Stories of the Bay

GREEN BAY – A new feature documentary film, The Natural World of the Bay, created by filmmaker Dan Larson in partnership with UW-Green Bay, explores the Bay of Green Bay and the stories and hearts that work endlessly to care for it.

“About 14 years ago, I saw that there were three areas that I wanted to learn about. One was the Niagara Escarpment, the second was the Lower Fox River and the third was the Bay of Green Bay,” said filmmaker Dan Larson. “I did the Niagara Escarpment first, and that was called The Great Ledge. The series is a trilogy. The next one in the series was on the [lower] Fox River. That is basically Menasha to Green Bay, and that one is called The Power of the River.”

“That one was more history, where the escarpment [one] was a little more geology. But The Power of the River was history, and it was basically telling the story, from ancient times, the First Nations people,” said Larson. “The last one now to be completed is Green Bay. And that one you could have done as one too, but a lot of the history would have overlapped with the river. So I thought, well, I always wanted to do a nature-themed one. So The Natural World of the Bay became a film of plants, fish, birds, invasives and the nutrients.”

The film tells the story of the Bay of Green Bay and all that resides in and around it, while opening a window into the working hearts that care for the area.

“My favorite moment was when I realized just how many different people and how many different organizations were out there working on the bay, the fishery, with the birds, with the invasives and it was like a light came on that there is this much activity going on, and you wouldn’t think so,” said Larson. “I mean, just looking at it now, you can’t see that, but when you get connected with these people and they let you go out with them, all of a sudden, you realize there is just a whole other world out there, a whole other. That’s kind of like the title, the natural world. There is just a whole other world of people out there working on it, protecting it.”

The film will be premiering on Earth Day, April 22, at UW-Green Bay. Larson touched on Wisconsin’s important connections to Earth Day, noting that it was one of the main factors in the date’s selection.

“The second one was informal help from people at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay…So Green Bay was a natural link or organization to approach and say, ‘Would you like to? Could we do this premiere together?’ They’ve got wonderful facilities. It is going to be held in the Theater Hall at 6 p.m. on the 22nd. Very, very nice, 400-seat theater,” said Larson.

“Proceeds support UW‑Green Bay Scholarships and the Lower Fox River Watershed Monitoring Program, a two‑decade‑long, student‑powered effort that informs regional nutrient reduction and restoration strategies,” said a UW-Green Bay press release.

Pass It Forward™ editorial is sponsored by Packers Give Back, Nicolet National Bank and the National Trust for Local News.