Communications from the coast: Three days of travel as a student videographer

Getting a close up of the old-growth forest at the Gullchucks Estuary conservation area (Photo by NCC)

Getting a close up of the old-growth forest at the Gullchucks Estuary conservation area (Photo by NCC)

October 20, 2016 | by Holly Lam

From May to August of this year, I worked in Victoria as the Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC’s) communications intern in British Columbia. I’m a writing student at the University of Victoria, and film is one of my areas of interest, so I was excited to learn that NCC wanted me to make videos. I got to put previous videography experience to use in a new setting, and take initiative on projects, and eventually produced four videos for NCC.

In August, I got a unique opportunity: to travel with stewardship staff to BC’s central coast rainforest, near the community of Bella Bella, and take photographs and video of Gullchucks Estuary, Ellerslie Creek and Koeye Estuary conservation areas.

Capturing the sights and sounds of the Gullchucks Estuary (Photo by NCC)

Capturing the sights and sounds of the Gullchucks Estuary (Photo by NCC)

I had spent May, June and July writing about BC’s natural landscapes, but hadn't visited many of the places I was writing about. To actually see one of these areas, with its miles of trees and no sign of human settlement, to hear the cries of sandhill cranes, ravens, eagles and other birds as they travelled along their undisturbed natural flyways, deepened my appreciation for NCC’s work in a whole new way.

It was also fun to have such creative freedom in a new place: I had certain types of shots I needed to get, but mostly just recorded anything that caught my eye or ear. I had so many new experiences on the trip — travelling to such a remote part of BC, riding a seaplane and hiking in completely undeveloped forests, to name a few — and it’s amazing that it was my job to document them.

I had found the intership with NCC through my university’s co-op program, and for my end-of-term report, chose to compile a video using footage from my trip (in addition to the video I made while with NCC about Gullchucks Estuary conservation area). Being visually exposed to the beauty of the sites NCC protects had an impact on me that written words can’t achieve, and that’s what I wanted to convey. I’m excited to share the video with NCC. Thank you for a great summer!

Holly Lam

About the Author

Holly Lam was the 2016 summer communications intern for the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s BC Region.

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