don’t forget to believe in yourself! You are always much more capable and resilient than you think!

100% agree on the need to uplift eachother! As creatives working in the natural world it can be easy to forget to check-in on one another when we’re facing down project deadlines, despite the fact that it’s so important to do so. Do you find that there is a connection between compassion, curiosity and being creative? 

Yes, absolutely! I think listening to others’ perspectives and caring about their needs leads to creativity. Both being compassionate and creative start with attention and a focus on problem-solving. When you empathize with someone, you bring yourself into that person’s world. You listen, try your best to identify the problem, and see where you can help. The same is true in creativity and design. First, you identify the problem/goal and if you don’t do this, you’ll never get the solution right. 

I suspect this solution-oriented mindset translates strongly in your work to tell the types of stories you tell. How would you best describe your approach to storytelling?

I like to say that I’m a cause-based conservation filmmaker, which I define as telling stories that inspire an equitable and prosperous future in harmony with nature for everyone. Conservation has an ugly history of marginalizing and evicting the indigenous peoples and local communities living in ecosystems designated for protection. Most of the world’s 6,000 national parks and 100,000 protected places have been created by the removal of indigenous peoples. And although large-scale and violent evictions are less common now, the everyday exclusion of indigenous peoples’ voices is still prevalent. That’s why I use the term “cause-based.” It focuses on my commitment to telling conservation stories that respect indigenous and local community rights and voices, and human rights more broadly, while maintaining healthy sustainable ecosystems.

Now that’s a future we can all aspire to! What about the future of conservation filmmaking as an industry – what big changes do you see on the horizon?

I think we’re seeing a growing awareness of the power of collaborative storytelling. The old model of natural history/conservation filmmaking where Western production companies parachute into remote places, capture footage, and then leave – with no benefit or connection to the community – has been increasingly criticized. 

Now there’s an impetus to approaching storytelling in a participatory way, where stories are told equitably and authentically and where there is a lasting positive impact for communities and the natural world. Plus with today’s technologies, it’s possible to connect and collaborate with your subjects and work together throughout the entire storytelling process.

In my film series ‘Women on a Mission‘, it was important to me that the films’ subjects were a part of the entire creative process and that they played a central role in designing a film that was true to their character. In fact, our journeys together are still ongoing – even after the completion of the series. During the onset of COVID19, I helped promote a fundraiser for Nancy and her community to receive supplies, medicine, and health care. I also sent the film festival award money and my proceeds from the ‘Women of iLCP‘ print sale to help Josphine’s daughter, Lilian Akal, start her own conservation project to plant 10,000 trees in the next three years in Kona Village, Ngaremara Ward of Isiolo County, Northern Kenya.