Stories for Action produces films, a podcast, & workshops to spark positive action & connection.
18/06/2025
Check out our latest Stories for Action podcast episode - touching on things that are relatable across Montana, and across the country.
This episode follows up on something covered in our Housing in Montana episode. The city of Whitefish, like many places, has become a place where working class people and families are struggling or unable to stay, largely due to housing costs. Many say they no longer feel like they are welcome in their own town, that it is not made for them, but more so caters to wealthy visitors or newcomers. A lack of community identity and belonging has real impacts.
Along with important updates on Whitefish’s growth planning processes, ’s Nathan Dugan also talks about the general need for younger people to have their voices be heard. As he says, often city council members are over 50, many more over 60, and the people sharing their public comments are largely over 50 or 60. Their voices are important too of course, but when only one age group makes up the input for decisions being made, addressing realistic challenges for other age groups can get left out.
In Montana, the deadline to put your name in to run for local government is June 11th, so yes it just passed, but mark your calendar for next year! And if you’re not interested in running yourself, support any friends who are…it takes a village to campaign, especially for people who aren’t retired age, who may be balancing jobs, kids, tight finances. Help them knock on doors, hang posters, offer to watch their kids, donate what you can. We all can play our role in keeping democracy alive and well 💪.
Also, Nathan has put his name in for Whitefish City Council:
Nonprofit leaders concerned that further budget cuts could limit services available to communities statewide.
10/06/2025
We believe sharing stories & experiences contributes to more connected & empowered communities. Creating this opportunity for young people can reinforce a connection to place, civic involvement, understanding varied perspectives, and communication skills that they can carry with them on their future paths.
In 2022, Stories for Action produced a film series that featured stories of locally-led efforts in rural Montana (Life in the Land). One community featured in the series was Winnet, MT. This Fall, to expand on that elevation of story, we want to give Winnett teens a chance to articulate their own stories & connection to place.
About the Workshop: Winnett High School students will spend 2 class sessions writing & sharing their stories of how they connect to their community & landscape: past, present, and future.
The workshop aims to:
- uplift the value in students' personal experiences.
- show how their "place" imprints them as a person.
- raise awareness on what moving parts contribute to a thriving community.
- allow students to learn about their classmates' perspectives.
- create an opportunity for students to sharpen skills of civic engagement, research, public speaking, writing, & more.
In the evening, along with Winnett ACES, we will also co-host a gathering open to the community. We will screen the film that Winnett is featured in, "Life in the Land: The Central Montana Plains", Winnett ACES can share updates with and hear from the public, and some teens can share their story with the adults of the community.
Your donation will make the workshop for Winnett Teens and the community gathering possible. Any amount is greatly appreciated! Head to www.StoriesforAction.org/support or contact [email protected] for more info. Contact us if you want to make your payment directly (bypass our 501c3 fiscal sponsor & avoid the 8% processing fee). Thank you so much!
#406
04/06/2025
Becky Margolis spent her 40th birthday running 40 miles on a popular trail in Missoula.
04/06/2025
This episode is a follow-up on something we covered in our 2024 episode “Housing in Montana”.
This episode looks at some recent events around the City of Whitefish’s growth policy planning, which many say undermines the public input and its thoughtful process. We share an update for Whitefish residents and ways to further engage, and for people everywhere; it touches on topics of wealth pushing locals out of their communities, transparent local planning, and having honest conversations about the impacts of high end tourism…things that are relatable in so many places. In the episode, we hear from Nathan Dugan of Shelter WF, who spoke with us for our Housing in Montana episode last year. Find the podcast on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, and at https://www.storiesforaction.org/podcast/episode/1c1d2675/the-city-of-whitefish-planning-in-the-midst-of-class-gentrification-in-montana
29/05/2025
Thank you to the in India for including Life in the Land: The Upper Yellowstone River in your film festival.
The film features folks connected to this stretch of the Yellowstone River, showing the dynamics, the challenges, and the community-guided efforts that go into stewarding the health of a river, the land, and the rural communities that call it home. We hope there are universal messages for all locations about fostering healthy relationships with our rivers, lands, and others who hold varied perspectives. And of course give a window into the specifics in this featured Valley. There are a lot of growing pressures out there, but maybe when we listen and work together to tackle our collective connection to our place, we can forge some incredible paths forward. Topics include: river conservation, ranching communities, impact of absentee landownership, river recreation and potential impacts, flooding & community preparedness, natural infrastructure, collaborative & local-guided approaches, and more.
