America’s Forests: Nepal Episode Campaign

The campaign for $600,000 will expand the PBS hit America’s Forests internationally with a documentary episode spotlighting Nepal’s community forest management—an internationally recognized turnaround from ecological collapse in the 1990s. At a moment when global forests face accelerating pressure from climate change, development, and land-use change, the project will elevate a credible, community-led model that shows restoration is achievable and replicable.

This effort is timed to meet PBS production and scheduling windows beginning in 2026, when public attention can help shift behavior and inform policy conversations. Developed in collaboration with Nepali leaders and U.S. conservation experts and anchored by America’s Forests with Chuck Leavell, the episode will be produced to public-media standards, with funding supporting production, research, talent, and promotion.

Partners will receive quarterly updates, virtual screenings, and annual summaries tracking reach, use, and downstream influence. The Aldo Leopold Foundation is seeking catalytic support toward a $600,000 campaign, including a $100,000 leadership gift to help ensure completion and promotion—and to bring a shared global land ethic to a national audience.

Global forests are at a tipping point under climate change, development pressures, and land-use change—making the need for urgent, credible conservation models more immediate. Nepal’s widely recognized turnaround from ecological collapse in the 1990s offers a timely proof point that community-led stewardship can restore forests and wildlife while empowering people.

This campaign matters now because funding positions the project to meet PBS broadcast deadlines and align storytelling with 2026 broadcast windows and beyond—when public attention can help shift behavior and policy. Waiting risks missing the scheduling and momentum needed to maximize reach and influence starting in 2026.

If fully funded, the campaign will enable an international expansion of the PBS hit America’s Forests through a compelling documentary episode spotlighting Nepal’s community forest management. The series will connect Nepal’s success to universal conservation values, reframing conservation as a shared global ethic—and as achievable and replicable rather than theoretical.

The project is designed to unlock increased public awareness of conservation successes, motivate behavior change among viewers, support policy shifts by equipping advocates with compelling narratives, and deepen cross-cultural collaboration by building bridges between stewardship traditions and universal environmental ethics.

This campaign will deliver a nationally distributed PBS documentary episode that elevates Nepal’s conservation success as a credible, community-led model for global forest stewardship—developed in collaboration with Nepali leaders and U.S. conservation experts, and anchored by America’s Forests with Chuck Leavell. Funding supports production, research, talent, and promotion, with completion tied to defined production milestones and public-media standards.

Progress and outcomes will be tracked and reported through structured engagement and accountability: quarterly updates, virtual screenings, and annual summaries that track reach, use, and downstream influence. The project timeline includes script and partnership finalization (Q2–Q3 2026), filming and production (Q4 2026–Q2 2027), post-production and PBS scheduling (Q3–Q4 2027), and 2028 broadcast and impact evaluation.

Partnership is structured around catalytic support for a $600,000 campaign to expand America’s Forests internationally through PBS. The Foundation is seeking a leadership gift of $100,000 to help ensure the completion and promotion of a high-impact documentary episode that can inspire global conservation action.

Major donors can expect an active stewardship relationship, including quarterly updates, virtual screenings, and annual summaries tracking reach, use, and downstream influence. The campaign also invites partners to connect with Mahalo to learn more about partnership opportunities and to help amplify the project’s message through their networks.