SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTS FAMOUS & HISTORIC TREES.Come spring, history buffs can learn more about the country's heritage from a new film that focuses on America's Famous & Historic Trees. Actor and history-lover James Whitmore will narrate "Silent Witnesses: America's Historic Trees," a one-hour documentary being distributed in late February to PBS PBS in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, stations nationwide. The film, a look at American history through the stories of 19 trees that have witnessed historical events, is sponsored by interactive home gardening company garden.com with assistance from Scotts Miracle-Gro. "The film brings trees to life and gives them some characteristics that people might not have considered before--as witnesses to our nation's history," said Jeff Meyer Jeffrey A. Meyer is an Associate Professor of Law at Quinnipiac University School of Law in Hamden, CT. Jeffrey Meyer began teaching at Quinnipiac Law School as an Associate Professor of Law in January 2006, following many years of legal practice experience. , coordinator of AMERICAN FORESTS' Famous & Historic Trees program. The film traces American history from the birth in California of ancient bristlecone pines bristlecone pine, common name for the pine species Pinus longaeva, found in the White Mountains of California. Specimens are known that are nearly 5,000 years old. nearly 4,500 years ago to the planting of sycamore sycamore: see plane tree. sycamore Any of several distinct trees called by the same name though in different genera and families. In the U.S. the term refers to the American plane tree or buttonwood (Platanus occidentalis), a hardy street tree. seeds that astronauts carried aboard the Apollo 14 space mission in 1973. With help from some descendants DESCENDANTS. Those who have issued from an individual, and include his children, grandchildren, and their children to the remotest degree. Ambl. 327 2 Bro. C. C. 30; Id. 230 3 Bro. C. C. 367; 1 Rop. Leg. 115; 2 Bouv. n. 1956. 2. of the Historic trees' original caretakers, Whitmore discusses historical figures as varied as George Washington and Frederick Douglass to Elvis Presley and Amelia Earhart. Between 10 million and 20 million people could see the special, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. executive producer Ellyne Lonergan. After logging nearly 800 hours of film that took the production team from New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. to California and back, Lonergan said she believed "viewers all over the country will have something to relate to." Whitmore, a Tony Award winner and two-time Academy Award nominee, lends his voice to a cause close to his heart. Known for his screen and stage portrayals of historical figures, Whitmore said he's "thrilled" to narrate a special that will help make history come alive. "The Famous & Historic Trees program gets people interested in history," Whitmore said. The film should "bring recognition to a project we've been working on since 1917," when AMERICAN FORESTS American Forests is a nonprofit conservation organization that promotes healthy forests and urban tree planting. The organization was established in 1875 as the American Forestry Association, by physician/horticulturist John Aston Warder and a group of like-minded citizens began collecting information about Famous & Historic Trees, Meyer said. Meyer also hopes the special will encourage people to search for potential Famous & Historic trees in their communities. "I hope that people will plant more trees and get involved in nominating Famous & Historic Trees in their community," Meyer said, Whitmore previously narrated other historical documentaries, but this film interests him because "trees help us to see the good things that have happened" and to avoid past mistakes. Copies of the documentary will be available for purchase from parks, recreation offices, and museums in late February, Lonergan said. Call your local PBS affiliate for times, and look for more about the special in American Forests' Spring 2000 issue. |
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