STUDENTS PRODUCE ALL-NATURAL TELEVISION PILOT
MUNCIE, Ind. -- It's not easy being green.
It means tracking through mud along the Blue River and snow at Pokagon State Park, not to mention splashing steelhead trout, honking geese and maple sugaring, just to make everything stick together. And that's just the beginning.
Green TV, a Ball State University class involving professors and students from two different departments in two colleges, wrapped up its first season with a pilot episode of "Naturally Indiana," a showcase of the state's natural resources and outdoor recreation activities.
"It's a great combination of interdisciplinary, inter-college learning that's all hands on," said Nancy Carlson, associate professor of telecommunications. She and Donald Van Meter, professor of natural resources and environmental management, taught the special semester offering.
Students from both departments participated in video shoots throughout the semester, learning to work together in the great outdoors.
The crews took footage of an otter release on the Blue River in southern Indiana and the sandhill cranes that always stop at the Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area on their way south. The students completed stories on maple sugaring near Peru and scent dogs at Ball State's Hults Environmental Learning Center in Albany. Bundled up in parkas, they shot video of snowmobiling for a piece on winter outdoor recreation.
"I teach a lot of students who have spent their 19 years in front of a big screen---TV, video games, and now the Internet," Carlson said. "I wanted them to get a chance to get away from all that for a while and get outside. I also wanted them to get a chance to write a science-based story."
She said the students learned to overcome communication barriers.
"Scientists often have a hard time communicating because they speak in jargon," she said. "Journalists tend to avoid science stories because they personally don't like science or they're scientifically illiterate. These students are not afraid now to tackle a science story. They've learned you can make any story interesting by connecting it back to people."
Joe Whetsel, a sophomore telecommunications student from Kankakee, Ill., said the class was what each student made of it.
"It offered students the opportunity to join creative efforts with others who have completely different majors," he said. "And your effort isn't only reflected in your grade, but also in the final project which you can tell others you were a part of. If that's good or bad is up to each student."
Carlson said the class was a win-win situation. Sponsored by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the program highlights state resources most citizens never use.
"The show is a service to Indiana to get Hoosiers to enjoy the outside assets of the state," she said. "The problem with sedentary society is that you have a few people using everyone's assets. The basic user of Indiana's outdoors is a middle-aged, white male for hunting or fishing. It's not families because they're too busy to take a hike together. It's not kids. There are kids who don't even know how to play outside."
More kids might be maple sugaring soon if Carlson interests corporations in funding a full season of the program. Based on "Kentucky Afield," the longest running nature program in the nation, the show would be produced at Ball State and air on public television stations throughout the state.
Lori Rader 4/19/99
(Note to Editors: For more information about this story contact Lori Rader at 765-285-1560 or [email protected]. For more stories, visit the Ball State University News Center at http://www.bsu.edu/news on the World Wide Web.)
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