across vermejo reserve, the ecosystems vary from shortgrass prairie to pinyon-juniper woodlands to alpine environments and more. ted turner, founder of cnn, former owner of the braves and hawks, co-founder of the nuclear threat initiative and major donor to the un foundation — owns this property and many others like it across the united states.

planet forward founding director frank sesno and multimedia editor aaron dye were joined by five motivated, committed, and creative students from an applicant pool of nearly 30. our students were josette chun, rising senior at middlebury college, andrew mccabe, rising senior at george washington university, kayla smernoff, recent graduate of howard university, colton young, rising junior at suny esf, and nicholas aguirre zafiro, recent graduate of george washington university.

following a detailed research period, these students were engaged in an intensive experiential learning process that tasked them to produce videos explaining and covering various conservation projects by turner reserves.

from riparian ecosystem preservation, to bison management, to the reintroduction of rio grande cutthroat trout, and more — their stories will create a window for planet forward viewers into one of the most remote and highly managed natural spaces in the united states.

editor’s note: this series was made possible with the generous support of turner reserves and contributions by the turner family. all editorial content is published independently. 

planet forward’s environmental media lab led this expedition to teach the power of visual storytelling in wild spaces to convey the beauty and bounty of our planet.