Living with Wildlife: A Documentary on 20 Years of Coexistence in the Bow Valley

Living with Wildlife, Leanne Allison’s 2017 documentary, follows more than two decades of work by communities in Alberta’s Bow Valley to share the landscape with grizzly bears and other wildlife. Its story is not that conflict has disappeared: it shows how waste management, wildlife corridors, public education and coordinated management can reduce risks while leaving hard challenges to address.

What Living with Wildlife is about

The 23-minute film, as described by Calgary Foundation, looks at how Bow Valley communities developed practical ways for people and wildlife to coexist. The story reaches back to a time when open garbage dumps and people feeding bears drew wildlife toward human settlements, then traces efforts to change that relationship.

#	Preview	Product	Price
1		Documentary - 3D + 2D Wildlife collection (3 Blu-ray)	$40.75	Buy on Amazon
2		Wild Life [Blu-ray]	$14.73	Buy on Amazon
3		Documentary - Wild Life Blu-Ray Box 4 (3BDS) [Japan BD] NSBX-18314	$74.00	Buy on Amazon
4		Scenic National Parks: The Best of the National Parks [Blu-ray]	$13.94	Buy on Amazon

The project began after biologists visiting Canmore for a Western Black Bear Conference saw local measures such as waste systems, attractant management, wildlife crossing bridges, fencing and managed corridors. They wanted to understand how those initiatives had taken shape. The resulting film combines archival material with examples of later programs. Calgary Foundation’s account of the film describes its origins and visitor-education companion resource.

Y2Y characterizes the documentary as a look at more than 20 years of community effort, adaptation and the pressures wildlife continue to face. Allison described the collaboration this way: “This film was a great collaborative effort to showcase all the innovative programs that exist in the Bow Valley in order for people and wildlife to coexist. I’m super excited to share it with our community before we take the film to a wider audience.” Y2Y published the quotation on October 20, 2017.

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Documentary - 3D + 2D Wildlife collection (3 Blu-ray)

$40.75

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How coexistence work takes shape

The film’s subject is a collection of measures, not a single intervention. The Bow Valley Human-Wildlife Coexistence Technical Working Group’s 2018 report recognizes the region’s mitigation work while documenting persistent problems and setting out recommendations.

Keep food rewards away from people

Secure waste containers and broader attractant management make garbage and other human food less accessible to bears. The technical report describes bear-proof waste systems as an area in which the Bow Valley became a leader. That matters because repeated access to human food can draw bears into developed places and create risks for both people and animals.

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Wild Life [Blu-ray]

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$14.73

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Make room for movement

Wildlife corridors, fencing and highway crossing structures are intended to help animals move through a landscape also used by roads and development. The film presents the region’s corridor work as a model; that description should not be mistaken for a measured claim about how much any one structure reduced collisions or changed animal movement.

Help people make safer choices

Public education is another part of the approach. The technical report describes WildSmart workshops, bear-spray training, volunteer activities, community events and a weekly bear activity report. The film’s companion educational resource also offered visitor tips such as making noise, keeping dogs leashed and carrying bear spray. These are general preparation measures, not a product endorsement.

Rank #3

Documentary - Wild Life Blu-Ray Box 4 (3BDS) [Japan BD] NSBX-18314

$74.00

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The work is not finished

The 2018 technical report set out 28 recommendations across six issue areas: trans-boundary management, wildlife in developed areas, habitat security, food conditioning and habituation, people compliance, and wildlife management. The breadth of those themes makes clear that coexistence requires continued work across jurisdictions and communities—not just infrastructure or public messaging.

Challenges include coordinating management across boundaries, protecting habitat, responding to wildlife in developed areas, reducing food conditioning and habituation, and improving compliance with guidance. The reviewed sources do not establish a measured overall outcome for the film or prove that conflict has been solved. The documentary is best understood as a record of an evolving community effort, alongside a reminder that wildlife remains under pressure.

Rank #4

Scenic National Parks: The Best of the National Parks [Blu-ray]

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Where to watch

The filmmaker’s Vimeo page for Living With Wildlife describes a web version of the film, and Y2Y’s 2017 article offered a free viewing link at the time. Those pages are useful starting points, but they do not guarantee that the film is currently accessible there.

An October 12, 2026 newswire announcement reported that The Green Channel had added the film to its streaming catalogue. An official current catalogue listing was not confirmed, so check the platform directly for present availability.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1

Documentary - 3D + 2D Wildlife collection (3 Blu-ray)

$40.75

Bestseller No. 2

Wild Life [Blu-ray]

Factory sealed DVD

$14.73

Bestseller No. 3

Documentary - Wild Life Blu-Ray Box 4 (3BDS) [Japan BD] NSBX-18314

$74.00

Bestseller No. 4

Scenic National Parks: The Best of the National Parks [Blu-ray]

Factory sealed DVD

$13.94

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