The devastating collapse of the 2014 Mount Polley mine tailings pond dam in central British Columbia was the worst environmental disaster in Canadian history.

With a thunderous roar that lasted almost twelve hours, millions of cubic meters of contaminated water and toxic sludge rushed into the pristine waters of Quesnel Lake. Hundreds of trees snapped off by the powerful torrent now littered the shoreline and drifted in huge piles. A terrible plume of green tailings water stained the lake’s surface for miles. The scene was one of incomprehensible devastation.

Through a poetic lens we see the convergence of a varied group of individuals affected by the disaster and share their unique connections to this special place. Scenes include researchers as they travel the lake by boat, sampling water quality and collecting post breach data. They carry out their work with clinical, unbiased professionalism but with subtle close ups we see they are visibly awestruck and humbled by their surroundings. Through the eyes of local First Nations we will discover the very spiritual relationship they have had with the lake and its ancient cedar forests.