IYRP Film Festival highlights rangeland connections during SRM 2025
October 8, 2025
LINCOLN, Neb. – During the 2025 Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meeting in Lincoln, an International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) Film Showcase invited participants to see the world’s rangelands through new eyes.
Moderated by Dr. Gwendwr Meredith of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and curated by the Platte Basin Timelapse team, the October 7 event featured a lineup of short films capturing the lives and landscapes of rangeland stewards around the world—including stories from Mongolia, Canada, Europe, and Nebraska’s own tallgrass prairies.
Films screened included:
IYRP Opener (2 min)
A Common Right in Mongolia – Nomadic Custodians of Our Environment (6 min)
Guardians of the Grasslands – Canada (12 min)
Stories from the Landscape: Cattle Drove – Europe (10 min)
Nine-Mile Prairie: Hope in the Tallgrass (16 min)
Grasslands for Generations (1 min, IYRP PSA debut)
A panel discussion followed featuring Bob Broweleit, rancher and Society for Range Management past-president; Laura Nelson, statewide grassland coordinator; and Mary Reece, longtime range professional and community leader. The conversation explored shared challenges and opportunities across global rangelands, guided by questions about what stories these films reflected—and what stories we hope to tell twenty years from now.
“These films remind us that our grasslands are part of a global story,” Broweleit said. “Whether you’re in Mongolia, the Sandhills, or the Canadian prairies, people everywhere are working to care for land and community in ways that honor tradition and innovation.”
The IYRP Film Showcase was part of ongoing efforts to build awareness leading up to 2026—the United Nations–designated International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.
Learn more about Nebraska’s celebration of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists at nebraskasgrasslands.org/IYRP.
