‘The Greens’ debut

“The Greens of the San Joaquin,” fast-paced and entertaining five-part educational television series about air quality in the San Joaquin Valley debuted this summer on stations in Fresno, Bakersfield and Sacramento.

The series features two mythical San Joaquin Valley families: the Greens, who do their best not to pollute the air, and their neighbors the Grays, who don’t see air quality as their concern.   

The series was produced by The Maddy Institute at California State University, Fresno, with major funding from Valley Clean Air Now (Valley CAN) and additional support from Operation Clean Air and the John Garabedian Foundation. Valley CAN (www.valley-can.org) is a nonprofit clean air advocacy group committed to improving air quality in communities throughout the San Joaquin Valley.

Production services for the television series were provided by Fresno State’s Digital Production Group.

In conjunction with the television series, The Maddy Institute hosts a companion Web site (www.valleycleanair.com) and has planned Community Forums on Air Quality in four Valley cities. The institute also will provide lesson plans and materials with video clips from the series to high school science teachers throughout Central California to raise awareness of air quality issues with students.

The Community Forums will be held at the four California State Universities in Central California. The forums, which are open to the public, are scheduled for Sept. 22 at Fresno State, Sept. 28 at Sacramento State, Oct. 6 at Stanislaus State and Oct. 13 at Cal State Bakersfield.

The forums will feature an air quality exhibition followed by a panel discussion of top experts from California and around the nation. The forums are intended to increase awareness of issues relating to air quality, such as the health, environmental, energy, economic, and transportation impacts of poor air quality. The aim is to provide new insights and ideas to encourage voluntary action to improve air quality.

Persons not able to attend a live forum can join an online forum at www.valleycleanair.com/forum.

The Maddy Institute was established in 1999 with a mission to elevate citizen participation and government performance at all levels through leadership education for public service. The institute, a nonprofit organization, was funded by a $1 million endowment from the state and named to honor Maddy, a Fresno State graduate and respected public servant who represented the Valley in the state Legislature for nearly three decades. He died in February 2000.

For more information visit the Maddy Institute online at www.csufresno.edu/maddy or call 8-5412.