Catharina Neumann

The story of the three border collies that were trained to run like the wind to bring new life to Chilean forest devastated by wildfires, wearing backpacks releasing native plant seeds. One of the worst wildfire season in Chile's history ravaged more than 1.4 million acres early in 2017, destroying nearly 1,500 homes and killing at least 11 people. More than a dozen countries sent fire-fighting specialists to help battle the dozens of destructive blazes. When the fires were finally extinguished, the landscape was a charred wasteland. A few months later, a unique team was brought in to help restore the damaged ecosystem. They have four legs and a penchant for careening at high speeds through the forest. Border collies Das, Summer and Olivia were outfitted with special backpacks brimming with seeds. Then they were sent on a mission, let loose to race through the ruined forests. As they bounded and darted, their packs streamed a trickle of seeds. The hope was that these seeds would take root and sprout, bringing the forest slowly back to life one tree at a time. Their owner, Francisca Torres started the project with the dogs in March 2017, returning regularly to the forest over the next six months. The border collies covered as many as 18 miles in a day and distributed more than 20 pounds of seeds. Their hard work paid off.