Check out this 5-minute documentary about bears at the Bent of the River Audubon Center. Created by Emily Alegi of Nonnewaug High School in Woodbury, Connecticut, this film shows the interaction between bears, surrounding wildlife, and humans.

Emily Alegi participated in the Bent of the River’s Junior Forest Technicians for three summers (2014-2016). As her Senior Project, Emily worked on this film, which pulls together many of the things she learned during her summers here at Bent of the River—particularly the observation of the rapid increase of bear and other mammals around the sanctuary. Emily’s project expanded upon research she did for the UCONN Natural Resource Academy. Her work shows not only the roles of large mammals in our landscape, but also how they and we can co-exist if we learn to understand them and respect their wildness.

Each summer Bent of the River hosts a team of Junior Forest Technicians who spend 3 days a week with Audubon staff, learning about the varied habitats at the Bent and assisting with environmental management of the 700 acres the Bent of the River owns. A number of these students also participate in the Natural Resource Conservation Academy at UCONN where Bent staff helps on projects that students in the Bent area are interested in.