'TREES ARE NOT A SIDE DISH. They are not a window dressing. They are not landscaping grace notes. They are fundamental and essential.' Such statements live at the core of the four-part documentary video series by Emmy Award-winning duo, Micah Davis and Steve Betchkal, discussing the importance of green infrastructure.

Want a quick and easy way to learn about trees in our area, and how they impact every single living thing, and vice versa? Then watch "The City for the Trees," a video series consisting of four, five-minute long videos: Champion Trees of Eau Claire; The City for the Trees; The Green New Deal; and Trees Please. Dr. Seuss's Lorax would love them, and so will you.

The four-part documentary examines the importance of green infrastructure in sustainable community planning, especially timely as the City of Eau Claire finalizes its Century Code, a significant document establishing updated zoning ordinances.

The series features interviews with world-renowned ecologists Dr. Craig D. Allen (U.S. Geological Survey) and Dr. Doug Tallamy, author of Nature's Best Hope (selected as the 2023 One Community, One Book for Eau Claire's L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library); City of Eau Claire arborist and Forestry Supervisor, Matt Staudenmaier and City Manager Stephanie Hirsch; as well as local residents Eleanor Wolf and Jane Mohler, involved with the Chippewa Valley Biodiversity Partnership.

Biodiversity is defined as "the variety of all living things and their interactions in the web of life." Trees win big for quality of life. Urban forests can cool a city's heat islands. And did you know that a large tree provides enough oxygen for what 10 human beings require for one year? Investment in urban forests can help counteract the climate crisis.

The video series – which premiered in full to a live audience of nearly 70 individuals on Monday, June 9, at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library – is a production of Soul Shine Creative Studio sponsored by the Chippewa Valley Biodiversity Partnership and produced by the Emmy Award-winning team of Micah Davis and Steve Betchkal.

The first video, Champion Trees of Eau Claire, won an Emmy statuette in 2022. The three most recent videos part of the documentary series were made possible by a grant from the Pablo Foundation.

To view the full The City for the Trees video series, visit YouTube (www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2gEG0EVKud5ujETvfOfgtJIbyc-1kBXd) • Champion Trees of Eau Claire, The City for the Trees, The New Green Deal, and Tree Please can also be watched at their respective YouTube links • Learn more about the Chippewa Valley Biodiversity Partnership online