The journey is the destination

In Nov. 2021, the team from Bold Bison Communications & Consulting — Brandon Hayes and Patrick Williams — hopped in a car and traversed the Lone Star State, video equipment in hand. For 10 days they filmed from dawn to dusk with seven land trusts who wanted to better understand how to use video to tell their organizations’ stories.

From the start, this project wasn’t about a final product, it was about building skills. At Bold Bison, we adopt a “teach someone to fish” mentality, so when the Alliance needed a team not just to make a video about Texas land trusts, but to help Texas land trusts make videos, they gave us a call. We worked closely with the land trusts, helping think through who to interview, where and what narratives to focus on. After capturing material on the ground—33 interviews and over 20 hours of footage—we cleaned everything up and handed it back over to the land trusts to use in their communications.

Video is an invaluable tool, even more so as we all start to consume more information via video, whether that’s a result of virtual programming or through the rise of “edu-tainment” that you increasingly see on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. The good news is, land trusts are exceptionally well-suited to meet this demand, if they have the confidence, know-how and encouragement to give something new a try.

Realizing that there’s no one thing we mean by “video.” It’s brand and fundraising videos, it’s short clips for social media, it’s tools for onboarding new board and staff, it’s archives of landowners’ speaking about their land—all of which are valuable tools for any organization.

There was also a bit of “the journey is the destination” thinking. Just during one day with some land trusts, we could see a transformation in how they approach their work—such as recognizing a need to build up relationships with landowners or to reevaluate their core narrative. We were there to help with skills-building, but the process of capturing video content became as important as the outcome itself.

This trip was a stark reminder that land trusts do not and must not work in isolation. Standing in an arroyo protected by The Frontera Land Alliance with the U.S.-Mexico Border in sight, we heard how Frontera has started seeing folks trying to live at this preserve. El Paso’s homeless shelters keep filling up because of the influx of migrants delayed at the border.

As a movement, we can’t keep our heads in the sand worried about mission drift. When there’s a humanitarian crisis at your doorstep, you don’t have a choice but to engage. Too often, community needs are addressed at the back end of land conservation, but we heard stories of organizations thinking much more about how they fit into the larger needs of their communities—which is exactly where our movement needs to be headed.

We are thrilled to be sharing some of the video material, as well as more stories and insights, at our session at Rally in New Orleans on Saturday, Sept. 17. You can view the video below.