Rediscovering America’s National Parks with Nat Geo

National Geographic, as part of its new annual America’s National Parks Week event, will offer audiences a trip into five of the titular parks—from well-known destinations like the Grand Canyon to less familiar marvels such as Badlands National Park. Leading the five-part tour is singer and songwriter Garth Brooks, while First Lady Dr. Jill Biden opens and closes the natural-history series with remarks that underscore the power of the parks and the diversity of their wild inhabitants. Produced by Wildstar Films, America’s National Parks is executive produced by Anwar Mamon, who talks to TV Real about introducing viewers to the parks’ hidden gems, the delights of working with Brooks and Biden and protecting one of America’s best ideas.

In setting about making America’s National Parks, the goal was to cover the wildlife as well as the unique landscapes that they call home and to choose parks with varying degrees of name recognition, delivering new perspectives at every turn. “It was important for us to help the audience understand that there are extremely special national parks that are in their backyards that they might not even realize are there—they might not even realize how varied they are—and that leads into some of the animal stories that we followed,” explains Mamon. “We wanted to open up the national parks. Sometimes we forget that there’s more to them than meets the eye.”

As an example, Mamon points to the Grand Canyon, which is more than the wonder that is its namesake. It’s also home to the Kaibab Plateau Forest. “We chose stories that would enable us to explore the parks to their fullest and to show audiences a side of the national parks that they may not have seen before,” says Mamon.

At the Grand Canyon, Wildstar used remote cameras that are able to capture elusive animals to get footage of mountain lions. The producer also used drones, lowlight cameras, motion control, time-lapse technology and UHD cameras. “We’re at a very lucky time for wildlife filmmaking in terms of the tools that we have at our disposal,” says Mamon. “I think, on this series, we used all the new tech that was available to us. Using all of these tools really helped us do a deep dive into the national parks and what makes them special.”

Aiding the storytelling of America’s National Parks is Brooks, whose involvement in the series was suggested by Janet Han Vissering, National Geographic’s senior VP of development and production. “As soon as we had him involved in the series, we knew we were onto something special,” says Mamon, who explains that they wanted to have an iconic American voice behind the series. “As soon as we heard [Brooks’] voice, there is just this connectivity between him and the national parks and America that really seems to gel, and we were all really just in awe from our first voice-over session with him.”

As for Biden’s participation in the series, that provided Mamon with what he calls “one of the most surreal filming trips of my entire career,” as he captured the First Lady’s first-ever in-person view of the Grand Canyon. “We got to see her initial reaction to this incredibly special place,” says Mamon. “It was like we all had that initial feeling when you see the Grand Canyon. She was just amazing and so lovely and very, very keen to promote national parks, to connect Americans to the natural world and also to publicize the Joining Forces initiative, which is such an important thing for veterans in the States. It was great to get that word out there and to hopefully reach a wider audience to get them to connect to America’s national parks.”

Mamon’s biggest goal for the series is to let viewers in on just how incredible the parks are, how different and varied they are, as well as to inform them about how the parks are protected and the importance of keeping them protected and maintaining them for future generations.

“They’re so accessible,” adds Mamon. “One of the most incredible things about the American national park system is that they are there for everyone. They’re accessible to all ages, all mobilities. I hope that people are encouraged to explore them and also fall in love with them all over again, beyond what they might know about them.”

America’s National Parks will stream on Disney+ after launching on National Geographic on August 29, helping to bring an up-close view of the parks to an even broader audience. “The more audiences we can reach, the better,” says Mamon. “We just want everyone to love and respect the natural world in all its glory. It’s brilliant to have it go out on a platform like Disney+ with its subscription base and to be making something that is family entertainment but also quite wholesome, quite educational.”

“From a storytelling point of view, we can tell more connected stories [on streamers], our shows can not be confined by ad breaks so much,” adds Mamon. “We’ve actually created special versions for Disney+. I hope the audience will enjoy seeing it in that form.”

Whether on a linear channel or streamer, via a television, tablet or phone, Mamon believes that titles like America’s National Parks play a valuable role in educating people about the natural world. “They might not realize how one national park can have three different habitats inside of it, with thousands of different species,” explains Mamon. “People may not realize how unique Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is. Just connecting the audience to that, making them aware of how unique and special the places are that they have in their country. Hopefully, [America’s National Parks] will inspire them not to just visit but also help protect them for future generations. It is an incredible thing that America has. It’s worth preserving and it’s worth protecting areas outside of the national parks, which hopefully the series will inspire people to do.”