Case Studies on Place & Environment

A Call To Service: Stories of Alberta Forest Protection
Alberta, Canada
In the spring of 2009, the Center facilitated a workshop with First Nations and MÈtis forestry employees in Alberta, Canada. The workshop was hosted in the town of High Level by Albertaís Sustainable Resource Development to provide participants with an opportunity to openly recount the personal journeys that led them to careers in forestry. The stories are being shared as communications tools to highlight the dedication of government forestry employees to the stewardship of the land.

My Place Project
http://cafilm.org/education/myplace.html
San Francisco and San Rafael, CA; U.S.A.
Since 2007, The California Film Institute’s Education Department has engaged the Center in teaching annual digital storytelling workshops with youth, to document community life in San Francisco and Marin County from the perspective of young people. These extended sessions include location-based photography and videography, as well as seminars on careers in filmmaking. Stories document everything from immigration raids and gang violence to a love of basketball and Capoeira; they have been shown as part of the YouthReel section of the Mill Valley Film Festival and at the Telluride Mountain Film Festival.

PlaceMeant Project
Ukiah, CA, U.S.A.
Beginning in 2003 and continuing through 2005, the Center worked with the Ukiah Players Theater to sponsor a series of digital storytelling workshops. These sessions were part of a communitywide process to capture the stories about this small city and its surrounding towns, in Northern California. A selection of the stories, created by men and women of all ages and ethnicities, from all walks of life, were integrated into a theatrical production that toured the local area in 2006.