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Reach out if you would like to screen the film, or clips, at your community gathering, conference, or classroom. It is free to do so, and we have a free Lesson Plan for high school, college, and adult-ed level available. 🔗www.LifeintheLand.org
Film features: , , , local ranchers, Scott Frazier of Project Indigenous, and the Upper Yellowstone Watershed Group.
Film produced by &
Sound mix
Film supported in part with a grant from the Big Sky Film Grant, , .
#406
27/05/2025
Thank you to the for including Life in the Land: The Mighty Few in your film festival. The festival will be in Los Angeles, June 26-29.
The film features the Mighty Few District of the Crow Nation in southeast Montana. Witness the process of this community strengthening their connection to identity, the land, and community togetherness. Through truly grassroots efforts, The Mighty Few are guiding action that creates healing, economic opportunities, and self-determination to thrive into the future.
Reach out if you would like to screen the film, or clips, at your community gathering, conference, or classroom. It is free to do so, and we have a free Lesson Plan for high school, college, and adult-ed level available. 🔗www.LifeintheLand.org
Film produced by ,
Associate Producer
Narration & writing
Relay footage
Production Assistance
Sound mix
Film supported in part with a grant from the Big Sky Film Grant, as well as BioRegions International, Foundation for Community Vitality, Courtney Scott, and Rodney Frey.
07/05/2025
It’s all connected: the health of communities, environments, economies, and more. Find the 6 films and 30+ podcast episodes (all available for free) at www.LIFEintheLAND.org! Topics range from land management and working landscapes, to community development and connection to place.
You can enjoy the films on your own or incorporate them as a free tool into your work - to spark dialogue in community gatherings, meetings, conferences, classrooms, and more. Free Lesson Plan is available for high school, college, and adult-ed levels.
**The films are edited by topic segments, to make it easy for you to play or share just a short clip that applies to your group's specific focal area.**
REACH OUT to [email protected] if you would like to use the content in a public setting and to learn more about resources we offer (Lesson Plan, Discussion Guide, we host Story Workshops for your group or class, or support in facilitating a discussion after the film). Also reach out & we can help you select the film or film clip that best suits your group or event's needs.
Accompanying podcast episodes are also available on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, other apps, on the "Stories for Action" series. www.storiesforaction.org/podcast
MWCC - Montana Watershed Coordination Council Montana Forest Collaboration Network
Big Hole Watershed Committee U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Swan Valley Connections Salish Kootenai College Forestry & Natural Resources Club National Forest Foundation Piikani Lodge Health Institute Blackfeet Community College Winnett ACES Ranchers Stewardship Alliance Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Quivira Coalition Montana Freshwater Partners
#406
05/05/2025
Reporting by Robyn Kay Iron, tune into KPAX-TV at 5:30pm for full special report on this and other stories of
It's a reality for families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women who find themselves in a constant cycle of silence and grief.
05/05/2025
May 5th at 5:30pm, tune into KPAX-TV for special report for National Day of Awareness for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Persons, sharing stories & resources.
With reporting by Robyn Kay Iron and Team.
02/05/2025
Knowledge interpreters are critical storytellers, sharing information with the public on topics of history, science, and everything in between. How they share information contributes to how we interpret the world around us. Last week, enjoyed being a part of the annual conference of the Heartland Region of the National Association of Interpreters, hosted by the .
The conference kicked off with a screening of our Life in the Land film episode on The Seeley-Swan Region. Aligning with the conference theme of “Stories on the Landscape”, this film shows how varied elements work together to benefit the land & human communities of a place…community connectivity to one another and to the land, local economies, natural resources, Tribal forest management approaches, and more.
After the film, Director, Lara Tomov, gave a brief presentation on the power of narrative and the importance of reflecting the complexities & nuance of reality into the stories that we share…whether you’re an interpreter, a filmmaker, or having a casual conversation. We live in a time where much of the information we receive is designed for us to view things as black & white with no gray area. The nuance & complexities are removed. Entire demographics are painted as 1 thing, a single issue or word is painted as all good or all bad, us vs. them. It’s no wonder why we’re in such a polarized state. Lara reinforced how storytellers can create the antidote to this by incorporating complexity when & how they’re able.
Lara then visited with attendees & loved hearing the personal stories of complexity that folks grapple with in their respective focal areas & regions of the country. We sure are complex beings.
🎥 If you would like to screen a Life in the Land film, or clip thereof, at your gathering (for FREE), do reach out! Lara Tomov is also available to lead workshops, present, & facilitate community discussions around themes of community-guided collaboration, elevating and shaping the story of your work, narrative shifts, and fostering connected communities. 1-on-1 virtual consulting is also available.
