Chuck Social

December 18, 2020

Chuck Leavell, “The Treeman” on the importance of managing forests with fire

Chuck reinforces the importance of fire as a tool for managing forests, going back 100’s of years to the native Americans.

October 30, 2020

NPR: ‘Without Wood There Would Be Hardly Any Music’: Chuck Leavell Talks Forest Preservation

Chuck Social, Episode5 - Wisconsin North, Episode6 – Wisconsin South

Chuck Leavell plays keyboards with the Rolling Stones. But he’s also a passionate environmentalist and forester.

“There was a personal connection for me. Where does that wonderful thing that’s given me so much joy and a great career come from? Of course, it comes from the resource of wood, as do many, many other musical instruments. Without wood there would be hardly any music, we’d just be singing acapella,” Leavell explains.

He’s a longtime tree farmer and the co-founder of The Mother Nature Network. Leavell recently launched a show called America’s Forests with Chuck Leavell to draw more attention to their importance.

Leavell was in Wisconsin last week, filming footage for an upcoming segment for America’s Forests. He helped the city of Milwaukee forestry team take down a massive elm tree that had Dutch elm disease — after managing to escape the disease for 60 years. The tree was then loaded onto a truck and delivered to a sawmill. The logs will be turned into something to commemorate Leavell’s visit to Milwaukee.

After the tree came down, Chuck Leavell took some time before heading to the Kettle Moraine to talk with WUWM’s Environmental Reporter Susan Bence.

The segment featuring Wisconsin, which includes Milwaukee’s urban forestry program as well as a stop to see Lynden Sculpture Garden’s magnificent trees, will air sometime in January.

Leavell says he and his team enjoyed their week in Wisconsin.

“One of the things that’s been so remarkable is just the natural beauty of this state — driving from place to place, city to city, the farmland, the corn, the soybeans, the forest. It’s such a beautiful, diverse landscape, and I have really gotten a lot of pleasure out of that,” he says.

URL: https://bit.ly/2JnvQHq

October 29, 2020

HearHere: Chuck Leavell and The Magnificent Redwoods

Chuck Social

At HearHere, we think that the stories we share are pretty amazing. The whole process of researching and writing is so fun and entertaining and most of all educational. We’re learning surprising things about places and people every day. Also amazing are some of the unlikely sources we uncover when we’re putting a story together.

Like this… while researching a story on the redwood forests of northern California, we came across a remarkable person, Chuck Leavell. Chuck is most commonly known for his incredible career as a musician. Chuck plays piano and began his career as a touring member of the Allman Brothers Band throughout the 1970s. Since the Allman Bros he’s been the principal touring keyboardist and de facto musical director of The Rolling Stones since 1982. He’s performed on almost every Stones studio album released since 1983 and has also toured and recorded with Eric Clapton, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Gov’t Mule and John Mayer among others.

Chuck’s passion for music rivals his passion for trees. Yep, trees. He and his wife Rose have been living on more than 4000 acres of land in Georgia since the early 1980s. Together they created Charlane Plantation, now an award-winning Tree Farm. The Leavells are two-time Georgia Tree Farmers of the Year, and were selected as National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year in 1999. His most recent book is Growing A Better America: Smart, Strong, Sustainable, the theme of which is “smart” growth. It has been called one of the best “common sense environmental books of all time”. He produced and hosted a 13-episode series on PBS called America’s Forests.

Early this summer, we reached out to Chuck and introduced him to HearHere and it just clicked. He’s passionate about forests and trees. And we’re passionate about US history and culture. We’ve coupled our passions and will begin working with Chuck to provide him a platform to tell his stories of the beauty, importance and necessity of forests. To get a taste of what’s to come, Chuck has written and narrated his first story on HearHere featuring The Redwoods. You can listen to Chuck’s story here.

That’s just one example of the fun and passion that we are putting into each and every story for you. You get to hear the final result – a two or three minute story – but realize that those couple minutes took hours of work by a team of professionals and sometimes guests like Chuck. As we work our way across the country – from west to east – we are discovering so much about the history, the culture, the colorful characters, and the quirky special places of this nation that it just blows our collective mind. Every day we say, “Really? I didn’t know that!”

You can be assured that when we get to Chuck’s stomping ground near his home in Macon, Georgia, he’s going to be deeply – and happily – involved, because bottom-lining it – this is fun!

URL: https://bit.ly/3k78vXY

October 29, 2020

Spotlight On Wisconsin Forests During Oct. 21 Premiere of America’s Forests With Chuck Leavell

Chuck Social, Episode5 - Wisconsin North, Episode6 – Wisconsin South

Two-Part Series Explores Breadth Of Sustainable Forestry In Wisconsin

FROM THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

MADISON, Wis. – The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison will host a virtual premiere of the national TV program, America’s Forests with Chuck Leavell, which features the acclaimed host’s travels to Wisconsin in the multi-part series’ latest episodes.

This online gathering, scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., will bring together thought leaders to engage in conversation on the critical importance and value of well-managed public and private forest lands in Wisconsin.

