<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse:collapse;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"> Hello Pollinator Partners, <div><br></div><div>I have exciting news to share with the Pollinator Partnership, North American Pollinator Protection Campaign partners,</div>
<div>Xerces Society and everyone dedicated to pollinator and native plant conservation in the United States, Canada and</div><div>Mexico. At long last, Disneynature's feature film "Wings of Life" is being released on Blu-Ray Combo Pack, digital and</div>
<div>on-demand versions April 16, 2013, in time for Earth Day. Directed by Louis Schwartzberg (of BlackLight Films, known </div><div>for "America's Heart and Soul" and "Gratitude") and narrated by Academy Award winner Meryl Streep, "Wings of Life" is </div>
<div>a tour-de-force of pollinators (honey bees, bumble bees, orchid bees, hummingbirds, monarch and other butterflies, </div><div>nectar bats, beetles, flies and wasps) interacting with their flowering plants around the world. You've never seen pollinators</div>
<div>and flowers like these. The DVD set also contains a few surprises by way of the BTS, behind-the-scenes and making of </div><div>footage filmed on location by Joseph Parker and others. </div><div><br></div><div>Often with a Hollywood style crew of 20, line producer, focus puller, dolly and jib operators, riggers and wranglers, multiple </div>
<div>cameras were employed for time-lapse and high-speed cinematography (often 3,000 frames per second) and specialized</div><div>pinhole lenses used to get intimate shots of pollinators interacting with flowers. Filmed for the first time was a male orchid</div>
<div>bee (Euglossa) falling into the liquid inside a Panamanian bucket orchid (Coryanthes) then held fast for two hours while the </div><div>orchid glued its two plump yellow pollinia into place. The long wait was edited out! We also see in glorious slow-motion pollen </div>
<div>grains swirling in the air and blasting out of anther pores in a tomato flower as bumble bee turns itself into a living tuning fork,</div><div>buzz-pollinating the blossom. A flurry of orange monarch butterfly "snowflakes" swirl around the cameras at the El Rosario</div>
<div>reserve in Michoacan, Mexico, and a female Violet-crowned wood nymph hummingbird executes four perfect barrel rolls chasing</div><div>a Trigona bee through frame and then looks into the camera. Augmenting the real pollinators are a few CGI animated pollinators</div>
<div>that invite us to follow along with them. These 3D marvels were created by the same animators who did all the Harry Potter movie</div><div>animations, and you won't be able to tell them from filmed pollinators.This is just a sample of the visual spectacles and amazing</div>
<div>stories that await viewers of "Wings of Life." </div><div><br></div><div>A bit of history. Disneynature was formed in 2008 as an offshoot of Walt Disney Studios, to continue the tradition of the ground-</div>
<div>breaking 13 True-Life Adventure motion pictures between 1948 and 1960 which earned 8 Academy Awards. Maybe you've seen the </div><div>recent "Earth,", "Oceans," "African Cats" and "Chimpanzee" nature films from this studio. Unfortunately, originally slated for cinematic</div>
<div>release, "Wings of Life" won't appear on the big screen, but will explode in high definition on any smaller screens of your choice.</div><div>I was introduced to director and producer Louis Schwartzberg by Pollinator Partnership and NAPPC co-founder Paul Growald. </div>
<div>We hit it off, and Louie began to assemble his WOL team. Tucson Emmy award-winning cinematographer, Keith Brust, became our</div><div>DP, Director of Photography. Tucsonan Joe "Boots" Parker assisted with other filming, especially the BTS sequences. Louie Schwartzberg</div>
<div>filmed with both the Red and Phantom high speed cameras, while directing crew and a cast of thousands (our pollinators). Planning for </div><div>the film began in 2008, but most filming in the field (about 12 locations around the world) and Tucson and LA studios took place in </div>
<div>2009 and 2010. By late 2010, it was a wrap and editing had begun. Original musical score was composed and actress Merry Streep</div><div>was hired to narrate the film. Then the long wait began. It was a joyous time for everyone involved in the creation of "Wings of Life"</div>
<div>when Disneynature made their announcement of a street release date. </div><div><br></div><div>As Lead Scientist and Head of Research for the project I brought in scientific colleagues who are also good friends and expert</div>
<div>pollinator wranglers. These included many NAPPC partners. Dr. Chip Taylor, Monarch Watch founder headed up our butterfly team, </div><div>while Smithsonian scientist Dr. Dave Roubik expertly cajoled orchid bees and stingless bees in Panamanian rainforests, </div>
<div>Dr. Ted Fleming mist-netted nectar bats and supervised filming in the field at giant columnar cacti and inside a giant flight cage </div><div>near Kino Bay, Mexico. I went on almost all of the shoots and wrangled bees, butterflies, beetles, flies, hummingbirds and nectar bats alongside </div>
<div>Keith and Louie and Louis, while they filmed using their Red and Phantom cine cameras. To all these scientist friends, I express</div><div>my heartfelt thanks for helping to make "Wings of Life" scientifically accurate, visually stunning, and great fun at the same time. </div>
<div><br></div><div>Please help spread the word to families, friends, to pollinator and plant advocates everywhere. I know you'll love this film as much</div><div>as I do. You can preorder it now from Amazon.com for $35.99 (list price is $39.99). It will officially be available on April 16th. </div>
<div>If you would like to find out more, watch the slideshow, or pre-order the movie, please go to: </div><div>http:/<a href="http://www.disney.com/wingsoflife" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)">www.disney.com/wingsoflife</a></div>
<div><br></div><div>To celebrate the debut of "Wings of Life," Disneynature has made a contribution to the Disney Worldwide Conservation</div><div>fund (DWCF) to protect pollinators worldwide. The DWCF has already supported about 20 projects across North America</div>
<div>focused on protecting pollinators and their habitats. We salute their efforts and thank them for their generosity. There are also</div><div>simple but strong messages in the WOL slide show on the Disneynature website, advocating for pollinator and plant protection,</div>
<div>to buy local produce, avoid pesticides whenever possible or use them wisely when needed, and to support our organic farmers and beekeepers. </div><div>These are messages that P2 and NAPPC have long advocated. </div>
<div><br></div><div>To everyone at P2 and NAPPC, Louie Schwarztberg, other friends and colleagues, and the entire WOL crew, </div><div>I thank you, the long wait is almost over.</div><div><br></div><div>Adding my Sincerest Gratitude,</div>
<div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Steve</div><div><br></div><div>Stephen Buchmann, Ph.D.</div><div>Pollinator Partnership Scientist at Large</div><div>and</div><div>Adjunct Professor </div><div>Departments of Entomology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology</div>
<div>The University of Arizona</div><div>Tucson, AZ</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><img src="cid:ii_13d5fb22d546494f" alt="Inline image 1"></div></span>