Wildflowers featured in Canadian Geographic

A journey of friendship, loss and healing in the footsteps of early 20th-century mountain explorer Mary Schäffer Warren

Hot off the press, Wildflowers is the subject of a feature story in the March/April2025 issue of Canadian Geographic. This is a collaborative piece written by Wildflowers writer/protagonist, Meghan J. Ward with photography by Natalie Gillis (both Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society).

Established in 1930, Canadian Geographic is one of our nation’s most widely-read magazines, with over 4 million readers. We are honoured to see the story of this film featured in such a well-respected Canadian magazine, and the opportunity that is to bring our message to a wider audience.

This 14-page spread tells the story of the retracing of the final leg of Schaffer Warren’s 1908 expedition to Maligne Lake, the making of Wildflowers, and the parallels between two mountain writers living a century apart. The article explores the theme of healing in nature and what it means to be a hunter of peace as Ward grapples with Gillis’ tragic death in June 2024.

When we commissioned a collection of photos from Natalie — including images of the expedition, behind-the-scenes and several repeat images that offer a comparison with historic photographs — we could never have imagined the incredible gift they would be. We are thrilled to see her work immortalized in print in a magazine she held dear.

“Through her writing, photographs and cartography, Mary became inextricably linked to the history and lore of this place. I can’t meet her, so I want to connect with her by visiting the birthplace of her legacy and watch the scenery unfold as she’d encountered it.

There is only so much I can read about or research; here is the opportunity to lift Mary’s words off the page and live them.”

Meghan J. Ward will also be in Ottawa for a screening and Q+A with CanGeo Talks on March 19, 2025. Tickets are free but must be reserved in advance here.