Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 5 minutes ago
Canada’s grasslands are among the most endangered ecosystems in the world—supporting wildlife, storing carbon, and helping mitigate floods, yet disappearing at an alarming rate.
In this documentary short, we head to 36 km West of Claresholm to the Foothills of Southern Alberta to visit Burke Creek Ranch to discover how four generations of ranchers are protecting our native grasslands.
Together with her family and generations passed, Kim Wachtler is conserving and protecting 13,000 acres of Alberta’s native grasslands through regenerative grazing practices, mimicking the work that the bison did for thousands of years. In addition to this work, Kim partners with NGOs and government organizations to protect various species and habitats, and to restore both plant and wildlife species.
For more than 135 years, these grasslands have remained intact, and with the dedication of four generations and counting, they continue to demonstrate how ranching and conservation can work hand in hand.
Subscribe for more stories of environmental leadership in Alberta.
This video was created as a part of season seven of the Emerald Documentary Series, which features the remarkable efforts of environmental leaders across Alberta. The series was produced by the Alberta Emerald Foundation in partnership with The Distillery Film Company.
Canada’s grasslands are among the most endangered ecosystems in the world—supporting wildlife, storing carbon, and helping mitigate floods, yet disappearing at an alarming rate.
In this documentary short, we head to 36 km West of Claresholm to the Foothills of Southern Alberta to visit Burke Creek Ranch to discover how four generations of ranchers are protecting our native grasslands.
Together with her family and generations passed, Kim Wachtler is conserving and protecting 13,000 acres of Alberta’s native grasslands through regenerative grazing practices, mimicking the work that the bison did for thousands of years. In addition to this work, Kim partners with NGOs and government organizations to protect various species and habitats, and to restore both plant and wildlife species.
For more than 135 years, these grasslands have remained intact, and with the dedication of four generations and counting, they continue to demonstrate how ranching and conservation can work hand in hand.
Subscribe for more stories of environmental leadership in Alberta.
This video was created as a part of season seven of the Emerald Documentary Series, which features the remarkable efforts of environmental leaders across Alberta. The series was produced by the Alberta Emerald Foundation in partnership with The Distillery Film Company.
