Our Conservation Mission   

    ShareTheRoad Productions'
    big picture:

    Sandhill Crane inspired
    educational media
    as functional works of art

    Our project will span multiple years and be developed in
    phases. Phase one is complete. Save Our Sandhill Cranes
    (SOSCranes.org) asked for our help to put high quality photos of
    the cranes on their website. The photos were shared and the site
    is being rebuilt using the images.

    The organization had another need: a media piece that could
    serves multiple  functions: As an introduction to the Sandhill
    Cranes for public outreach (used during local tabling events and
    as a fund raiser) and as dynamic media that can be shared with
    local interested leaders / policy makers. Using the photos and
    audio recorded in the fall / winter of 2007-2008 we created
    Tribute to the Glorious Sandhill Cranes.

    To illustrate a more complete vision of the life cycle of the
    Greater Sandhill Cranes who spend most of their lives in
    California, migrating from their winter homes in the Central
    Valley to their spring and summer breeding territories in the
    extreme northeast area of the state, we traveled to the Modoc
    National Wildlife Refuge in late May, 2008. We were
    overwhelmed by the magic of the Refuge, its fields and wet
    meadows teaming with wildlife protected by the Fish and
    Wildlife Service and the dedicated staff and volunteers who
    shepard the natural beauty and bounty. We returned (migrated)
    to Modoc for the summer of 2009 and plan to return in 2010.

    Using our enhanced stereo field audio recording equipment
    along with photographic images and video we created Postcard
    From Modoc; Summer Home of California's Greater Sandhill
    Cranes. The Hybrid DVD video slideshow is being used by the
    Refuge staff in the visitors center and for community outreach.
    It is also being offered for sale as a fund raiser for Save Our
    Sandhill Cranes. A 3-minute version of the video was shown on
    KIXE TV, Redding as a winner of the "Nature: Caught In The
    Act" documentary competition.

    The management of Modoc NWR asked us to assist with the
    production of new interpretive kiosks. Our photos are being
    used to update and improve the kiosks. The management also
    asked us to assist in the production of a short video podcast. The
    work has been completed and our photos and video have been
    integrated into the project (sponsored by the Fish And Wildlife
    Service).

    We have produced two videos that promote the Sandhill cranes:
    Day Of The Sandhill Cranes and Pink Light Dawn. "Day" won
    the 2009 Yosemite Film Festival El Capitan Award for
    Environmental Film. Pink Light Dawn is a 15-minute video
    featuring one morning's activities of the cranes (without
    narration) recorded with stereo sound on October 24, 2009.
    Both videos can be viewed on this site. DVDs of the videos are
    being sold by Save Our Sandhill Cranes at tabeling and public
    speaking events as well as through our website.

    At the request of the California Department of Fish and Game
    Interpretive Services (Bay Delta Region) we are in the process of
    producing a documentary film focused on California's
    population of Greater Sandhill Cranes and the many people
    who work (and volunteer) to support their continued presence
    in California. We will gather more footage this summer on our
    annual summer migration and in the fall / winter as the cranes
    return to Central California.

    The next phases of the project will include more (and improved)
    field audio / video and educational components that can be
    used in classrooms at the elementary, middle / high school and
    university levels. We are continuing to develop a process to
    include DVD video and computer data files on one DVD ROM
    disk - the Hybrid DVD. As we progress, educational material
    will be available through a combination of DVD-type menu
    structures and links embedded within text and photo / video
    graphics.

    We hope to demonstrate the power of this Hybrid DVD media
    to illustrate and highlight  the efforts of individuals working
    collectively to promote wildlife conservation. This format can be
    used by many small grass-roots organizations to get their
    message out in a professionally produced yet relatively low
    budget media package. The entertainment value of the
    "product" promotes outreach efforts, sales and donations to
    sustain the development and distribution of the educational
    component. Both components reside on the same disk.

    At the core we are committed to developing practical,
    age/message appropriate, accessible media that will serve to
    inform and inspire diverse audiences to appreciate and support
    efforts to conserve crane habitat. We hope to  illustrate and
    further the efforts of dedicated research and field biologists,
    conservationist, planners and volunteers while honoring the
    Sandhill Cranes' historic and future presence.

    We hope that you, too, will come across a path that will guide
    you toward your highest action potential. Each of us,
    individually and collectively must do our part to keep our
    planet alive and well. This is what we are doing and we very
    much appreciate that you have chosen to do it with us. We hope
    that you enjoy our work and are, in some part, inspired to act.

    Please feel free to contact us to discuss our mission or how we
    can help you with your efforts.

    Lon and Kathrina Yarbrough
    ShareTheRoad Productions
Crane Connections
Links to Sandhill Crane
information & media
© 2005 - 2010 ShareTheRoad Productions
Low Resolution Sample of
Dawn - Isenberg Sandhill
Crane Reserve
from the Audio CD
Crane Ragas