In the rugged wilderness: Filmmakers chronicle students' Gila journey in 'Learning Wild'

In the wild and rugged backcountry of southwestern New Mexico there is an extraordinary expanse of untouched land — the Gila National Forest and the surrounding wild lands.

In 1924, prompted by legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold, the Gila Wilderness was created. It was the world’s first designated wilderness area, and includes more untamed land than any other national forest in the Southwest.

It’s no wonder then that the Gila remains home to coyotes, black bears, Mexican gray wolves, and the elusive shadow cat, commonly referred to as the puma.

The area, like the animals that thrive here, is untamed and uniquely protected.

In the rugged wilderness: Filmmakers chronicle students' Gila journey in 'Living Wild'

The Gila is the same wild place it was 1,000 years ago, and with conservation efforts like those lead by Travis Perry of Furman University, one can only hope it will remain the same for a thousand more.

Embedded in a long forgotten ghost town of Hermosa, deep in the Gila, Perry runs an extraordinary field school for students of wildlife biology and ecology.

Filmmakers Matthew Murray and Mike Abernathy got to have first-hand experience with Perry and his team.

The pair of filmmakers created the documentary, “Learning Wild,” which will broadcast at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1. It will also be available to stream on the PBS app.

“This has truly been a labor of love,” Murray says. “It’s been about a three-year journey. It’s a really fun experience and the kids are hilarious. They are intelligent young people who are gaining the experience to protect areas like this.”

The ghost town sits at the doorstep of 760,000 acres of designated wilderness. The area has astonishing biodiversity, with nearly all the species that were present when Coronado explored the Southwest.

Here, students learn a wide range of skills, from statistical analysis to the proper way to pack a mule.

They design research programs in the classroom, but more importantly conduct research in the field.

The program offers a glimpse into the flora and fauna of the region, as well as the hearts and minds of those just beginning their journey to become the environmental leaders of the future.

Murray says the real challenge with production was filming the scenic shot.

“We had an idea of what we wanted to do,” he says. “There was so much footage to choose from that we had to get the documentary to under an hour for it to air on PBS. There were so many interviews and we had to leave a lot of it on the cutting room floor.”

Abernathy says it was a blessing to have 30 times more video than what was needed.

“There needs to be a behind-the-scenes program where we run trail cameras,” Abernathy says. “We have some spectacular footage of American black bears chewing up those cameras. We have some amazing drone footage.”

Murray and Abernathy wanted to work with Perry because of his reputation.

“There are die-hard fans of his,” Murray says. “Students have been touched by his class and learned so much from it. He’s building a foundation one student at a time and it’s amazing to have chronicled it over the years.”