Wednesday, July 02, 2003

Wilmington, N.C. – Due to the educational value of and demand for the collaborative student - community production Welcome to Your Watershed, Airlie Gardens has proposed that the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington make a film for third grade students to preview before their trip to the gardens. For each production UNCW students worked in conjunction with representatives from Airlie Gardens and the New Hanover County Tidal Creeks Advisory Board (TCAB).

Welcome to Your Watershed, a 15-minute educational program that explores the issues of pollution in the coastal watersheds, and instructs students about human impact on water quality, wetland functions and the conservation of natural resources. The program is being used in eighth grade New Hanover County classrooms prior to their field trip to Airlie Gardens.

The program was created by 12 UNCW students enrolled in a course at UNCW entitled “Environmental Video Production.” The video includes the Welcome to Your Watershed production, as well as, six public service announcements (PSAs). According to Dr. Bill Bolduc, associate professor of communication studies and the faculty advisor in charge of the project, the PSAs were produced for TCAB and cover a variety of topics including: the disposal of pet waste, fecal coliform bacteria pollution, over-fertilization, litter, pollution due to car wash run-off and vegetated buffers.

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For more information contact: Dr. Bolduc at 962-7012