Students at the Advanced Media Lab at Northern Arizona University have worked tirelessly throughout the fall semester of 2021 to write and produce three environmental articles as well as a mini documentary about floods, fires, and climate change in the Southwest. Click here to explore the Advanced Media Lab website.

 

This project, with a special focus on drone photography, has allowed students to learn drone piloting, film-making, editing, audio work and the production process from start to finish. Over the course of the semester, students have investigated environmental issues pertinent to our everyday lives. Around the globe, people are impacted by flash flooding, wildfires and climate change. The key take-aways from this project spark questions about how society will deal with these environmental changes in the future. What land management practices should we implement? How are communities affected by societal decisions about where to build infrastructure? 

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Here in the Southwest, we will continue to face droughts and less frequent but more intense rainstorms. For the past century, our forests have experienced fire suppression and a lack of thinning. As a result of these environmental changes and land management choices, forest fires and post-fire floods are growing more intense. These are the challenges we face in our region, but the lessons learned from this student-driven project can be applied around the world. Bringing awareness to the factors that contribute to environmental disturbances allow communities to make informed decisions about how they will meet the challenges of the future. 

 

Here at the AML, our students are passionate about sharing their work and what they have learned over a semester of fieldwork, research and collaboration. Thank you for taking the time to explore their project and support the work we do here at the lab.