A photo of a person sitting at a desk in a dark room.
A key still of the short film "Waldo County Woodshed." Photo courtesy of Julia Dunlavey

Short film on local wood bank highlighting UMaine selected for film festival

July 12, 2024 Alumni, Outreach, School of Forest Resources, Student Life

A short film about the Waldo County Woodshed will be featured in the 27th annual Maine International Film Festival. The 7-minute documentary will debut Friday, July 19 at 4 p.m. with a second showing on Saturday, July 20 at 7 p.m., both at Waterville Opera House. Tickets are available online.

The film follows the work of the Waldo County Woodshed in Searsmont to provide the community with free firewood and its impact on the life and family of Jessica Allsop, who both volunteers and receives wood to heat her home during the winter. President and founder of the wood bank and University of Maine alumnus Bob MacGregor said the idea sparked from an op-ed he read in the Bangor Daily News by researchers at UMaine titled “How wood banks could help Mainers avoid an eat-or-heat dilemma.” 

Jessica Leahy, a professor of human dimensions with the UMaine School of Forest Resources, is featured in the film. She co-authored a publication with Sabrina Vivian, a 2015 graduate of UMaine’s Ecology and Environmental Sciences Program titled “A Community Guide to Starting and Running a Wood Bank,” which explains firewood banks and how they can help people stay warm. Leahy said the guide has been downloaded throughout northern states and in places around the world that are cold and forested. 

A photo of a person filming an interview with another person.
Photo courtesy of Julia DunlaveyA behind the scenes look of a filmed interview between Julia Dunlavey and Jessica Allsop for the short film “Waldo County Woodshed.”

“We are excited to have this film recognized,” Leahy said. “It shows the best of Maine — Mainers helping Mainers.” She added that UMaine faculty and students have been involved in the wood bank movement since 2013, and as a result, the number of them in New England has tripled from 10 to 30 over the past decade.

As part of the National Wood Bank Project, the UMaine team of faculty and students lead research and outreach efforts to support current banks and encourage the establishment of new ones around the country. Members of the university’s Woodsmen Team also volunteer to split wood at the Waldo County Woodshed, and University Forests makes an annual donation of firewood with the help of forestry students during Maine Day.

Julia Dunlavey produced and directed the short film with executive producer Kate Raisz, director of photography Katie Schuler and editor Rohan Edwards for the national PBS documentary series “America’s Forests with Chuck Leavell.” A production of Choose Outdoors and 42 Degrees North Media, the series is set to air a new episode about Maine in August.