FOREST DOCUMENTARY RECEIVES ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION MEDIA AWARD

04/01/99
Nebraska City, Neb.--The Forest Where We Live, a one-hour documentary produced by Louisiana Public Television, will receive one of two National Arbor Day Foundation 1999 Media Awards at a special awards ceremony to be held here Saturday, May 1. The award recognizes the power of the media to promote tree planting and environmental stewardship.

The Forest Where We Live was produced by Louisiana Public Television and distributed nationally by the National Educational Telecommunications Association, as well as by many other public television stations across the country. The documentary, narrated by Sam Waterston, conveys the important research of the last few years concerning the ecological and sociological benefits of the urban forest. It is being recognized for increasing public awareness of the value of trees and for considering the quantifiable benefits of the urban forest. An extensive on-line web site has also been created to help convey the message of The Forest Where We Live.

Representatives of Louisiana Public Television will attend the 27th annual National Arbor Day Foundation Awards banquet to receive the award. The ceremony is part of the Arbor Day weekend celebration held in Nebraska City from April 30-May 2.

Others being honored this year include the winner of the second 1999 Media Award, Forests of Hope: Stories of Regeneration, by noted forester, consultant, and journalist Christian Kuchli; and the winners of the 1999 Celebration Awards: Dekalb, Illinois' First Arbor Day Celebration, which included 28,000 trees given away, and the Missouri Department of Conservation's "Arbor Week Activity Guide," which offers five days of cross-curricular activities that teach students about trees and forestry.

The National Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit education organization dedicated to tree planting and environmental stewardship.