WATERTOWN, NY (January 24, 2023) – WPBS-TV, the two-nation public television station based in Watertown, is embarking on the production of The Home-Scale Forest Garden – featuring farmer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and author Dani Baker, and based on her recently published book, “The Home-Scale Forest Garden: How to Plan, Plant and Tend a Resilient Edible Landscape.” The first season will contain eight episodes, and will be distributed nationally through PBS stations. The series will focus on the many benefits of forest gardening and techniques for creating, caring for and harvesting a perennial food planting at any scale.
You can view a promotional video for the series through this link: wpbstv.org/homescaleforestgarden
A fund-raising campaign is now underway to support the production of this series – and all contributions will be matched, dollar for dollar, through a $10,000 matching grant from the Northern New York Community Foundation. Contributions in any amount will trigger the match, up to the $10,000 limit.
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A DONATION ONLINE
Recognizing its close alignment with their respective mandates, several local earth-friendly organizations have already stepped up to support this venture. If you, your business or organization would like to learn more about this unique philanthropic opportunity, please contact Mark Cernero, Director of Community Support and Corporate Sponsorship, at WPBS: 315-782-3142 ext 216.
Gardening shows are becoming increasingly popular as more and more people are trying their hand at growing some of their own food. The Home-Scale Forest Garden series will capitalize on this growing trend.
The show will be filmed through the seasons in the Enchanted Edible Forest Garden, a landscaped acre packed with over 300 perennial food plants both common and unusual, located on Wellesley Island in Northern New York State, a stone’s throw from Ontario Canada.
Dani Baker is a self-taught gardener who began planning and planting her edible garden in 2013. Her book, based on her 10 years experience stewarding this garden, was published in May of 2022 by Chelsea Green Publishing.
The garden is modeled after a forest edge where no-one cultivates, mulches, weeds, applies fertilizer or sprays for pests. On a forest edge, nature takes care of all of these plant needs. Viewers will learn how to plan their landscape, building in all of the functions that nature provides, thus reducing their labor going forward while creating beauty and reaping abundant harvests.
Loosely based on the book, the initial episodes will offer practical advice on how anyone can create a perennial food planting including herbs, greens, berries, fruits and nuts in landscaped arrangements for any size plot. For example, it could be a foundation planting on one side of a home, a single fruit tree surrounded by other edibles in a yard, or an edible hedge to screen the view of a neighbor. Or it could be a more ambitious garden on a larger plot. These variations in scale will attract a diverse audience. Viewers will observe characteristics of many food-producing plants, see demonstrations of seasonal chores to maintain their garden, and witness techniques for harvesting and preparing the bounty of food produced.
There is no show like this currently airing on public television and it is well aligned with worldwide efforts to increase sustainability and protect natural spaces. Once completed the series will be broadcast on WPBS and other PBS stations and digital content will be made available on public media platforms.
About WPBS
WPBS is a PBS station serving approximately 650,000 households throughout Northern New York and Eastern Ontario via cable, satellite, Internet (livestream) and over-the-air distribution. WPBS is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate, inform, and engage its two-nation region with exceptional and trusted content across multiple platforms. Its vision is to be the premier provider of extraordinary public media that instills wonder and curiosity across generations and borders. More information about WPBS, including a full channel listing, is available at wpbstv.org, or by following WPBS on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
WPBS-TV has long been known for presenting locally produced lifestyle and travel/outdoor series, many of which have received national distribution, including such titles as Classical Stretch, Rod & Reel, Fishing Behind the Lines, The Artist’s Way and From a Country Garden. Local series presented by WPBS currently in nationwide distribution include Epic Trails, Painting with Wilson Bickford, World’s Greatest Cruises and Facing Waves.
