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George Ellison | |||
George Ellison has lived near Bryson City in the mountains of western North Carolina adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee Indian Reservation since 1973.
Edited by Frances Figart and published by Great Smoky Mountains Association, the book is a meticulously researched and nuanced perspective of Kephart's life, and includes many images provided by the Kephart family. Sales from the book benefit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In 2016, to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Great Smoky Mountains Association included George as one of the "100 Most Significant People in the History of Great Smoky Mountains National Park." George and his wife Elizabeth were recipients of the 2016 Blue Ridge Naturalist of the Year award given by the Blue Ridge Naturalist Network, which is an outgrowth of the Blue Ridge Naturalist Program through the North Carolina Arboretum. The Smoky Mountains Association, as part of the park's 100th Anniversary Celebration this summer, included George on the list of the '100 Most Significant People in the History of Great Smoky Mountains National Park' George is the 2012 winner of Wild South's Roosevelt-Ashe Conservation Award for Outstanding Journalist in Conservation, one of six such awards recognizing different roles in conservation. "These awards recognize present day conservation heroes for their contributions to protect wild places and wild things across our region" said Tracy Davids, Wild South's Executive Director. "Like Teddy Roosevelt and W.W. Ashe for whom our and awards are named, their work exemplifies passion, dedication, and leadership." Awards Video
He writes the Nature Journal column for the Asheville Citizen-Times (since 1988) and the Botanical Excursions column for Chinquapin: The Newsletter of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society (since 1991) both illustrated by Elizabeth, as well as the Back Then column for Smoky Mountain News (since 2000), a news magazine published in Waynesville NC and distributed in the seven westernmost counties in NC. He has participated in research, production, and (in the first two instances) the film versions for three documentaries of either regional and national significance: as writer and co-host, with Lance Holland, for Nantahala: Land of the Noonday Sun (Robbinsville NC: Appalachian History Video Series, 1999): as the “talking head” for Horace Kephart in Paul Bonesteel’s PBS documentary, The Mystery of George Masa (Asheville NC: Bonesteel Films, 2003); and as credited research consultant for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park segment of the Ken Burns PBS documentary National Parks: America’s Best Idea (Walpol NH: Florentine Films, 2009). Each year, he conducts natural and human history workshops for the North Carolina Arboretum, “The Native Plant Conference” at Western Carolina University, The University of Tennessee’s “Smoky Mountain Field School,” The Great Smoky Mountains Association, The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching at Cullowhee NC, The Highlands (NC) Biological Station, and The Intentional Growth Center at Lake Junaluska NC. |
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© George Ellison, All rights reserved. | Website by Deep Creek Arts | |||
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