Ted Grudowski

Award-Winning Video Production

2021 Update: Full Speed Ahead

While in many ways 2021 has been a continuation of the roller coaster ride that was 2020, I have taken on and completed some fantastic projects. Longtime-collaborator Kris Browne and I were commissioned by Washington State Department of Transportation to create a follow-up to our film with Sandy Asher, Cascade Crossroads, now that the first phases of wildlife crossing structures on I-90 at Snoqualmie Pass have been finished, the surrounding areas restored to natural habitat, and research by Central Washington University researchers into wildlife usage has continued. Several internal editing projects for Microsoft, including their Inspire and Ignite virtual conferences and the Microsoft Research Summit, kept my very busy for a while. I filmed a project for Mongabay on the importance of old-growth trees for carbon sequestration. It was great to reconnect post-pandemic with Columbia Bank again. Darrin Gunkel and I began work on a project for West Sound Wildlife Shelter that details the amazing work they do rehabilitating and releasing injured wildlife. I’m working with Conservation Northwest on a deep dive into their Cascades to Olympics wildlife corridors program with Brian Stewart. And Jillian Brown of Forterra and I have been collaborating on several projects, including the third year of partnering with Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife promoting the Aquatic Species Restoration Plan in the Chehalis River Basin. Here are some photos from some of the projects for your entertainment!

We won the Gold! The Gold Telly Award for the People's Telly category

This Land Is Part Of Us won a Telly Award! The Gold in the People's Telly category, voted for by viewers including many of you--THANK YOU! So proud that this is getting the recognition that it has, and grateful to Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and Conservation Northwest for the opportunity to make the film. Thanks and cheers to everyone on our production team and our interviewees, including Darrin Gunkel, Chase Gunnell, Scott Downes, Elizabeth Torrey, Mark Teske, Emily Washines, Molly Linville, Jay Kehne, Michael Schroeder, Jon Gallie, Rachel Blomker, Ferdi Businger, Matt Johnson, and as always Dave Gross!

ThisLandIsPartOfUs_poster_Telly.jpg

Announcing... This Land Is Part Of Us

I am so very proud to announce a new short film that I have been working on with my colleague Darrin Gunkel for nearly a year…This Land Is Part Of Us

***************************************

A short film produced by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Conservation Northwest.

The shrubsteppe of central Washington’s Columbia Basin is a land of rich biodiversity, vibrant communities, and poignant beauty. It is a place both iconic and increasingly at-risk. Here, at the northern extent of the great “Sagebrush Sea” that once sprawled across much of the American West, growing collaboration between agencies, Native American tribes, conservation organizations, local landowners, and other partners seeks to preserve and restore shrubsteppe ecosystems while supporting cultural and economic values. Despite impacts from severe wildfires and habitat fragmentation, recovery programs are underway for species such as the Greater sage-grouse, pygmy rabbits, sharp-tailed grouse, and pronghorn antelope, while efforts including the Arid Lands Initiative and Conservation Reserve Program foster constructive partnership for the future of Washington’s shrubsteppe. For wildlife lovers, hunters and anglers, Indigenous peoples, farmers and ranchers, outdoor recreationists and so many others, this land is no desert devoid of life, This Land is Part of Us.

***************************************

Heartfelt thanks to our producers at Washington Dept. of Fish and WIldlife: Scott Downes, Elizabeth Torrey and Mark Teske, and my frequent producer Chase Gunnell at Conservation Northwest.

© Copyright 2024 Ted Grudowski.  All rights reserved.