About Us
An open letter by The Teddy Project's Founder, Jonathan Schafler
Teddy Marches On.
I’ve often thought as I watched my six year old glued to his Saturday morning cartoons that something was missing… Surely, if Clifford the big red dog could teach our children values and Arthur the aardvark could educate our kids about social issues, who was teaching our children about the values of wildlife and wild places?
The idea of an animated Teddy Roosevelt had been kicking around in my head since I joined the Agency. It seemed so right that this instantly recognizable figure in American history, and the creator of our first National Wildlife Refuge, could be our cartoon champion for future generations. With the Centennial only a year away, the time was right for the Rough Rider to come to life. Coming up with the idea was easy…making Teddy a reality was a bit tougher.
A quick search of the Internet (I say quickly, but back in 2002, pre-Google, a search was really a search), located the Art Institutes International, Minnesota located in Minneapolis offering degrees in animation. Not only was the school interested in developing a cartoon Teddy Roosevelt, they offered to make the project the central class theme for the semester...and The Teddy Project was born.
With my vast knowledge of animation (watching The Flintstones, Jetsons and Johnny Quest), the process began. My vocabulary changed. Scripts, storyboards, turn-sheets, animatic drafts, and 3D rigging were discussed along with color, contrast, fade and pace. It was obvious that cartoon making was far more than watching the television.
The students at the Art Institute took to the project with a great zeal. Here was an opportunity to teach urban youth about wildlife and wild places using the technology they know and enjoy…computer generated animation AND produce a finished product that would reach younger children with the medium they like best…cartoons.
Minnesota’s completed project took over 5000 hours and three college quarters to research and create. The students used live footage from the National Conservation Training Center’s archives to show cartoon Teddy as he jumped from Wildlife Refuge to Wildlife Refuge extolling the virtues of conservation and the Centennial of the National Wildlife Refuge System. “From Alaska…to Maine…and all across this country…we’re celebrating a century of conservation…at America’s National Wildlife Refuges...come…join us!” The completed cartoon was shown at the Pelican Island Celebration and was featured on the Service’s web site and educational channel at NCTC.
With the success of Teddy I, the school agreed to produce an all animated cartoon that could be used beyond the Centennial and across the country. Cartoon Teddy would partner with Puddles the Blue Goose and together they would travel the country visiting refuges, hatcheries and other Service projects teaching a conservation ethic to young and old.
Another 3000 hours and six months later, Teddy II made his debut at the National Friends Conference in Washington D.C. to rave reviews. He had successfully highlighted the National Wildlife Refuge System and educated 50 college students in the process! Bully!
In a brainstorming session with the class later that month, one student started a discussion about what to do next. How about a hot air balloon that carries Teddy and Puddles all over the country? Another student broke in, yeah they could travel by balloon stopping at wildlife refuges, fish hatcheries and other Service projects! Still another comment, how about they meet a different character at each stop and talk about local conservation issues, your mission and how to get involved? That way you could share The Teddy Project with tens of thousands of people all over the country! We could do a website, happy meals, beanie babies, bus posters…heck we could do a Saturday morning cartoon series and make Teddy and Puddles a household name! Great ideas, you guys… but who is this “we” we’re all talking about? Little did I know!
It turns out that the Art Institute International Minnesota is one of thirty-three Art Institute campuses located in major cities across the United States. In 2005, The Teddy Project wrote and received a $25,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund a national effort. With help from The Art Institute’s parent company, the Education Management Corporation (EDMC, a fortune 500 company run by a former Governor of Maine) the top management of the Art Institutes came together and decided to partner with The Teddy Project and encourage their schools to participate wherever possible. Each Service partnership and Art Institute would receive $1000 for supplies, materials and to facilitate production. Eighteen National Wildlife Refuges and the National Fisheries Program signed on and were partnered with Art Institutes, many within an hour’s drive of their location.
The result was incredible! Over 40,000 hours of student time was donated to the Service creating 17 new films. Teddy and Puddles met Sarah the Heron at Nisqually, Eddy the Eagle at Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Denny the Delmarva Fox Squirrel at Prime Hook, and other characters all over the National Wildlife Refuge System. Teddy I was picked up by the National Conservation Training Centers production of “America’s Wildest Places” DVD to introduce this publicly sold introduction to six National Wildlife Refuges.
Teddy was on a roll! In November The Teddy Project hosted one student from each Art Institute campus and four instructors to present their cartoons at the American Conservation Film Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The group traveled from across the United States to represent their school and present at the festival. They toured Washington D.C., met with Refuge Chief Geoff Haskett and presented selected films to the senior leadership at The National Geographic Society headquarters! What a wonderful finish to a great year of animation for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Teddy Project has expanded in 2007 to every Service region with 19 projects in 13 states and encompassing the Fisheries Program, the National Wildlife Refuge System, the Ecological Services Division of the Service and a new website that will allow students and web visitors to interface with the various projects across the country.
Knowing that no public land can survive without a constituency that supports it, The Teddy Project’s long term goal of instilling an environmental ethic in our children through education has ambitious plans. Long term goals of the project include a “happy meal” type promotion at a nationally known restaurant chain complete with a plush Teddy and Puddles, educational bag and tray liner and eventually a syndicated cartoon series that has our hero’s appearing daily on televisions in your home.
Partnerships exist with Service projects and Art Institute campuses in Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston, Tampa, Dallas, Miami, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego, Denver, Minneapolis, York, PA, Washington D.C. and Chicago.
