Preserving Appalachia

Preserving Appalachia: A Mini-Documentary

David Estrada had the privilege of directing and producing a mini-documentary for ClimeCo, an environmental advisory firm dedicated to guiding companies toward sustainability. This film highlights a major land preservation project spanning 40,000 acres across western Virginia and southern West Virginia, in collaboration with CNX Gas in Appalachia. The goal of the documentary was to showcase the significance of this timber preservation effort and its impact on the environment, wildlife, and local communities, ultimately making the carbon credits generated by the project more desirable to corporate buyers in the carbon market.

Through insightful interviews with Daniel Bitz, Director of Surface Asset Strategy at CNX, and Emily Romano, Project Manager at ClimeCo, as well as key representatives from CNX, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and Southern Gap Outdoor Adventures, the documentary delves into the broader implications of land conservation. It explores how preserving these forests supports local ecosystems, enhances biodiversity, and strengthens both the community and the financial stability of sustainable initiatives.

A crucial aspect of the project involves ClimeCo’s use of a sentinel grid system to measure forest biomass, providing a scientific assessment of how much carbon the preserved trees remove from the atmosphere each year. This data is essential in proving the effectiveness of the project and increasing its credibility in the carbon credit marketplace.

As the director, Estrada conducted interviews, assembled and led the production crew, and coordinated with multiple client stakeholders to ensure the documentary effectively communicated the project's impact. In addition to directing, he served as the photographer, capturing and retouching a robust collection of commercial imagery for use in print and digital sales tools, marketing materials, and websites.

The documentary serves as a compelling and emotional testament to the power of conservation, illustrating how strategic land preservation efforts can benefit both corporate sustainability goals and the natural world.