Accra, Ghana

I spent the last two weeks in Freetown, Sierra Leone and Accra, Ghana capturing stories for Mormon Newsroom. The first story covered the community open house for the new Ghana Missionary Training Center. The new building can accommodate up to 320 missionaries who will be serving in west Africa.

The Missionary Training Center has several beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces designed to provide a good learning environment for missionaries. (Images courtesy Mormon Newsroom)

The Missionary Training Center has several beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces designed to provide a good learning environment for missionaries. (Images courtesy Mormon Newsroom)

The Missionary Training Center sits on the same campus as the Ghana Temple, Accra Stake Center and West Africa Area offices. The mayor of Accra commented that this campus is one of the most well kept areas in the city. 

The Missionary Training Center sits on the same campus as the Ghana Temple, Accra Stake Center and West Africa Area offices. The mayor of Accra commented that this campus is one of the most well kept areas in the city. 

The second story covered a "Face to Face" broadcast in which teenage youth were given the opportunity to ask questions to an Apostle from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder and Sister Renlund answered questions on two broadcasts, one in English and a second in French. 

The broadcast was recorded in the cafeteria of the new Missionary Training Center.

The broadcast was recorded in the cafeteria of the new Missionary Training Center.

Youth from Ghana and neighboring countries traveled up to twelve hours by bus to attend the broadcast in person.

Youth from Ghana and neighboring countries traveled up to twelve hours by bus to attend the broadcast in person.

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Two hosts presented youth submitted questions to Elder and Sister Renlund.

Two hosts presented youth submitted questions to Elder and Sister Renlund.

Eyes Toward the Past

Next week I have several documentary shorts that will be featured in an art exhibit held at the Union Station Museum in Ogden, Utah. The exhibit, called "Eyes Toward the Past," features twenty paintings that were commissioned forty years ago for the United States bi-centennial celebration. The paintings showcase imagery of events in the history of Northern Utah. The exhibit runs from July 24th to the 28th. 

Here are a two of the paintings that will be featured along with their accompanying short documentaries. 

"Chief Pocatello at Brigham City" by Gary E. Smith  (Image courtesy Weber State University)

"Chief Pocatello at Brigham City" by Gary E. Smith  (Image courtesy Weber State University)

"The Goodyear Horse Drive" by Farrell R. Collett (Image courtesy Weber State University)

"The Goodyear Horse Drive" by Farrell R. Collett (Image courtesy Weber State University)

 

 

The Rights of Nature

Last week I returned from a trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. I spent a week researching, gathering interviews, and filming b-roll concerning a piece of environmental legislation that was passed in Ecuador several years ago. "The Right of Nature" is a legal concept similar to the Endangered Species Act, but focuses more broadly on entire ecosystems. Since its adoption in Ecuador, the concept has spread to Europe, North America and the South Pacific. I'll be working with Hal Crimmel (Chair of the English Department at Weber State University) and Dr. Valeria Berros (A professor of law at the University of Littoral, Argentina and a researcher at CONICET) to create a documentary on the "The Rights of Nature" this coming year. Here are a few of the people we were able to meet and interview on our trip to Ecuador.

Arturo Izurieta is head of the Charles Darwin Foundation Research Center on the Galapagos Islands. Izurieta did his doctoral thesis on the threats faced by indigenous peoples in Australia and gave us insight into why "The Right of Nature" legistlati…

Arturo Izurieta is head of the Charles Darwin Foundation Research Center on the Galapagos Islands. Izurieta did his doctoral thesis on the threats faced by indigenous peoples in Australia and gave us insight into why "The Right of Nature" legistlation started in Ecuador based on the needs of their indigenous population. This interview is shot on a patio outside Izurieta's Galapagos Islands office. Nice view!

Alberto Acosta is the former head of of the Ecuador Constitutional Assembly and was a key figure in bringing forth "The Right of Nature" legislation. His role would be comparable to the United States Speaker of the House. 

Alberto Acosta is the former head of of the Ecuador Constitutional Assembly and was a key figure in bringing forth "The Right of Nature" legislation. His role would be comparable to the United States Speaker of the House. 

Valeria Berros is a professor of law at the University of Littoral and a researcher at The National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) of Argentina. She has been researching the impacts of "The Right of Nature" legislation for sever…

Valeria Berros is a professor of law at the University of Littoral and a researcher at The National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) of Argentina. She has been researching the impacts of "The Right of Nature" legislation for several years and was recently awarded a fellowship at the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society in Munich, Germany.

What I find interesting about the rights of nature is that they provide a new perspective to try to generate new ways both to avoid pollution and to protect certain natural areas. In fact... we started thinking about extending rights beyond the human limit.
— Valeria Berros

The City of Corinne

This week I began research for a series of videos that will accompany an art exhibit at the Weber State University Story Telling Festival. 40 years ago a series of about 60 paintings were commissioned that showcased different episodes in the history of Ogden, Utah and its surrounding communities. The exhibit at this year's Story Telling Festival will display many of those paintings and include several videos that explain the history behind them.

"City of Corinne - Paddle Wheeler" by Charles A. Groberg. Courtesy of Weber State University and Bill Child.

"City of Corinne - Paddle Wheeler" by Charles A. Groberg. Courtesy of Weber State University and Bill Child.

I spent today at the Utah State Historical Society gathering archival photographs to include in the videos. Some of my favorite images were of a resort on the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake during the 1880s. The Garfield Resort was about two miles southwest of Black Rock, a large rock you can still reach off of Interstate 80. The resort was actually named after a steam boat, the "General Garfield," which was originally named "The City of Corinne" in 1871 and had been a freight vessel to ship lumber, ore and bullion between Ophir and Corinne, Utah. Over the years the ship was converted into an excursion boat that carried passengers along the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake. Ultimately, the machinery inside the boat was removed in 1892 and it was outfitted as a hotel at the Garfield Resort. 

Here are a few photos of the ship, the resort and the painting by Charles A. Groberg. 

Images courtesy Utah State Historical Society.

Images courtesy Utah State Historical Society.