Leavell is best known as the keyboardist and musical director for The Rolling Stones, but he is also an educated and enthusiastic forestry advocate, conservationist and woodland owner. As host of the television series, Leavell serves as the on-camera guide, traveling across the country to interview people passionate about the gifts received from our woods and exploring creative solutions to complex problems impacting this important natural resource.

“The search for solutions to the problems of sustainable growth, climate change and energy conservation is increasingly inspiring thought leaders to look at one of America’s finest resources — our forests,” Leavell said. “Whether for building or for recreation, our forests are good for the economy and for the spirit.”

Leavell explores the forests of Wisconsin, fittingly on a Harley Davidson, in this two-part TV special. Part one finds Leavell exploring Wisconsin’s Northwoods. Viewers will learn about managing forests for ruffed grouse, the sustainable forestry practices on the Menominee Tribal forests and much more.

In part two, Leavell heads to Milwaukee and Madison to experience the urban wood movement, get behind-the-scenes at the USDA Forest Products Laboratory, and explore the Baraboo Hills’ biodiversity. Leavell wraps up his Wisconsin adventures at a Log-A-Load for Kids event in the Suamico School Forest, where hundreds of elementary students from local schools got to try their hands at being foresters for the day.

During the Oct. 21 virtual premiere event, Leavell will be joined by Heather Berklund, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources chief state forester, Tony Ferguson, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service director of the forest products laboratory, Buddy Huffaker, Aldo Leopold Foundation executive director and Henry Schienebeck, Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association executive director.

Registration for the virtual premiere and screening of the episodes is available online at go.wisc.edu/talesfilmseries2020. Links to attend the virtual premiere event and to view the episodes in advance will be emailed to all who register.

“A wide range of partners support the sustainable management of Wisconsin’s 17 million acres of forests,” Berklund said.. “These two episodes of the show highlight several shining examples of this collaborative work to ensure that Wisconsin forests provide ecological, social, cultural and economic benefits for today’s citizens as well as for future generations.”

America’s Forests with Chuck Leavell television series is produced by Choose Outdoors and 42 Degrees North Media.

The Wisconsin episodes were made possible with support from the DNR, USDA Forest Service, Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association, Wisconsin Sustainable Forestry Institute, Ponsse North America, John Deere (McCormick), Red Wing Shoes, The Nature Conservancy, Aldo Leopold Foundation, Ruffed Grouse Society, National Forest Foundation, Menominee Tribal Enterprises, Wisconsin Urban Wood, University of Wisconsin and Harley Davidson.

About the Series

America’s Forests with Chuck Leavell captures the breadth of our nation’s woodlands – both public and private. It features stories that demonstrate how vital forest habitats are to the well-being and economic health of communities across the country it presents individuals who embody this passion for the woods. Previous episodes featuring Oregon, Colorado, South Carolina and California are available on PBS stations nationwide and online here.

About Leavell

Leavell’s musical career includes work with The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, The Allman Brothers Band, John Mayer and a host of others. He is acclaimed as a conservationist, environmentalist, author and tree farmer.

After studying forestry by correspondence and doing much of his homework while riding a tour bus with the Fabulous Thunderbirds in the mid-’80s, Leavell and his wife turned her family’s property near Macon, Ga., into what has become a textbook and award-winning tree farm. He is also the co-founder of The Mother Nature Network the world’s leading environmental website. MNN recently merged with its sister-site, Treehugger.

URL: https://bit.ly/2HF2J1U

October 29, 2020

2020 SCAD Savannah Film Festival featuring: Chuck Leavell Movie – The Tree Man + Q&A

Chuck Social

The SCAD Savannah Film Festival returns in its 23rd year as an all-virtual presentation Oct. 24-31, 2020. Connect with cinephiles worldwide as you watch live film premieres and unique, interactive programming from the comfort and safety of your home!

As the largest university-run film festival in the U.S., this annual, eight-day celebration of cinematic excellence honors both professional and emerging student filmmakers. The 2020 virtual festival includes gala premiere screenings, spotlights, competitions, event series, and forums, as well as exclusive video messages from filmmakers, live Q&A events, and other original content.

Chuck’s film will screen on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 5:00 p.m. EST followed immediately by your Q+A.

Tonight Chuck Leavell and I will be doing a SCAD Savannah Film Festival Q&A online at about 7:05 EST moderated by Chris Willman who is the features editor at Variety magazine. He was previously Entertainment Weekly’s chief music critic and enjoyed long tenures with the Los Angeles Times, Billboard and TV Guide.

Details: https://bit.ly/2TDiMPU

October 29, 2020

Chuck Leavell – California Event Intro

Chuck Social

America’s Forests captures the breadth of our nation’s woodlands – both public and private. We feature different stories that demonstrate how #forest habitats are to the well-being and economic health of communities across the country. In this series, we present individuals who embody this passion for the woods, from architects to artists, from climbers to carpenters, and from #foresters to #treefarmers.

We celebrate US forests and to advocate for their constructive management, we propose a communications campaign centered on a broadcast television documentary series for PBS and multi-faceted social media outreach.