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Kentucky Online Film Festival Winners
First Lady Jane Beshear (far right), with Finance and Administration Secretary Jonathan Miller, Online film festival winner Sellus Wilder, and students from Meyzeek Middle School.
A Louisville comedy troupe and an up-and-coming filmmaker are $1,000 happier after receiving prizes for their winning films in the First Annual Kentucky Green Team Online Film Festival. The Online Film Festival is a popular new initiative of First Lady Jane Beshear’s Green Team, designed to inspire, teach and encourage individuals to take steps to improve our environment.
Seventy films were entered and the “directors” ranged from groups of school kids, Girl and Boy Scout troops, to seasoned filmmakers.
The winners in this year’s festival are:
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Public Service Announcement - “Energy PSA” created by Sellus Wilder, a Frankfort city commissioner
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Environmentally Friendly Habits Film – “Going Green” created by The Indicators, a Louisville improvisational comedy troupe
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Energy-Saving Innovation Short Film – “Community Garden” also created by Sellus Wilder
First Lady Jane Beshear, along with Finance and Administration Cabinet Sec. Jonathan Miller, presented Wilder and The Indicators with their $1,000 prizes, courtesy of the Louisville Film Society, during the Film Society’s Flyover Film Festival.
Also recognized at the festival was Meyzeek Middle School, who in conjunction with Ohio Valley Creative Energy, was a finalist in the Energy-Saving Innovation Short Film category. Meyzeek narrowly lost to Sellus Wilder’s entry, Community Garden. Wilder says he will donate half of his prize in that category to the art program at Meyzeek.
You can see the winning videos, along with all the finalists, by visiting www.greenteam.ky.gov/filmfestival.
Green Facts
Did You Know…
- Every year we throw away 24 million tons of leaves and grass. Leaves alone account for 75 percent of our solid waste in the fall.
- About 1% of U.S. landfill space is full of disposable diapers, which take 500 years to decompose.
- Recycled paper requires 64 percent less energy than making paper from virgin wood pulp and can save many trees.
- 14 billion pounds of trash is dumped into the ocean every year.
- 84 percent of all household waste can be recycled.
Information provided by the Energy and Environment Cabinet’s Division of Compliance Assistance
Recycling Facts
The Kentucky Government recycling Section urges all state employees to recycle all of their office paper, newspaper, phonebooks and cardboard used during their daily work in state government offices. Each person can make a huge impact on the environment by doing their part to make Kentucky a leader in paper recycling.
Did you know that recycling one ton of paper would:
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Save enough energy to power the average American home for six months.
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Save 7,000 gallons of water
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Save 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space
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Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one metric ton of carbon equivalent
For more information on recycling, you can go to the Division of Waste Management's Web site.
Adopt-a-Highway!
Adopt-a-Highway Fall Sweep Week
September 20-26, 2009
Keep It Clean…Make It Green…Make It Yours
Adopt-a-Highway Poster Contest Deadline
September 30, 2009
For more information and the contest form, visit their Web site.
Plans Underway at Rolleigh Peterson Educational Forest
 The Rolleigh Peterson Educational Forest, purchased last summer by the Kentucky Division of Forestry (KDF) and Louisville Metro Parks, will ultimately become a public park, as well as a carefully managed walnut plantation. The property, which is located along Floyds Fork in Jefferson County, was purchased to expand publicly accessible park lands and to continue forest management on one of the largest known walnut plantations east of the Mississippi River.
The previous owners, Rolleigh and Patricia Peterson, planted and maintained around 5,800 black walnut trees on the 98-acre farm as an investment for their daughter Susan Peterson Trendel, who died in 1998. Many of the trees were planted in the early 1970s and were managed until Mr. Peterson died in 2005. In 2008, Ms. Peterson sold the property to the Louisville Metro Government and the Commonwealth of Kentucky providing that it serve as a legacy to her late husband and daughter.
City and state officials are currently developing a forest stewardship management plan to ensure sustainability of the plantation. Stewardship activities such as removing vines, eliminating invasive species, pruning limbs and thinning undesirable trees will be priority in the early stages of management. Other plans for the property include building a short hiking trail which will eventually connect to the 100-mile paved Louisville Loop trail. Parks will also conduct environmental education programs for the public to learn about forest stewardship and conservation.
Rolleigh Peterson Educational Forest will be open to the public once the management plan is completed, hiking trails are built and parking areas are established. Additional information about the forest can be found here.
DCA Offers a Variety of Workshops on Environmental Topics
The Division of Compliance Assistance (DCA), located in the Department for Environmental Protection, has been offering workshops to the public and state agencies on a variety of topics. In July, workshops on Fugitive Dust Management, Environmental Compliance Training for Correctional Facilities and Hazardous Waster Generator Boot Camp were held at 300 Fair Oaks Lane in the Training Center. Future workshops dealing with environmental issues will be given on Complying with the Surface Coating Area Source Rule, Air Permitting/PTE Calculation, Impact of Pharmaceuticals on Water Quality, Climate Change, Conducting an Energy Audit, Retail Gas Stations and other topics. Click here for the latest information about these and other workshops that will be offered by DCA.
Share Your Green Tips!
 "Install a rain barrel at your home. Rain barrels collect the rain water that falls on your roof and allows you to use the water for watering lawns, gardens and flowers. This saves money and energy and prevents the water from entering the storm sewers which ultimately helps to improve water quality in local streams, lakes and rivers. "
Submitted by Brooke Shireman,Kentucky Division of Water
By making a few, simple lifestyle changes, each of us can make a huge, positive impact on the environment. Please submit your Green Tip, along with a photo of yourself if you wish, to Tina.Goodmann@ky.gov so that it may be shared with your fellow state employees in a future edition of the Personnel Connection.
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