In the fall of 2009 PBS will air The National Parks, a major documentary film series produced and directed by Ken Burns and written and produced by Dayton Duncan.  

But now they are asking for your help.  Their film series is not a travelogue or a “nature” film; it will tell the very powerful, human story of how the parks came into being and what they have meant to Americans for more than a hundred years.  It will be filled with major historical figures — from John Muir to Theodore Roosevelt to Ansel Adams — but it will also tell the stories of many lesser-known Americans, from cowboys to immigrant artists, wealthy philanthropists to dirt-poor farmers who turned their passion for a part of the American landscape into crusades for their permanent protection.  And as it tells the story of this very uniquely American, very democratic idea of setting aside special places for the benefit and enjoyment of everyone, it will reveal a larger story of people passing on a love for these special places from one generation to another.  

To help them tell this story, they would like to collect home movies of visits to National Parks by families and individuals for possible use in the film. They are looking for home movies from the time period of the 1920s through the 1980s and are most interested in footage of families and tourists in the parks. If your home movies are used in The National Parks, you will receive a DVD of the series. If you happen to have footage of the Yosemite firefall and it is included in the series, you will receive the DVD, plus your choice of one other Ken Burns film.

If you have home movies you would like to submit, please follow the criteria listed below:

• Home movies from the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s.
• They are most interested in families and tourists in the national parks, not scenery without people.
• Do not send original footage: VHS or DVD copies only, please.
  THE MATERIAL WILL NOT BE RETURNED.
• Clearly mark the tape or disc with your name, address, phone number and e-mail (if available), so they can contact you if your footage is selected.
• Include a brief description, e.g., the Smith family, George and Martha, Bill and Sally, in Grand Canyon, 1955.
• Send to the address below by August 1, 2007:
  Anne Harrington
  WETA
  2775 S. Quincy Street
  Arlington, VA 22206
  eod@weta.com