My working career began at 18 years of age in stage theatre, then as a drummer in an electro pop band. Since 1985 I’ve been making my living in film. My very first film gig was in ‘craft services’ feeding a full drama cast & crew shooting out in an isolated rural area. My co-worker and I gave the entire film cast & crew food poisoning. I moved to the edit suite where it was quiet and satisfying creative work which suited me very well. During this time I began to make my own films. Initially there were experimental shorts which were very well received. As well as editing other director’s films, I created three long form films of my own between 1990 and 2003 with the National Film Board of Canada. I was director, editor and co-writer of ‘FAT CHANCE,’ (released in1994,16mm, 72 min) - a feature documentary that I received an American Peabody Award for. 

I was director, editor & writer of, ‘AND SO TO BED’, (released in 1998 Super 16 mm, 60 min). A contemporary meditation on the culture of the bed. This film was used in Canadian Parliament by the far right wing of the Conservative party as an example of wasteful government spending. Even though the film had come in more than $100,000 under budget. The conservative spending critic, MP John Williams, an accountant by trade, eventually acknowledged he never ever had seen the film.  In 2003 I completed my final NFB produced film. I was director, editor and co-script of ‘CRAPSHOOT’, (released in 2003, DVCAM, 52 min).  A film about global sewage, the sewer and the environmental & health implications of toxic sewage sludge. Fourteen years after its release it was the top streamed documentary for the National Film Board of Canada. This speaks to the watchability of the film. Other notable films I’ve done as director, co-editor, co script & producer is, ‘HAUNTS OF THE BLACK MASSEUR – THE SWIMMER AS HERO’. (Released in 2004, DVCAM, 52 min), selected by the Amsterdam documentary forum, coproduced with ZDF/ARTE, TVO, IFC, is an adaptation of the landmark book of the same name by British author Charles Sprawson. In 2008 I completed the 72 min feature documentary, ’40 YEARS OF ONE NIGHT STANDS’. I wasdirector & co-editor. 40 Years is the entertaining tale of the first 40 years of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet – North America’s longest continuous operating ballet company.  

In 2016, I completed my film, ‘CALL OF THE FOREST - THE FORGOTTEN WISDOM OF TREES’. This was an ‘all in’ film for me. As director, camera, editor, co-writer and co-producer this was a demanding yet satisfying film to make. Shot in California, the boreal & west coast forests of Canada, Germany, Ireland and Japan. For a Canadian documentary it took home one of the top grossing theatrical box office takes for 2017. We found that audience members returned two or three times to see this film. Watchability is a priority for me and making my film an audience favourite no matter what the subject is; whether it be a film about sewage, beds, trees or a classic comedy – it is my goal to bring my audience into the film.

Other recent films of note are ‘SHITTY LITTLE’, (Released in 2023, 4K, 7 min), a Canada Council for the Arts supported, live action/animation short, co-directed with the very talented artist Takashi Iwasaki. I was responsible for writing, camera, editing and producer duties. A story of the unrelenting exploitation of nature by humans. 

In July 2025 I completed my hour version of the film, ‘THE EXTRAORDINARY CATERPILLAR’.  (2025, 4K, 58 min). Researched, developed, written, directed and co-produced by myself. I shot Co-camera with Deco Dawson, and co-edited the fine cut with James Yates. 

My focus is to show the beauty of nature. Striving to provide a meaningful voice for nature within the human sphere. 

Visit www.jeffmckay.org for films & more details.

Contact:  edgelandfilms@gmail.com

Joanne Jackson, an award-winning producer, has been a driving force behind numerous compelling documentaries. In 2021-22, she served as an Executive and Impact Producer for Last of the Right Whales. Her feature documentaries, including The Woman Who Loves Giraffes (2018-19) and THE MESSENGER (2015-16), received wide acclaim and distribution. THE MESSENGER earned accolades like a CSA nomination and awards at the Wildlife Film Festival and the Pariscience Grand Buffon Award. Other award-winning independent documentaries includes The Big Wait (2010) and Long Haul Big Hearts (2007). More at  www.longhaulbighearts.com.

