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Project Update - May 2004 |
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Funding and Project Progress We are very excited to report that on April 28th we were given a cornerstone grant of $75,000 from the Wendt Family Charitable Foundation of Community Foundation Sonoma County. This grant has propelled the project forward in many significant ways. First, we are fully engaged in completing development and pre-production. This means we are researching the actual stories we will include in the series and re-writing the treatment to reflect these stories. As part of this process, we are also re-positioning the series to reflect more of a journalistic inquiry, answering such fundamental questions as: Can humans put nature back together again? If so, will it be fast enough and extensive enough to reverse environmental decline? This will ensure greater balance in the story telling and infuse a sense of urgency to understanding restoration. We will also be embarking on filming the balance of the wolf story and other stories in the near future. This grant also has allowed us to initiate discussions with possible hosts, and gives us added credibility in our discussions with other major donors and sponsors. It could not have come at a better time! TV Matters In early February David and Kevin attended REAL SCREEN in Washington D.C. REAL SCREEN is a conference of commissioning editors and producers working in non-fiction TV and cable. We had brief meetings with representatives from National Geographic, Canadian Broadcasting, PBS and several others. We think it is safe to say there is significant interest in Restoring Eden. In particular, PBS has reviewed the proposal, sent us a letter of support, and is looking forward to keeping abreast of our progress. Making Important Friends While in D.C., David also made contact with Sheila David of the Heinz Center (whose support and contacts have proven to be invaluable!) as well as Kass Valentine from the National Science Foundation who heads up their science education programs. David also met with Mark Wolf-Armstrong from Save America's Estuaries, Leslie Devers, from the National Resource and Conservation Service, Brad DeVries of Defenders of Wildlife, and Peter Saundry from the National Council for Science and the Environment. All of these folks were very helpful in providing contacts, information and feedback. We are planning a return trip to the D.C. area in the near future. Building Support
Locally we have been in contact with Jon Zilber from the Sierra Club, and
Craig Noble from Natural Resources Defense Council, both of whom are working
on letters of support. To date we have received letters of support from
Defenders of Wildlife, the Nature Conservancy, Save the Bay, Society for
Ecological Restoration, and The Audubon Society. These letters of support
have proven to be critical in demonstrating to PBS and prospective funders
that there is a significant constituency that wants programming regarding
environmental issues on public television. Given PBS's competition for
viewers, projects from producers that can demonstrate an audience base have
a much higher likelihood to be carried. The fact that we have designed the
project with a significant outreach and education component has also proven
to be instrumental in gaining interest from broadcasters. |
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