Reflection on growth: 'The Future of our Forests' gives youth a voice on topics affecting local woodlands

Living in Taos, Sandy Campbell knows how special the area is.

He also knows that the children growing up in Taos are surrounded by the Carson National Forest — basically growing up in a massive forest.

“They all know that the environment and climate change are dominant issues for their generation,” Campbell said. “This video series allowed each of them to explore one part of that challenge, and forecast out what the future of our forests could really be.”

Reflection on growth: 'The Future of our Forests' gives youth a voice on topics affecting local woodlands

Campbell is the executive director of True Kids 1, which is a youth media-and-technology education nonprofit founded in 2017.

The nonprofit creates in-school programs that boost awareness and offers tools within the rapidly evolving media-and-tech universe, as well as teaches the technical skills that can open doors into New Mexico’s growing media, tech and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) industries.

Campbell and his team of students have created the documentary, “The Future of our Forests,” which will have a PBS broadcast at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1. It will also be available to stream on the PBS app.

Campbell said helping guide “The Future of our Forests” was really cool because Taos is different from a lot of other towns.

“The film is about reflecting on growth,” he said. “The kids pursued different topics that affect our forests. They are changing and on the heels of the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire in 2022, we are asking what do we need to do now to make it better in 15 years. That’s the time it takes for changes to be made.”

The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire resulted from prescribed burns and pile burns set by the U.S. Forest Service.

It is the largest wildfire in New Mexico history, burning 341,471 acres between early April and late June in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, in San Miguel, Mora and Taos counties.

The fire destroyed at least 903 structures, including several hundred homes, and damaged 85 more.

The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire formed from the merger of two separate wildfires — the Hermits Peak Fire began on April 6, 2022, when the U.S. Forest Service lost control of a prescribed burn, and the Calf Canyon Fire began on April 9, 2022, when an improperly extinguished Forest Service pile burn from January rekindled.

The idea for the film project began in 2022 and its purpose was to talk about the future as a construct — focusing on a 15-year period, Campbell said.

The first film project was about water in 2022.

“This project opened our eyes because we got to introduce the importance of beavers to our rivers,” he said. “With their dams, they are able to slow water down. They play a crucial role in our watershed. That was our second part.”

The 26-minute film began as a project to reflect on the future of our forests. It also marks the project’s third part, Campbell said.

“There are also three pieces to this documentary,” he said. “We do talk about the future of forests. Then we get into a local sawmill and their role in keeping our forests healthy by culling the dead trees. Then we dive into how to control infestation.”

While the information is important, Campbell said it’s the opportunity the youth has that makes it powerful.

“This program and film are giving the youth an opportunity to speak and be heard,” Campbell said. “Each issue has many sides to them. It’s about helping them find their own position and finalizing it. The kids in our academy are balancing this with their regular coursework and sports.”

Campbell is excited for the film to broadcast on New Mexico PBS as it will get more eyes on the film.

“It’s a triumph for us,” he said. “We’ve tried to have a bunch of different things shown on PBS. We’re going to have a viewing party the night of the broadcast because this is a milestone for the group.”