BOOKEND UPDATE - March 2010
including The Burning Season DVD offer
| We're getting a facelift » |
A year and a half in review » |
Video/multi-media clips » |
The Burning Season DVD offer » |
Help wanted » |
We're getting a facelift!
A major overhaul of the Bookend website is underway, with a new look to take us through the rest of 2010. It's not online yet, but the test layout looks fantastic, and as the year progresses we will be adding more and more interactivity for schools and the public. Watch this space! |
 |
A year and a half in review...
| This update marks a year and a half since the launch of the Bookend program by Andy Muirhead and Bryce Courtenay in Hobart in September 2008. Since that event, we've certainly been busy. |
| Bookend Launch » |
Sharks, Devils and You » |
The
Burning
Season Launch & Exhibition » |
Bridging
the
Gap » |
Chris Jordan » |
Coming up » |
| "BookEnd
is about trying to
stop the full stops in the narrative of nature." Bryce Courtenay, 8 September 2008 » |
| These projects yielded fantastic footage
that was used by the scholarship students and other Bookend
representatives to present to schools and community groups on the aims
and intent of the program. Ninna in particular was prolific in the
material she produced, including video press releases, mini radio documentaries (aired by the ABC), written pieces
and a draft video promo for the Bookend program. We built on these achievements by securing Ninna a 12 month placement with the Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service, documenting the Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Program - work being undertaken to protect one of Tasmania's World Heritage gems by removing introduced rabbits and rodents at a scale never previously attempted anywhere in the world. |
| "Sharks, Devils and You" |
 |
In early
2009, Bookend teamed with National
Science
Week, the Tasmanian
Community Fund, and supporting
experts to develop the 36 minute documentary Sharks, Devils and You -
spearheaded by Ninna under mentoring by Gavin Baskerville. This magazine-style documentary is primarily aimed at year 7-12 students but is also designed to be interesting and accessible to a broader audience. |
Sharks, Devils and You focuses on five stories: the Tasmanian Devil and Devil
Facial Tumour Disease, the Tasmanian Wedge Tailed Eagle, management of
injured and orphaned wildlife, Great White Sharks (compiled from Jeff's
work), and Macquarie Island.    The first cut of this documentary was released during 2009, and is available to schools and community groups as a teaching resource, with online materials to follow. Since the development of Sharks, Devils and You, Bookend has been involved with the development of similar educational materials for additional school and community education kits. There will be more detail on these projects in future updates. |
| "The Burning Season" Launch & Exhibition |
| In June 2009, Bookend hosted the Australian
launch of The Burning Season documentary, a story about
orang-utans and positive solutions to climate change, land clearing and
pollution issues in Indonesia. This documentary came to Tasmania directly from its launch at Robert De Niro's Tribeca Film Festival in New York, and was presented free (with optional gold coin donation) to Hobart audiences as a community service. The launch was hosted by Andy Muirhead at the Wrest Point Convention Centre and was attended by Cathy Henkel (Writer/Director/Producer), Trish Lake (Producer), Dorjee Sun (the key environmental entrepreneur in the film), guests including Terri Irwin and Associate Professor Kate Crowley, and had a special recorded welcome and introduction for Tasmania from narrator Hugh Jackman. Over 500 people attended the event, which was followed by a highly constructive discussion on climate change and business solutions following the screening. |
 |
| Prior to the above official launch, Bookend and Screen Tasmania were also able to arrange a special exclusive preview for local film-makers, who were able to talk with the director about the technical challenges and techniques involved in making this exceptional film. |
   Following this launch, Bookend hosted an exhibition of 47 orang-utan and behind-the-scenes images from the film in partnership with the Imaginarium Science Centre in Devonport (running December 2009 - April 2010). This exhibition was made possible with the help of the City of Sydney (who first displayed the images), and Andrew Knott, Paul Colegrave, and Andrew Doran (who provided their design, building and electrical skills to transfer the exhibition to Tasmania). Once the exhibition closes in Devonport, it is intended to bring the images south for display in Hobart (venue and timing TBD). In addition, a featurette on Bookend (consisting of the promo seen at The Burning Season launch coupled with a short presentation on what we're doing) is contained on the upcoming DVD release of The Burning Season DVD (see special offer).      |
| Also
in 2009, Bookend was engaged to
build Bridging
the
Gap, a ground-breaking new partnership between UTAS and Conservation Volunteers Australia,
providing college students and school leavers an opportunity to 'taste
test' the environmental careers that they might pursue at University
prior to committing to a full degree, while potentially
gaining partial accreditation towards a first-year unit or HECS
relief if they decide to continue. Bookend students will act as mentors within this program, as well as generating interest amongst school students at younger stages. Test presentations of our work and this concept have been included as part of the UTAS Science Experience program, which plays a significant role in boosting student interest in higher education. Several sample Bridging the Gap field units are under development. Expect to see more on this throughout 2010! |
 |
 |
In November 2009, Bookend
teamed with the Environment
Protection Authority, the Tasmanian
Climate
Change
Office, the Southern
Waste Strategy Authority and Veolia
Environmental
Services to support a sustainability tour from
internationally renowned sustainability artist Chris Jordan. This took place as
Chris' latest video work on the death of albatross chicks due to plastic pollution at Midway was
going viral around the world.  |
| Coming up |
| New
and interesting opportunities continue
to develop. In late 2009, Bookend joined with private donors to develop the Lynchpin scholarship, to boost interest in the crucial role of marine plankton and emerging threats such as ocean acidification. Students have already started to benefit from this ocean-specific program. Bookend is also very pleased to announce that is the new host for Expedition Class, the superb interactive learning program developed by Andrew Hughes and winner of the 2009 Australian Geographic Society Spirit of Adventure Award. More on these new initiatives and partnerships will follow! |
·
| The short version of the Bookend:
Be Inspired promotional trailer. The longer version, with an
outline of the Bookend program, can be seen on The Burning Season DVD. |
| What will YOU do? A reflection on Ninna's experiences with
Bookend. |
BUT
YOU'VE
GOT
TO BE QUICK!
| If you haven't already seen the DVD release announcement for The Burning Season, now is the time to act. It's late notice from us, but if you order online NOW (i.e. by March 10) you can still receive the pre-order offer of free postage, plus the distributor (Madman) will also donate $5 from each DVD to the orang-utan rehabilitation sanctuary that is featured in the film. The DVD will of course still be available for purchase once the pre-order offer has expired, and you still also get the great Bookend promo included as an extra on the disc! |
| We've been
busy for the past year and
a half, and ahead we're only going to get busier. None of this would
have been possible without the help of supporters, donors and local
businesses - in part listed
here,
but with more to be recognised in our new updated webpage. Bookend is driven by professionals in a range of careers donating their time and effort to help inspire the next generation. We're keen to hear from people interested in helping, so drop us a line - whatever your skills, interest and background. Email: info@bookendtrust.com Mail: Dr Niall Doran Coordinator - BookEnd Trust PO Box 310, Sandy Bay, TAS 7006 AUSTRALIA |
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