In a world so divided, it can sometimes be hard to imagine all of us have anything in common anymore. We all share something though: a common ancestry, and a common heritage. Moreover, our ancestors were all hunters. The more the world changes, the more it stays the same. As society advances and cities sprawl, our drive to connect with and explore nature only deepens. 

Next Tuesday, January 31, St. Lawrence University Ducks Unlimited (DU) will be showing a film made in conjunction with Nature Up North videographer Patrick Chase. The film follows Pat’s journey from being completely unfamiliar with duck hunting, to harvesting his first duck and enjoying a wild game meal. 

Pat is accompanied in the film by me, SLU DU president Nathan Serlin ’24, as well as a few other club members here and there. Even if you’re a non-hunter, the film features beautiful early marsh mornings, a few good laughs, and plenty of twists as things never go just as Pat and I intend. There are also complex discussions about the state of wetland conservation, as well as its history. 

The truth is that this project isn’t actually about duck hunting. On a surface level it is, but it’s really a commentary on the outdoors, conservation, food and friendships. Friendships that are formed in a distinctly human way. Humans have hunted ducks in cold marshes, just as the sun began to peak over the horizon for more generations than we can fathom. They knew the bond it created with one another, and with the natural landscape. 

This is Pat’s story of discovering that, and me being along for every step of the way. For the ducks!