The River of Life

J. Scott Parker is a 2006 Fulbright US Graduate Student from Gainesville, Florida, who is filming a documentary about the ecology of, and human impact on, New Zealand’s braided rivers. Based in Christchurch, J. Scott’s filming has been centred on the Waimakariri River.

J. Scott Parker on location in the upper Waimakariri River Valley

Coming to New Zealand was like stepping into my own personal time machine. The days fly by so fast that I sometimes imagine hearing a small sonic boom as they pass. When I look back to five months ago when I arrived, it seems like a completely different era.

I am not the same person who stepped off that plane from LA to Christchurch. I am stronger, more confident and perhaps even a little wiser, and all because Fulbright New Zealand decided to give me the opportunity to make a film about braided rivers.

For me, the Fulbright experience has definitely been one of the most intense periods of personal development in my life. Mostly the learning I have undertaken was the result of new challenges. In New Zealand, I have pushed myself to try things that I have never done before.

It was the first time that I’ve had to find my own flat, the first time I bought my own car and the first time that I have worked on a twenty-minute film that was all my own design. In the process of doing these things, I have made many mistakes. Many, many mistakes. But, I have also learned more than I could have possibly imagined before I came here and experienced the intensity of the autonomous filmmaker’s lifestyle.

In planning a Fulbright proposal you create a plan for a research project, but once you arrive in country you recreate that project to fit the reality of your situation. In my case, this meant rewriting the script as a function of the people I’ve met and focusing on just one river, the Waimakariri. My script no longer says, “interview with fishermen and kayakers.” It now says, “excerpt from Andy’s interview,” or “shot of Bealey Bridge.” Meeting individuals whose stories replace the more generalized preconceptions that I arrived with has been the most pleasant and interesting part of the process.

Talking with Andy Holland, a lifelong resident of Canterbury and an avid river enthusiast, has been one of my favourite experiences so far. His profound love for the river is evident in every syllable as he describes the summer afternoons of his childhood spent paddling an old rowboat down to McIntosh Hole to fish for salmon with his brother. His stories are as much a part of what makes the Waimakariri unique as are the wrybill plovers, galaxids and diving spiders that are hallmarks of its distinct ecology.

Originally, I thought of the ecology and the human activities on the river as separate entities that influenced one another, but now I see that people like Andy Holland are part of the ecology. If there were no river, Andy would not be the person that he is. Along with the delight I have felt when talking to people like Andy, there have also been many moments of frustration and uncertainty in the filmmaking process.

In mid-May, I was driving down by the river looking for places to shoot footage of invasive plants such as gorse. I came to a side stream that crossed the road. I looked at it for a few moments and thought to myself, “I can cross that.” Halfway through I discovered that I could not, in fact, make it across. After several fruitless attempts to push the car to a spot with better traction and a few expulsions of expletives not fit for print, I called the tow company. It was to be a two-hour wait and a $185.00 charge.

While waiting for the tow driver to call for my exact location, I walked back the way I’d come. Up on a hillside, I heard the faint sound of an engine, and I decided to see if I could find help that wouldn’t leave me broke. I climbed through twenty vertical metres of gorse and brambles and found a paddock belonging to a kind farmer named Allen Shedbolt. He readily drove his four-wheel drive down to the riverside and pulled my Toyota Corona out of the gently flowing stream.

Driving into the stream was a mistake, but I am glad that I was willing to try it. Who knows what cool shot I might have found in that next stretch of riverbed? In the past, I feel that I have too often taken the peril-free route. Sometimes the only way to grow is to try something, fail and evaluate what might have worked better.

J. Scott Parker (right) with University of Canterbury video technician Dave Covich

Another risk of undertaking an intense research project such as my river film is that you can easily lose touch with the level of common knowledge about your subject.

Nearly everyone that I talk to in interviews knows a great deal about braided rivers. With so much knowledge floating about, it is easy to wonder whether the film needs to be made at all. “Am I saying anything people don’t already know?” I sometimes ask myself.

However, a new resolve comes to me when I see that my work will be of benefit to someone, as was the case at a recent event in which I participated.
I am a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society and have involved myself in the local chapter of this organization at the University of Canterbury.

We held a youth forum about community sustainability during the mid-year break in early July. High school students from across the South Island came to hear lectures about diverse topics ranging from the evolution of cultural identity to the global increase in demand for water. After the lectures, the students divided into smaller groups for discussions facilitated by Golden Key members.

In my group, we discussed the challenges of managing water resources. These particular students were from Christchurch, but they had never heard of an aquifer before. This surprised me because the use of water from these underground reservoirs and from the braided rivers that feed them is one of the most contentious ecological issues in the Canterbury region.

I was able to supplement the lecture with information gathered during my own research. Sharing this information helped me to see the value of my own project more clearly. Not only is my Fulbright project personally enriching, it will give the issues associated with braided rivers valuable exposure in the public eye.

- J. Scott Parker (2006 Fulbright US Graduate Student)