From cartel-defended forests to your local Monarch grove, war journalist Anjan Sundaram invites you on a powerful immersive journey to connect with the Indigenous communities risking everything to protect our planet.
If you could walk through your local peaceful butterfly grove and hear a story of someone risking their life to protect it, would you?
Today, we’re honoured to announce the launch of Risking Lives for Butterflies, a freely available, immersive journalism project created in collaboration with award-winning war correspondent Anjan Sundaram, adapted from his powerful piece originally published by Vox Media.
This walk isn’t just about butterflies. It’s about land, life, and the frontline defenders risking everything to protect the environment we all depend on. Right now. Today.
Where Journalism Meets Immersion
We first met Anjan at SXSW 2024, where he joined a panel that delivered one of the most gripping talks we’d ever heard on the ethics of documenting conflict zones, from photojournalists to influencers. One of the things that became clear from this panel was the need for new storytelling formats—ones that don’t just tell us about injustice and environmental collapse, but allow journalists to help us feel it.
At Story City, that’s our mission. We believe stories are stronger when you can stand inside them. When you’re physically present, looking at the trees those stories are about, the impact becomes emotional, not just intellectual.
Over a virtual coffee (and maybe a little bit of enthusiastic nerding out), we asked Anjan: What would it look like to turn investigative journalism into something you walk through? Something that doesn’t just inform, but moves you, literally and figuratively.
We reviewed several of Anjan’s works (you can dive into his extraordinary reporting on his official site), and one story rose to the top: a feature for Vox’s climate crisis series, examining the Indigenous community of Crescencio Morales in Mexico, who’ve taken up arms to protect their butterfly forest from cartel-backed logging.
The themes? Climate, Indigenous land defense, global biodiversity, and justice.
The location? Universally resonant across North America.
So we worked with Anjan to turn it into a Universal Adventure, a GPS-triggered walkable experience designed for Monarch butterfly habitats across North America.
What You’ll Experience
Set in a local Monarch grove near you, “Risking Lives for Butterflies” is a free, 6-stop audio journey that brings you into the lives of environmental defenders a world away. As you walk beneath branches speckled with migrating butterflies, Anjan’s voice guides you through the story of people whose forests, and lives, are on the line.
You’ll learn how:
- Cartel-linked illegal logging threatens the Monarch Biosphere Reserve in Michoacán, Mexico
- Mazahua Indigenous communities have formed communal armed guards to protect the forest
- Global biodiversity and the food on your plate is deeply tied to this struggle
- Climate justice is impossible without Indigenous sovereignty and safety
And at each stop, you’ll be able to dive deeper into the reporting, photos, and global context through curated links; turning your stroll into a deep, reflective act of learning.
Why This Story Matters Now
The Monarch butterfly is a symbol of transformation, but also fragility.
This one species, whose epic migration connects Canada to Mexico, is a canary in the climate coal mine. Their decline mirrors the broader crisis facing pollinators globally. They’re creatures that support one in every three bites of food we eat.
But the fight to protect them is more than environmental.
As Anjan’s reporting shows, Indigenous defenders are standing alone against powerful forces: cartels, corrupt loggers, and indifferent governments. Their communities face violence, threats, and displacement. Yet they remain the last, best hope for many of Earth’s most endangered ecosystems.
According to Global Witness, nearly 2,000 land defenders have been murdered in the last decade. The need for attention, support, and action has never been greater.
How You Can Join the Walk?
Risking Lives for Butterflies is part of our Story City Universal Adventures platform. That means:
- 📍 It can be placed in any Monarch habitat or butterfly-friendly green space across the US, Canada, or Mexico.
- 😁 It’s free for anyone in the community to access via the Story City app.
- 📩 If there’s not one near you? Just send us a pin drop of your local butterfly habitat via our contact form, and we’ll place it there.
The experience is GPS-triggered. When you’re at the habitat, the story unfolds around you, layered onto your real-world surroundings. No headsets. No special equipment. Just you, your phone, and a story you’ll never forget.
Here are the current locations this walk is available:
Clovis, CA | Saint Paul, MN | Toronto, ON
Help Amplify This Story
Our goal is to bring this walk to 30+ Monarch habitats across North America in 2025.
We want to connect with younger audiences, Gen Z and Millennials, who care deeply about climate justice but may not engage with traditional journalism formats. This story is for them. To walk. To feel. To share.
And most importantly, to act.
Here’s how you can help:
- Share the story with activists, educators, and community leaders
- Request a local placement at your nearest butterfly grove
- Donate to support Anjan’s ongoing reporting on Indigenous climate defenders here
- Support your local Monarch habitat by volunteering, planting milkweed, or contributing to the organizations featured at each stop in the walk
Storytelling Can Change the World
At Story City, we believe storytelling can change the world, particularly when it’s connected to place.
With “Risking Lives for Butterflies,” we hope to help people see the unseen links between their peaceful Saturday walk and the deadly struggle for justice in another part of the world. Between the butterflies floating past your ear and the people carrying rifles to keep them alive.
We hope you’ll join us. Not just in walking the story, but in sharing it.
Because in this global moment, awareness is action. And stories, when lived, can inspire more than just empathy. They can inspire change.
🔗 Explore the Experience
- See the project page and information here
- See current proposed placement map → View Here
- Learn more about Anjan Sundaram → anjansundaram.com
- Read the original Vox article → Vox Climate
- Request a walk in your area → Contact Us
- Donate to Anjan’s work via One Earth → Donate Here
