“Backyard Wonders” Features North Shore
The rich ecology of the North Shore and the impact of human activity on the land is the subject of “The North Shore: Our Natural Legacy,” the latest episode of the Southeastern Channel’s nature series “Backyard Wonders.”
The program, debuted Wednesday on the Southeastern Louisiana University’s educational cable access channel airing on Charter Cable Channel 18, will be rebroadcast on at 8 p.m. Wednesdays and 7 p.m. Mondays through October.
“Have you ever wondered what the North Shore looked like in its virginal, natural beauty before human visitors, settlers and the resulting land development began taking place?” asked channel General Manager Rick Settoon, executive producer of the program. “This show creates appreciation for the beauty of the North Shore and the way it was before population growth and rampant new development began taking place. It also shows what needs to be done to protect, and in some cases restore, our area’s natural gifts.”
“Ironically, the natural beauty of the North Shore has attracted so many visitors and so much development that the native ecology is being damaged,” host Charles Reith added. “People need to understand that future development must be more protective of nature or else we will destroy what attracted us here in the first place.”
The program begins with a montage describing the North Shore before development, including a look at the region’s sweeping forests, and the threatened longleaf pine savannah tree.
A tour of the Louisiana Nature Conservancy at Covington’s Lake Ramsay Preserve features an interview with Florida Parishes program manager Elwyn McInnis who discusses the conservancy’s mission in protecting the North Shore.
Conservancy director Latinmore Smith reveals how prescribed fire, a process of burning in natural areas, promotes the growth and ecological health of the savannah and other native species through tours of places throughout south Louisiana.
To bring preservation home to the viewer, Reith interviews horticulturalist Rick Webb at his Amite wholesale nursery, Louisiana Growers during which Webb points out native plants that are good for the backyard and restoring the region’s natural legacy.
Reith also demonstrates how to install a native plant in your own backyard.
“One of the most outstanding aspects of this episode is the fact that it covers such a vast topic, yet comes full circle and ends in the backyard,” Kapusinski said. “I think that brings home the underlying theme that people have the control – the option – of restoring our natural legacy one property at a time.”
The Southeastern Channel can be seen on Charter Cable Channel 18 in Tangipahoa, St. Tammany and Livingston parishes and on Channel 17 in Washington Parish. It can be seen online at http://www.selu.edu/ tv.
(c) 2007 Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.