This January marks the five year anniversary of Essex resident John Davis’s 5000-mile adventure from Mexico to Canada. Born to Rewild, a 55-minute feature documentary directed by Ed George and Bryan Reinhart, relating John’s fascinating story has been screening around the country.
The film chronicles “Trek West,” John’s effort to pinpoint the present and possible routes taken by wildlife traversing North America. In the short but captivating documentary John identifies obstacles traveling wildlife face, and he identifies how best to reconnect wild places for them.
Watch the film’s trailer below:
“It’s a reality that gets tougher to handle every day: roads and development are hemming in our spectacular wildlands, trapping our amazing wild animals in habitats too small, and offering no way out. But … there is a way: over, under and around it. TrekWest adventurer John Davis believes, if we learn to work together now, we can save what we love before it’s too late. If we connect our best wild places, we will give wildlife enough room to survive and do what comes naturally — keeping our landscapes and communities healthy. It’s about identifying problems and supporting their solutions. Taking the route of grizzlies, wolves, cougars and jaguars, John experienced their greatest challenges in getting where they need to go. This alone, however, would accomplish little. He went the extra mile, meeting conservation heroes and learning about amazing projects that are key to connecting western wild places. Follow John Davis as he treks 5000 miles in 8 months from Mexico to Canada to bring awareness to the importance of connected wildlife corridors along the spine of the continent. “(Source: Sedona Film Festival – Born to Rewild)
Below is a short clip from the film during the beginning of the trek near the Mexican border wall.
“It’s a film of hope and of a big screen, visual splendor that serves as a reminder of just how stunningly beautiful the natural landscape of America truly is and should always remain.” (Source: David Appleford, film critic)
“The film is beautifully conceived ~ an intimate and personalized narrative framed by spectacular photography of the diverse landscape and vistas […] This is National Geographic on steroids ~ but with a heart and soul.” (Source: Herbert Paine, Broadway World)
The film premiered at the Sedona International Film Festival and is currently touring. You can visit wildlandsnetwork.org to learn more about where showings may occur and where to obtain copies when the film is for sale.
Wildways Scout and Author
Previous to this trek in the West, John Davis completed a 7,600-mile traverse of a proposed Eastern Wildway in 2011, which he chronicled in his book Big, Wild, and Connected: Scouting an Eastern Wildway from Florida to Quebec. His second book, published in late 2017, Split Rock Wildway: Scouting the Adirondack Park’s Most Diverse Wildlife Corridor is a rambling look at some of the charismatic and enigmatic wildlife thriving in the wooded hills and adjacent waterways linking Lake Champlain with the High Peaks, and it is illustrated by several artist friends. His books are available for sale on Amazon.
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