Daily Inspiration: Meet Jordan Darley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Darley.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in Hawai’i, where I gained some serious appreciation for the outdoors. Surfing, fishing, hiking, free-diving, I did it all!

Having found a passion for the outdoors at an early age, I had a mission to make the outdoors my office, so, I went off to receive a B.S in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from the University of North Dakota. I was on a fast track to becoming a Wildlife Biologist, working for organizations like The Hawai’i Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and The US Fish and Wildlife Service. Through the seasons, I got to work along side organizations dedicated to cultural heritage where I first learned about how environmental problems disproportionality effects certain communities, all the while seeing the natural environment continue to deteriorate from climate change. I realized that all the environmental work I was doing had little to no success at protecting the natural environment. If I really wanted to make a difference I had to inspire others to live more ethically and consciously for both humans and the planet.

So, I picked up a camera and I have focused my efforts toward creating films that address the environment and all of its intersectionalities.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been tough. I felt so strongly about pursuing videography as a way to take climate action that I just jumped right into it. I quit my job at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge in Maine, moved to Colorado, and have been grinding away to make this new found dream work.

Sending email after email, going to meeting after meeting, I quickly realized that many of the organizations that I wanted to work for were grassroots organizations and that they had little to no money for videography services. But it wasn’t like they don’t have the money, its just they value putting their money into their programs rather than their communications.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in producing cinematic narrative driven films that help brands, businesses, and organizations to tell their story, mission, and values.

I’m extremely proud of the work I do because it allows me to take climate action in a creative way that helps inspire people to live more consciously and ethically for both humans and planet.

The fact that I have working experience in environmental conservation sets me apart from other creatives. I’ve seen first hand the damages humans can have on the environment, and I’ve worked with many grassroots organizations dedicated to restoring habitat, natural resource protection, and cultural heritage. So, when people decide to work with me, they can rest assured that I am passionate about the work that they are doing.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned while on my creative journey is that it’s extremely easy to get discouraged especially in the space of intersectional environmentalism. While working on a video project covering The “Stop Line 3” movement I had a conversation with one of my film subjects and he told me “Do the next right thing. If you always try to do the next right thing, that’s all anybody can ever ask of you” and it really resonated with me.

There are a billion and one things that society tells us what we need to care about and how we should live our lives, but it’s too much and it’s overwhelming. If we continue to always strive to just “do the next right thing,” then that is enough.

This is what keeps me motivated to keep hustling.

Contact Info:

• Email: bydarls@yahoo.com
• Website: www.ByDarls.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j_darls

Image Credits:
Tomas Bernal Parker McMullen Bushman