Passion for nature propels documentary
SANDPOINT — Since Seth Warren and Sandpoint resident Andy Feuling share a connection that ties back to their respective births, it’s appropriate that their adventures should be primarily concerned with life.
Their friendship, built on a shared thirst for adventure and a love of nature, took them on a road trip across the continent following the life cycle of water and educating individuals on maintaining the life of the planet. And while they were at it, they lived it up by enjoying their favorite sports in some of the most amazing environments in the world. Their journey is chronicled in “Nature Propelled,” a documentary playing at the Panida on Friday as part of the Wild and Scenic FIlm Festival.
Not only do Feuling and Warren share a love of outdoor sports like surfing, skiing, snowboarding and kayaking, they also share a birthday. They were born on the same day within 30 miles of each other around San Diego, Calif. They discovered this coincidence after meeting as students at the University of Montana.
“Seth’s my brother from another mother,” Feuling said. “We joke that we surfed the same fallopian tube from the sky.”
After bonding during the college experience, Feuling and Warren remained close friends. Meanwhile, Warren’s post-college life as a professional kayaker took him to the deep corners of uncivilized nature. He loved witnessing the force and energy of nature but was disturbed by the detrimental means through which he accessed it.
“We wanted a transportation option that did less damage to the environments we were trying to get to,” Warren said.
That’s when Baby was born.
A used Japanese fire truck retrofitted with biofuel propulsion system, Baby is a cherry-red nature-mobile that is capable of creating the very biofuel on which it runs. The former fire extinguisher now boasts a seed hopper that can squeeze out the oil that makes Baby go. Baby also features a fold-out sleeping platform complete with tents and a pull-out staircase to a roof that can house anything from kayaks to band performances. Warren had Baby shipped over from Japan, and it was constructed in Sandpoint with the help of locals Joe McClay and Tom Brunner.
“It’s a lot of work to get a biofuel vehicle up and running,” Feuling said. “But it sure is rewarding to cruise on by gas stations and never have to stop because you’re powering your vehicle from the oil of the french fries you just ate.”
Baby’s first mission was an ambitious one: the completion of the longest petroleum-free road trip ever recorded. And she did just that, traveling more than 16,000 miles, 16 countries and two continents from Alaska to Argentina. That journey became the subject of Warren’s first award-winning film “Oil + Water”. Warren says that he had no prior aspirations of becoming a filmmaker but instead stumbled into it.
“I just sort of fell into the project,” he said. “We we’re looking into finding someone to make a film for us but ended up just doing it ourselves.”
Feuling jumped aboard for the next road trip, a yearlong project following the life cycle of water and the seasons while having fun every step of the way. In Baja California, they surfed the day away on oceans that evaporated into the atmosphere. They based jumped through that atmosphere in Moab, Utah, and continued their trek to Montana and Colorado, where they skied and snowboarded down precipitation in the form of fallen snow. The nature-fueled odyssey continued into Canada as the crew kayaked the very run-off they had shredded in the states. The trip, dubbed the Elements Tour, won sponsorship from environmentally-conscious companies like Clif-Bar, KAVU and KEEN. It also served as the basis for the spiritual sequel to “Oil + Water,” “Nature Propelled.”
“It’s called ‘Nature Propelled’ because of the modifications we made to Baby,” Feuling said. “We added equipment that uses solar power, wind power and the kinetic energy from the wheels to power the electrical system and whatnot. It’s rad.”
But it’s not all fun and games for Baby’s crew — or at least, not such overt fun. Warren and Feuling stop by local schools and other gathering places to teach the importance of environmental friendliness and the options that the future holds.
“Something that Seth learned along the way is that biofuel is not necessarily the answer,” Feuling said. “We need people really thinking outside the box and coming up with radical solutions for the future.”
The Elements Tour rolls on with Warren’s next project, “Playgrounds Re-imagined,” a tribute to the natural recreation provided by beaches and trails. In the meantime, Seth is cooling his heels in Mexico, and Feuling anticipates flying over to meet him within the next few days. For them, the labors in promoting education and good healthy fun are never-ending.
But it’s doubtful that they mind. Feuling probably said it best in “Nature Propelled”: “Hopefully what we’re doing will inspire the next generation who will put this on a whole new level for the future. Because that is the future — and we’re gonna go skiing tomorrow.”