Honoring a special landscape cherished by the community: Cowiche Canyon

A very special project that Darrin Gunkel and I spent over a year working on was a celebration video for the 40th anniversary of Cowiche Canyon Conservancy. A non-profit land trust based in Yakima, WA, the conservancy is the result of handful of residents protecting an amazing canyon just west of the city, connecting people with the shrubsteppe ecology through a system of trails and public outreach. The conservancy is lead by the fabulous Celisa Hopkins and the fantastic staff who put blood, sweat and tears into this community jewel, which is also important habitat connecting shrubsteppe with the dry side forests and higher elevation Cascade Mountains that include Mount Rainier. Celisa asked for a poetic take on telling this story and we were happy to oblige.

The video had its debut at the conservancy’s Spring auction event. Celisa reported not only many heartfelt comments from people that it touched, but also an uptick in the charitable contributions they received.