Information Support
to the YouTube Videos!
LOTS of help was provided to make this video series!
It takes monetary and in-kind support of pull-off a project such at this "BeLeaf It or Not!" forestry series, in addition skills, creativity, luck, and no small amount of zaniness. Sure, we could probably have used a smartphone and some dialogue, but we wanted something more professional and (hopefully) coherent.
So, we spoke to some prominent videographers and asked them how much something like this might cost. The videography ran about $40,000 and the in-kind contributions were $60,000 to $70,000. It's been great working with the forestry community, who has stood behind their work and believes in the power of education. James Ford, our videographer, has contributed mountains of talent (not always with monetary compensation!). For him, Georgia, and Bill, this entire project has been a labor of love. It's not a perfect thing, but we think it's pretty good. And so far, the reviews have been quite good.
 |
Bill Cook and Georgia Peterson are foresters and educators with MSU Extension. Somewhat reluctant to engage (and entirely clueless) in a project of this kind, they were supported by various federal and state funds managed by MSU Extension. The Renewable Resources Extension Act funded most of their travel expenses. | |
 |
James Ford teaches multimedia journalism at Grand Valley State University and runs his own business, Great Lakes Digital Video. His creativity and skill clearly made these seemingly simple YouTube videos a reality. | |
| Groups That Donated Money to the Project | ||
 |
Great Lakes Timber Producers Association | |
 |
Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund | |
 |
Society of American Foresters, Foresters Fund | |
 |
Michigan Forest Foundation | |
 |
Upper Peninsula Sustainable Forest & Wildlife Fund | |
USDA Forest Service (pilot episode funding) |
||
| In-Kind Contributions of Time and Talent | ||
| Suchovsky Logging, LLC | ||
| Verso Corporation | ||
| Timber Products, Inc. | ||
| AJD Forest Products | ||
| Louisiana-Pacific, Sagola | ||
| Timber Products, Inc. | ||
| North Central Schools | ||
| Hartwick Pines State Park | ||
| Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center | ||
| Michigan Society of American Foresters | ||
| Michigan Forest Association | ||
| Lansing Derby Vixens | ||
| Paul Irving, Betsy Cook, Brittany Preston, Hannah Ford, Monica Jean, Sarah Barnes-Tsai, Julie Crick, Hillary Pine | ||
| Advisory team of Tom Abramson, Bob Aschbacher, Charlie & Kathy Becker, Don & Linda Howlett, and Dave & Mary Silvieus. | ||
| Many teachers that have "beta-tested" these videos in their classrooms | ||
This entire project cost about $100,000. No small amount, of course. The primary authors were Bill Cook, Georgia Peterson, and James Ford. Additionally, most of the episode scripts were either drafted and/or reviewed by cooperating foresters, biologists, teachers, and other experts.