Nature at Extremes: Great Salt Lake is part of The Nature Conservancy’s Nature Lab video series—an award-winning collection of 84 short films designed to ignite curiosity and deepen understanding of nature for students ages 5-18., Leveraging insights from TNC’s 1000+ scientists worldwide, the series transforms complex environmental topics into engaging, age-appropriate learning experiences.
This episode transports students to Utah’s Great Salt Lake—one of the most unique and extreme ecosystems in North America. Through vivid storytelling and immersive visuals, it explores how hypersaline waters and surrounding wetlands support diverse lifeforms, and how changes in climate and human water use threaten that balance. Along the way, students learn about the water cycle, food webs, species adaptation, and what makes a habitat healthy.
Our goals for this project, and for the full Nature Lab series, are threefold:
Democratize access to science education, ensuring all students—regardless of geography or resources—explore nature’s complexity.
Foster ecological literacy, helping learners grasp how ecosystems function and why they matter.
Inspire environmental stewardship, empowering young people to take meaningful action in their own communities.
Designed for learners ages 9–15, the video serves as a classroom resource for educators across the globe, a companion to in-person field trips for local students, and as a stand-alone experience for those who can’t visit in person. Each episode includes a teacher guide, student activities, and vocabulary tools that support science learning.
By connecting students to real-world environmental challenges, Nature Lab by The Nature Conservancy helps cultivate a generation that understands and protects nature.
“Nature at Extremes: Great Salt Lake” was developed as part of a broader editorial calendar focused on biodiversity. The Great Salt Lake was chosen intentionally for its ecological significance and its role as a biodiversity hotspot—supporting millions of migratory birds, unique microbial ecosystems, and species adapted to extreme conditions.
This was a collaboration across teams all over The Nature Conservancy. Over the course of 6 months we researched, scripted, filmed, edited, animated and produced “Nature at Extremes: Great Salt Lake”.
Scripting began with identifying core science concepts: salinity, the water cycle, food webs, adaptation, and habitat health. We worked closely with subject matter experts and educators to make sure the script was appropriate for students between the age of 9-15.
During production our organization went through a rebrand and we pivoted our visuals to align with the new brand identity. While filming we faced unfavorable weather and the patience it takes to capture a good wildlife footage. We were only able to film on location at the Salt Lake over the course of a week and we gathered enough footage to make “Nature at Extremes: Great Salt Lake” a success.
Our three core objectives were to democratize access to science education, foster ecological literacy, and inspire environmental stewardship—and Nature at Extremes: Great Salt Lake delivered on each.
Access: The episode has been widely adopted by educators across the U.S., with strong engagement from classrooms in Utah and beyond. Teachers praised the flexible format and accompanying materials, which made it easy to integrate into both in-person and remote learning environments. This ensured students—regardless of geography or resources—could explore the complexity of nature. The video has over 165K views on YouTube.
Ecological literacy: Through immersive storytelling and rich visuals, students gained a deeper understanding of how ecosystems function. Teachers reported that learners grasped key concepts like the water cycle, food webs, and species adaptation, and were able to connect these ideas to broader environmental systems.
Stewardship: The episode sparked meaningful engagement. Students didn’t just watch—they asked questions, made connections, and explored how they could protect nature in their own communities. That kind of active response is a powerful indicator of impact.
To extend reach and refine future content, we produced a shortened version for paid media and conducted A/B testing comparing hosted and animated formats. Results showed stronger engagement with the hosted version, reinforcing the power of relatable human storytelling.
Despite production challenges—including unpredictable wildlife and midstream animation updates—we delivered a high-quality, on-time, and mission-aligned learning experience. The episode didn’t just inform—it inspired.
