Feature Story in Canadian Geographic: Wildflowers
A journey of friendship, loss and healing in the footsteps of early 20th-century mountain explorer Mary Schäffer Warren
The March/April 2025 issue of Canadian Geographic features a story on Wildflowers and retracing the footsteps of Mary Schäffer Warren, accompanied by a stunning collection of photographs by the late and great Natalie Gillis.
Established in 1930, Canadian Geographic is one of our nation’s most widely-read magazines, with over 4 million readers. We are honoured to see the story of this film featured in such a well-respected Canadian magazine, and the opportunity that is to bring our message to a wider audience.
The seed of this piece was first planted during a hike Nat and I took to Taylor Lake and Panorama Ridge back in October 2023 when I asked her if she’d be interested in collaborating on a pitch to CanGeo. Of course, she was keen. She’d already taken the images, so it was a matter of me writing a story to accompany them, if the editorial team at the mag was interested.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
Fast-forward nearly a year and the pitching process, which began with me pitching a short story about Natalie’s repeat photography for the film resulted in them assigning a large feature. The piece explores Mary’s remarkable story and the making of Wildflowers, but also the threads and themes that ultimately bonded Mary and me over a century apart: finding healing in nature and learning to be a hunter of peace.
When we commissioned this photo collection from Natalie, including images of the expedition, behind-the-scenes and several repeat images that offer a comparison with historic photographs, we could never have imagined the incredible gift they would be.
I dedicate this piece to Natalie.
“On our final morning, we bask in the first light of day and witness a quiet world coming to life. I am not ready to leave when we reach the docks that mark the end of our journey. What I don’t know, as we haul our canoes out of the lake, is just how sweet our memories of Maligne will be — that there will soon come a day when Natalie will have gone “on the long trail alone” and I’ll understand the grief Mary carried into the wild.”