A short film created by OSI with the support of the William Penn Foundation has been selected for inclusion in the Pennsylvania Resources Council’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival. The 2019 film, Saving Cherry Valley, celebrates the addition of more than 4,300 acres to the Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge, protecting land for bog turtles and bird habitat, the Appalachian Trail, and drinking water within the Delaware River Watershed.
Saving Cherry Valley captures the enthusiasm and commitment of Mike Horne, Manager of Cherry Valley NWR, and conservationists from The Conservation Fund (TCF) and OSI as this hard-won property is protected, forever.
“We are delighted and honored that Saving Cherry Valley will be featured in this regional film festival,” said Peter Howell, OSI Executive Vice President. “Land protection upstream helps deliver clean water downstream and this film delivers this message in a cinematically beautiful and engaging manner. Many thanks to the Pennsylvania Resources Council for including our project in this film festival.”
Watch 'Saving Cherry Valley'
Saving Cherry Valley captures the enthusiasm and commitment of Mike Horne, Manager of Cherry Valley NWR, and conservationists from The Conservation Fund (TCF) and OSI as a hard-won property is protected, forever.
The virtual Wild and Scenic Film Festival takes place on October 15, 2020, from 7 – 8:30 p.m. This online, virtual event features a series of thought-provoking and breathtaking local, national and global short films exploring the protection and restoration of wild lands and waters, food systems, climate change, biodiversity, litter prevention, and much more. Additional information about the Pennsylvania Resource Council’s film festival is available at www.prc.org/filmfest.
About the Cherry Valley Project
Since its creation in 2008, Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) has nearly doubled in size, thanks to the support of the Open Space Institute (OSI) and other dedicated partners.
Secured by The Conservation Fund, the 4,300-acre property received funding from OSI’s Delaware River Watershed Protection Fund, capitalized by the William Penn Foundation, and from OSI’s Resilient Landscapes Initiative, supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
OSI gave two grants to support protection of the property because the land contains forests that filter water draining into the Delaware River Watershed, source of drinking water for more than 15 million people living in Philadelphia, PA, Trenton, NJ, and elsewhere; and, it flanks the Kittatinny Ridge, a critical north-south migration corridor that facilitates the movement of wildlife in response to climate change.
The project also received funding from the federal Land & Water Conservation Fund, the nation’s most important conservation fund, which is responsible for protecting parks, wildlife refuges, and recreational areas at the federal, state, and local levels.