The Television Series

The earth is a garden and each of us only need
care for our own part for life to be breathed back
into the planet, into the soil, into ourselves.
- John Jeavons, Naturalist

Page Contents:

Hour 1 - First Entry
Hour 2 - As Far As The Eye Can See
Hour 3 - Westward Ho
See the trailer on the Wolf re-introduction story (running time 4:30)

The three-part series will be a journey through our country's natural heritage as we profile significant restoration projects on location from our portable mobile eco-lab - an RV running on biodiesel and outfitted with test equipment, 3D simulation software, and other analytical tools. Shot in a contemporary style in High Definition (HD) video, and hosted by an inquisitive and charismatic restoration ecologist, the series will appeal to families with school-aged children as well as the more traditional, older audience that watches PBS science and natural history programming.

The series is divided along geographic regions: the East, the Midwest between the Mississippi and the Rockies, and the West. The general progression traces the westward migration and settlement of the continent by Europeans, thereby providing an some historical perspective on the original condition and subsequent decline of our natural heritage. Starting each story with an experiment in the eco-lab that identifies threats to the declining resource, the series highlights the underlying biocomplexity and interconnectedness found in nature, while also profiling dedicated restorationists from many different backgrounds and disciplines. The eco-lab will also serve as an outreach and educational platform as it travels across the country, developing awareness for both the importance of restoration science and the role of local citizens and educators in the process.

The television series will be comprised of three one-hour programs. Working with our Advisory Board, we have identified compelling stories that represent a wide range of habitats and issues. The stories have been chosen for their diversity; each illustrates unique scientific underpinnings of restoration as well as their potential value, impact, and costs. The central theme connecting these stories is that environmental restoration, while often complex and costly, nonetheless can sometimes repair profoundly damaged ecosystems and thereby make vital contributions toward solving large-scale, systemic, environmental problems. By bringing these stories to a primetime PBS broadcast, How On Earth will allow millions of viewers to explore this relatively new approach to environmental stewardship and its intriguing prospects for renewal.

The following is a brief synopsis of the three one-hour programs.

HOUR 1 - First Entry

The first hour will focus on restoration stories found in the eastern United States, the first point of entry for European settlers. From our home base of the mobile eco-lab, viewers will learn how scientists and inner-city youth volunteers are using saltmarsh cordgrass to help resuscitate a severely polluted Bronx River. We then travel to Appalachia to see how scientists and local citizens are using microbes to leach mercury from tailings that contaminates ground water on former coal mine sites. Then we travel to the Kissimmee River in Florida to see how scientists and engineers are converting the Kissimmee River back into its original meandering form from the monumental drainage ditch it had become. Our final story profiles how scientists in the Everglades are working to save the Florida panther through a genetic experiment in the Everglades that borrows from the Texas panther's gene pool.

HOUR 2 - As Far As The Eye Can See

This program highlights restoration efforts in the Midwest, where original settlers transformed the plains' abundant and diverse flora and fauna into cropland. First we visit a retired Kansas dentist who is changing the relationship between agriculture and habitat through the re-introduction of native prairie. Then we profile how a dam removal on the Muskegon River in Michigan has reduced toxic sediment and led to increased biodiversity. Next we travel to Louisiana Arkansas to see how a soybean farmer is providing habitat for the Mississippi flyway - and environmental security - by creating wetlands that trap toxic agricultural chemicals and minimize loss of topsoil. We close with a story of a tribal wildlife biologist working to re-introduce the nearly extinct Mexican Wolf to its historic habitat, which in turn is benefiting the entire watershed by keeping the increasing elk and deer numbers in check.

HOUR 3 - Westward Ho

This program profiles stories found in the western United States, one of the last frontiers of unspoiled wilderness. We start with a story concerning the strategic elimination of the non-native black rat on an island off the coast of southern California to save endangered sea birds. Next we travel to Northern California where school children are creating habitat for the endangered freshwater shrimp by planting willows and getting farmers to fence streams in the upper watershed. We then profile some scientists who hope to reduce turbity in the San Francisco Bay and foster bottom-dwelling organisms that offer a food source for fish - all through the re-introduction of the native Olympia oyster. We close on the story of a retired Vietnam Veteran with a terminal illness who inspired his community to transform a watershed and bring bird and fish life back to a Seattle creek by planting some 187,000 trees.