Over the past 30 years, Merit Jensen Carr has built her boutique company, Merit Motion Pictures, into a production powerhouse, with a reputation for excellence and putting people first. MMP is currently producing Everest Dark, a feature documentary for CBC’s documentary Channel and Terra Mater Factual Studios; and Cub Camp, a natural history series for Love Nature and Blue Ant Studios. Highlights include Great Lakes Untamed, a natural history series for TVO, Smithsonian US, Terra Mater Factual Studios and ARTE; the Canadian Screen Award-nominated Kingdom of the Polar Bears for National Geographic Channels, CBC, France 3, and Terra Mater Factual Studios; and Reef Rescue (2020 Jackson Wild for Best Conservation Feature winner). More at meritmotionpictures.com.

Sam Jaffe is a New England-based naturalist, photographer, and educator who is a dedicated advocate of insects. In 2013 he founded “The Caterpillar Lab,” a non-profit educational outreach organization in Marlborough NH. From this hub, he travels across the country - taking the educational message to universities, museums, botanic gardens, nature centers, and schools, Sam is also writing and illustrating a very in-depth book on the identification and natural history of native caterpillars. When he is not behind the camera or tending his zoo of caterpillars, Sam is outdoors, waist-deep in vegetation as he searches out his friends of the wild. 

Dr. Doug Tallamy is an entomologist, conservationist, and professor at the University of Delaware, whose work has transformed our understanding of the relationship between native plants and wildlife.

His research and books, including Bringing Nature Home and Nature’s Best Hope, have inspired millions to see their own yards as part of the solution to the biodiversity crisis. Driven by the belief that everyone can play a role, Doug co-founded Homegrown National Park to encourage people to plant natives in the spaces they care for.

Professor Wagner's research focuses on entomology -- insect anatomy, behavior, biology, development, diversity, ecology, evolution, and physiology. He has studied ghost moths (Hepialidae), several families of leafminers, and Noctuidae. Over the past decade Wagner has taken a special interest in the immature stages and life histories on caterpillars. Wagner has a deep interest in matters relating to insect conservation. He completed work on a butterfly atlas for the State of Connecticut and a review article on threats posed to rare or endangered insects by non-native species.

EcoSpark is an environmental charity connecting people to their local natural environment through education, monitoring and stewardship. Operating since 1996, EcoSpark has developed a reputation as a community leader in local engagement, education, citizen science and collaboration. The EcoSpark mission is to empower communities to take an active role in protecting and sustaining their local environments. We do this by giving people tools for education, monitoring and influencing positive change. 

Amanda McConnell is co-founder of Grassroots Albany and its chief motivator for its 25 years. A forum for environmental discussion and action, it was the product of a group of neighbours drawn from four blocks in downtown Toronto to “think globally, act locally”. Amanda provided leadership, creating a vision for Grassroots Albany of a commonly held ecosystem on privately owned land that would benefit from the attention and care of all. Following the results of a tree survey they commissioned, the group undertook a “rewilding” of the area, having 100 trees planted, along with shrubs and perennials. Their forestry-management program stands out as a template for effective community-driven urban forestry on private lands. Amanda’s energy and leadership brought the Grassroots Albany Forest idea to many other communities in Canada, motivating thousands of urban dwellers to preserve and protect their urban forests. A former senior writer for CBC’s The Nature of Things, Amanda has also co-authored two books with David Suzuki.

Antonia Guidotti is an Insects & Arachnids technician in the Department of Natural History at the ROM.

Antonia was initially hired on a 10-month contract in 1994 in the Department of Entomology, and worked for the department in various capacities until she became a full-time entomology technician in 2000. In addition to assisting curators with preparation of manuscripts and research, she identifies insects for the public, museums and other institutions, and responds to general inquiries about insects. Part of her time is spent curating and databasing the insect collection. She is an occasional contributor to the ROM blog.

Antonia was a member of the working group that wrote the "Butterflies of Toronto: A Guide to Their Remarkable World", part of the City of Toronto Biodiversity Series published in 2011. She is a co-author of the "ROM Field Guide to the Butterflies of Ontario," published in 2014. 

Toronto Horticulturalist – more info to come!

Laura Reeves, founder of Prairie Shore Botanicals, is a botanist with over 20 years experience.  She received her BSc. (Botany) from the University of Manitoba in 1997.  Since 1994, she has attended 8 courses at Tom Brown’s Tracking, Nature and Wilderness Survival School in New Jersey, including the Standard, Advanced Standard, Advanced Tracking and Awareness, Caretaker and Philosophies 1-4 .  She has also taken the home- based Kamana Naturalist Training Program through Wilderness Awareness School (Washington).