(PHOTO left: DNR worked with Seattle Parks Foundation and Friends of Waterway 18 to restore to health one of the last natural beaches remaining on Seattle’s Lake Union.)
Here’s a chance to tap into that inner Steven Spielberg… a film contest conducted by the Whole Watershed Restoration Initiative (WWRI). The contest — actually, they are looking for digital video — aims to show the benefits of watershed restoration in the Pacific Northwest. The health and quality of Puget Sound, river and other waterways are directly connected to the health of the surrounding watershed.
You won’t make Spielberg-like bucks for winning, but the $3,500 in prizes offered for top entries is pretty good as amateur film contests go. The entries will posted on YouTube and the winning entries will be screened in Portland later this summer by the Ecotrust foundation which is organizing the contest. Winners and runner-ups will be selected in two categories: filmakers 20 and under and those age 21 and up. You’ll have to get moving, though: the last day for entries is July 19.
Ecotrust is looking for short films that focus on the human, ecological and economic benefits of whole watershed restoration in the Northwest (all three benefits must be present in each film).
Here’s a link to DNR’s Watershed, Wetlands and Riparian Sciences web page to brush up on the science and policy aspects.
Check out the rules for eligibility and other important information, then grab that Flipcam, Sony or whatever and get to work.
WWRI is a collaborative effort between Ecotrust, and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the Pacific Northwest Region of the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and others.
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EAR TO THE GROUND WITH DNR & COMMISSIONER FRANZ 