#406
23/04/2025
I’m a product of the mountains, and a lover of the oceans. I began scuba diving when I was 20, and immediately felt comfort and peace in the underwater world. This perspective showed me not only the wealth of complex life that existed there, but the direct connections and interdependencies of our oceans to life on land. I frequently dove with the Waterkeepers, helping with kelp forest restoration off the California coast when I lived there.
On Monday night I went to see a documentary film, , as part of the . The film won Best Feature film at the festival, and it will play again tonight, Wednesday 4/23, at 7:45pm at . If you’re in the Missoula area, I highly recommend going to see it.
The documentary film follows reporter .xia, as she investigates the thousands of barrels of toxic waste that were legally dumped directly into the ocean, just off the California coast…in the exact location I completed so many dives doing restoration work.
What I appreciated about this film was that while it provides information and discovery in real-time, it equally forces the audience to ask continuous questions about the bigger story. For me, it prompted questions of “how have we become so disconnected from our environments, which sustain life itself”, and “how do we incentivize doing the ‘right thing’ once better practices are discovered?”
I appreciate how the film didn’t feel the need to have a resolution, as the reality is there is not one. Tying the issue up in a nice little bow can often make an audience think it’s all taken care of and we can all move on. The film shows the nuance that exists in this issue, & that while physical action and remediation is important, simply talking about an issue can be monumental…acknowledging past mistakes of society so that we can navigate better choices in the future. The film of course is looking at a specific instance in a specific location, but it brings the conversation outward, so I could easily connect it to the 19 Superfund sites we have in MT, and the ongoing chemical discharge happening around the world.
Hats off to all the courageous storytellers.
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Moving towards a thriving planet...together.
Mission: To cultivate a thriving planet through the power of storytelling.
When we look at the impact of human systems on the natural world, it is clear we need to improve how we interact with our planet. We are a part of it, but we are operating as though “nature” or the “environment” is a separate entity. It is our drinking water, the air we breathe, our jobs, our health, food, communities, oceans, wildlife, forests...all of the systems come together to support life on this planet. So why are we divided when it comes to our push for a healthy planet? As long as we are divided on this, the necessary changes will not occur.
Stories have been used for thousands of years to bridge divides and inspire action. The goal of Stories for Action is to promote a regenerative planet through the power of storytelling. To regenerate is to make anew, better than before. This can apply to our soils, water, economics, racial and social injustices. Stories for Action (SFA) shares the stories of individuals, organizations, and businesses taking the bold actions necessary for a strong and healthy planet. By sharing these stories within personal and professional circles, we can increase the rate of change needed in these pressing times.
There is an urgency to take action to repair our modern systems. Between traditional knowledge and new innovations, solutions are all around us to create a world where human and natural systems coexist long into the future. Resilient economies, healthy and just populations, and thriving ecosystems are only possible if we take environmental impact into account in all we do. Stories for Action will focus on bipartisan and cross-sector solutions, proving that we can and must work together on this front. SFA will promote stories that advance healthy food systems, advancements in ecological economies, and elevate voices of communities on the front lines of environmental degradation. It is critical to give respect to and follow the guidance of Indigenous communities of the world. As they are the original storytellers and stewards of this planet, Stories for Action works to promote stories of Indigenous Advocacy, Indigenous led conservation, and content created by Indigenous Peoples.
Stories for Action is developing its methods of using storytelling to create environmental advocacy. Currently, we produce original media as well as curate content from around the world on our newly launched social media handles (FB, IG, YT, Twitter). Other programs will include storytelling workshops, outreach campaigns, and SPAN (Storytellers Planetary Action Network). This Network will be an online community of storytellers from different mediums (filmmakers, writers, podcast producers) that want to use their skills for environmental action. The Network will serve as a hiring database for businesses and organizations that need their story told, and can browse storytellers by location and medium. The Network will also serve as an online community of like-minded professionals who can share resources such as impact strategies.
Thank you for joining our community. Thank you for promoting the culture needed to create a thriving planet. Share your story or call to action with us (of your business or yourself as an individual) through Direct Message or tagging your video or photo with #storiesforaction. Check out our full site at www.storiesforaction.org: watch stories to become inspired, submit your own story and call to action, join the Network.
Stories for Action is a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Stories for Action must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Donations are greatly appreciated and can be made at the following link: https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/fiscal/profile?id=20812. Your contributions will go towards SFA’s work of content curation, internally produced media, and outreach programs that further expand our mission. Together, let’s get to work advancing a regenerative planet for all. Thank you for supporting this work!
