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Kelly Meinhart
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"Water is the driver of Nature."
— Leonardo da Vinci
"Water links us to our neighbor in a way more profound
and complex than any other."
— John Thorson
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained
in water"
— Loran Eisley (Anthropologist), The Immense Journey,
1957
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Kelly Meinhart
By Allison M. Pirie
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March of 2000, Tim Schlitzer, Executive Director of the Environmental
Fund for Pennsylvania/GreenWorks approached Kelly Meinhart,
then of the Audubon Society of Pennsylvania about a bold new
plan. The plan was to create a weekly webcast of watershed issues
throughout the state of Pennsylvania that would air on the GreenWorks.tv
website. After hearing about the idea, she gladly accepted the
challenge, and the rest, as they say, is history.
ince it first aired on September 12, 2000, Watersheds.tv (formerly
Watershed Weekly) has broadcasted the stories of hundreds of
groups and individuals who are working to protect the watersheds
of Pennsylvania, as well as the entire country. As Producer
of this program, Kelly has played a major role in every story
she has helped to tell, whether it be by filming, interviewing,
photographing, or even joining in on the action.
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"Kelly's talents
let her audience see and hear stories about the people
who do the real work to restore and protect our environment.
These powerful stories serve as a true inspiration for
others and developed a unique medium that is now being
used widely by others."
—David Hess, Former PA DEP Secretary |
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  ach
week, Kelly brings her audience a new story about people who
are working to protect their watersheds. Through her efforts,
Watersheds.tv has grown from a simple video once a week, to
a variety of different media presentations and new sections
that allow her to highlight even more people and organizations
doing work to protect watersheds. She also took the opportunity
to take on stories outside of Pennsylvania, since watersheds
know no state boundaries.
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"Kelly has
been the bright public face of watershed work in the state
of Pennsylvania. She has been not only a spokesperson
for the good projects but has dignified persons, environmental
organizations, and the work they have accomplished. The
dignity that comes to communities and regions, through
her efforts can not be measured. The 149 grantees of the
Western PA Watershed Program thank her."
— John Dawes, Administrator, Western PA Watershed
Program
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he Watersheds.tv program has been one of the most successful
efforts undertaken by GreenTreks. Since the site debuted in
2000, over 284,000 people have visited the site to tune into
see what group environmental effort Kelly will be connecting
with that week.
nd we're not the only ones who have taken notice of what Kelly
has accomplished. She has not only been awarded the Governor's
Award for Watershed Stewardship, but she was recently awarded
the Media Award from the Crawford (PA) Conservation District
and was selected to be one of ten grantees for the "New
Waves Marine Sciences" media fellowship program.
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"As soon
as I met Kelly, I knew I liked her — she's just
one of those people that you know has a good soul. She
will always be my friend. In terms of her work, Kelly
has done the most important job for our watersheds —
bring media attention to them. No matter what type of
work we do in this field-restoration, education, or preservation
— the only way to effectively continue to do it
is to get the public and those in decision-making roles
to recognize our accomplishments. Kelly has a way of using
her immense talent to take a subject and create a compelling
(and entertaining!) story about it. She has truly made
a difference in Pennsylvania. Her ability to tell the
stories of others has affected public perception and policy,
and has brought to light the value of our precious water
resources. Thanks Kelly!"
— Susan Parry, Coordinator, Capital RC&D
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  hen
she started working at GreenTreks (formerly EFP/GreenWorks),
she had experience working in the production field, but had
taken some time away from it. Not long after she began working
on the program she said, "I feel like I have a whole new family of friends and a job that I love going to every day
— no matter where it's taking me! I've renewed my love
of the production world." Not being one to just stand
around watching others do things, Kelly jumped feet first, literally,
into the world of watersheds. She has taken everything she learned
to heart, and is always teaching others about various aspects
of water and watersheds. During one car ride while passing a
meadow with cows feeding too close to a stream, she couldn’t
help but launch into a dissertation about how farming and cows
affect water quality.
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"Kelly
took watershed protection and restoration to an unprecedented
level with Watershed Weekly. Not only was her videography
and narration excellent, but her ability to get the story
behind the story was particularly remarkable. Although
the show may have been about a stream bank restoration
project, you got the more important story, which was the
grassroots volunteers behind the work. Kelly has the unique
ability to bring a story to life, and making people feel
good about the work that they and others are doing."
— Nick Pinizzotto, Senior Director, Watershed
Programs, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
Watershed Assistance Center |
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  ne
thing that makes Kelly so adept at her job is her enthusiasm
for what she does and the ability to get others to share in
her enthusiasm. When she’s out in the field or even in
the office, she always encourages those around her to find a
story, to go out there and meet people working to protect their
watersheds. She can’t even go on vacation without coming
back with pictures and a water related story to feature.
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"It's been
a real great experience working with someone as dedicated
as Kelly. She has so much knowledge and understanding
for the issues concerning Pennsylvania's watersheds. Seeing
her in action has been a real privilege! "
— Alex Djordjevic, GreenTreks Cameraman/Editor
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adly,
Watersheds.tv will be coming to an end on June 30th. Throughout
the years, Kelly has featured over 200 stories of watersheds
and watershed protection. Every month, Kelly spotlights a different
person whom she considers a “Watershed Hero.” This
time, we’re taking the opportunity to spotlight our very
own “Watershed Hero,” and all of her hard work that
went into making Watersheds.tv such a success. Kelly has touched
so many lives with her passion and determination to educate
the public about our vital water resources. We want to recognize
and thank Kelly for the part she plays in protecting our world.
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"We could
not ask for a person more dedicated to the topic of watershed
protection then Kelly. She cares very deeply for the people
she meets in her travels. I know that if she could, she
would have a foot in every watershed at the same time
working side by side with all the volunteers that are
working to protect our water quality."
— Tim Schlitzer, CEO/President, Executive Producer,
GreenTreks
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See past Watershed Heroes here!
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