FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2001

NEWS RELEASE
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921
Phone: 608/267-7404 TDD: 608/267-6897

Milwaukee, Wis. -- Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Secretary Darrell Bazzell praised John Marshall High School Tuesday for their efforts to improve southeastern Wisconsin air quality through a student initiative called "Easy Breathers."

The project involves video production and performing arts students developing a video and web site to teach high school students about transportation choices and how they relate to air quality. The program is a partnership between the DNR and Milwaukee's John Marshall High School (JMHS) that began in spring 2000.

"Wisconsin youth are the environmental leaders of tomorrow," DNR Secretary Darrel Bazzell said. "With student leadership comes tremendous success. We are in good hands."

The video, scheduled to be completed late this fall, is being produced with the educational philosophy " let kids lead" in mind. "Young students are strong leaders driven by their ideas, creativity, and also their desire to produce and be proud of a product," Al Stenstrup, DNR Education Specialist, said.

In addition to students from Marshall, one student each from North Division High School, and Rufus King High School, have been selected as the talent and crew of the video. They will be traveling with teachers and DNR staff to locations across the nation. Their skills will be needed for taping in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Houston, Texas; and San Jose, California.

"We are smashing down class room walls. There are no boundaries to this project," said John Holmes, teacher and co-director of JMHS Eagle Wing Productions as well as co-coordinator of the student project. " For some of the students, this will be their first time leaving Wisconsin, and flying on a plane," he said. MPS has secured a $10,000 grant from Midwest Express airlines to make this travel possible.

The students will be filming, acting, editing, publicizing, and creating the web site for the video. The multimedia firm, Media Makers, was hired by the DNR to serve as mentors to the students as they gain valuable hands-on experience. Working on the project has also become part of the curriculum for Holmes' and fellow teacher and co-director, Heather Sattler's classes.

The final product will be an attention-grabbing video and web site, designed for viewing in the classroom. Teens will talk to teens about air quality and transportation issues like ground-level ozone. They will suggest actions individuals can take to reduce these problems. Hopes are the product will reach teens nationally and perhaps globally.

Grants from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Transportation fund the project. Upon completion, the video and supplementary materials will be correlated to Wisconsin's Model Academic Standards.

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