Wildlife filmmaker Gunjan Menon sits in a tree in Stanley Park in Vancouver, on April 10. Menon said she first moved to the city last February, immigrating from India. 'I wanted to be close to nature,' she said, noting that photos of the large park, which is also a natural rainforest, are what drew her to the west coast.Kayla Isomura/the Globe and Mail
It’s not surprising that nature is at the heart of filmmaker Gunjan Menon’s documentary series, Our Wild Neighbours. Nature has had a transformative effect on Ms. Menon’s own life.
Since February, 2022, when Ms. Menon immigrated to Canada from India, she has been making regular visits to document the urban wildlife at Vancouver’s Stanley Park, a 400-hectare rain forest brimming with old-growth trees and scenic views of the mountains and ocean.
Ms. Menon hopes her work will encourage newcomers like herself to “explore their wild surroundings.”
“So many people have had to leave home because of the climate crisis or the refugee crisis and they’ve come to a new country,” she said. “It can be very isolating to start fresh, to financially take care of yourself but also find that community, that support.”
Watching animals from behind a lens is not a new practice for Ms. Menon, who has written, shot and directed films and TV series focusing on the intersection between humans and wildlife around the world. Her work has appeared on networks including Animal Planet, Discovery Channel and Nat Geo Wild.
Ms. Menon said she found her own community through nature in Vancouver, and improved her state of mind as well.
“I realized that my mental health was so much better,” she said, adding that she returns home from filming in nature feeling more refreshed and calm. “And I realized that maybe this is something that others could benefit from as well.”
Each episode of the series, which is still in production, features a different topic. Stanley Park’s beavers and great blue herons, for example, take the spotlight in the first two episodes.
“I want to remind people to go out,” she said. “And especially if you’re in a new country, you’re lonely or missing that connection, this is a very good way to find it.”
Ms. Menon assembles a camera trap in Stanley Park. Menon said the trap, which holds a mirrorless camera, is a tool she uses to film wildlife in their natural habitat. However, she typically uses a smaller trail camera first to observe the habits of the wildlife she hopes to capture.Kayla Isomura/the Globe and Mail
Ms. Menon checks her camera between shots in Stanley Park.Kayla Isomura/the Globe and Mail
Wildlife filmmaker Gunjan Menon places a camera trap below a tree. She said the camera traps use a motion sensor when in operation.Kayla Isomura/the Globe and Mail
The dazzling colours of a male wood duck reflect golden light.The Globe and Mail
Gunjan Menon, a wildlife filmmaker, holds a camera trap.Kayla Isomura/the Globe and Mail
A raccoon touches the water of a pond in Stanley Park at twilight.The Globe and Mail
Canada geese goslings have a snooze.The Globe and Mail
A Great Blue Heron in Stanley Park.The Globe and Mail
A red-eared slider turtle basks on a sunny day in Vancouver.The Globe and Mail
A beavers pulls a branch in a pond at twilight in Stanley Park.The Globe and Mail