Len Necefer Presents: "From Field to Frame: Lessons in Environmental Storytelling"

On Wednesday, May 27, at 6:00pm, Len Necefer, Ph.D., will be presenting "From Field to Frame: Lessons in Environmental Storytelling" at the Bears Ears Education Center (567 W Main St, Bluff, UT 84512).

Working across deserts, rivers, and Arctic tundra has shown that environmental challenges rarely fit into neat storylines.

In this presentation, Len Necefer, PhD reflects on years of documenting landscapes and communities, sharing how firsthand experience shapes effective environmental storytelling. The talk explores the gap between lived reality and the narratives often presented to the public, and how better storytelling—rooted in place, observation, and humility—can deepen understanding of land, water, and environmental change.

The focus is on practice: what it means to tell environmental stories responsibly in an era of oversimplification.

Len Necefer (Diné) is a filmmaker, photographer and writer based in Tucson, Arizona. He founded NativesOutdoors, a media company telling Indigenous environmental stories across the Colorado River Basin and beyond. His work spans documentary film, expedition photography and public writing on water, energy and the politics of the American West. He holds a Ph.D in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon, has worked with NASA, and writes the Substack newsletter All At Once for an audience of 6,000+ readers. He is a member of the Explorers Club EC50 Class of 2026. His reporting has shaped national conversations on aridification and tribal water rights.

This event is free and open to the public.