VANCOUVER, B.C. – September 28, 2026 – The Green Channel begins streaming Highway Wilding, director Leanne Allison’s film about a problem most drivers never think about and a solution that is already working.
The problem is traffic. Through Banff National Park, the Trans-Canada Highway carries thousands of vehicles a day, and in the film road ecologist Dr. Tony Clevenger puts the peak figure in plain terms: one vehicle passing every three seconds. For a grizzly bear or a wolverine trying to reach a valley on the other side, that is a wall.
The solution is a series of overpasses and underpasses built across the highway, and the film follows the researchers who have spent years watching to see whether animals actually use them. They do. Parks Canada ecologist Jesse Whittington describes tracking one animal through a single summer: “When you look at the movements of grizzly bear 122 this summer he traveled over 1600 km and crossed the Trans-Canada Highway (using wildlife crossing structures) over 66 times. These crossing structures were part of his daily life.”
Even the animals nobody expected to cooperate have come around. “If wolverines, one of the wildest, most elusive creatures on earth, can adapt to these structures, I am convinced now that any animal can,” says Clevenger in the film.
Highway Wilding also makes an argument that has nothing to do with sentiment. Researcher Tracy Lee of the Miistakis Institute describes running an economic model on a single stretch of Highway 3 and finding it cost-effective to build crossings at nine separate sites, based purely on the number of collisions happening there. As she puts it in the film, that changes the conversation with transportation planners entirely.
“We put Leanne Allison’s wolverine film, Chasing a Trace, on the platform last week, and this one answers a question it raises,” said Scott Renyard, founder of The Green Channel. “You can track an animal all you like, but if it cannot get across the highway, you are watching a population get cut in half. Highway Wilding addresses a key issue when it comes to wildlife and fast moving vehicles. This film demonstrates that changes in how we do things can mitigate bad outcomes for our precious wild animals.”
Highway Wilding runs 22 minutes and features Dr. Tony Clevenger, Professor Richard Forman, Karsten Heuer, Nikki Heim, Marg Gmoser, Barb Bertch, Justin Thompson, Tracy Lee, Bill Andree, Josh Pollock, Barb Johnston, Nicolena Johnson and Jesse Whittington. Allison directed, wrote and produced it, with music from Elliott Brood, Sarah Harmer and Brian denHertog.
Highway Wilding is streaming now on The Green Channel, the environmental documentary streaming platform.
About The Green Channel
The Green Channel is a Canadian environmental documentary streaming platform with a growing library of exclusive films and series: thegreenchannel.tv
Media ContactCompany Name: The Green Channel Inc.Contact Person: Scott RenyardEmail: Send EmailCity: VancouverState: British ColumbiaCountry: CanadaWebsite: https://thegreenchannel.tv/
