BACKYARD HABITAT Makes the Planet a Better Place for Animals and Some Exceptional Children

BACKYARD HABITAT Makes the Planet a Better Place for Animals and Some Exceptional Children

- BACKYARD HABITAT Makes Its First Foray Into Primetime With Two, One-hour Specials -

SILVER SPRING, Md., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- BACKYARD HABITAT is traveling to central Florida and Nashville, Tennessee to share the wonder of nature with some truly special children at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. With the help of Disney's Animal Kingdom(R), singer Wynonna Judd and volunteers from the local Orlando chapter of the national Boys & Girls Club, healing gardens for hospital patients and their families are installed. A special habitat within Disney's Animal Kingdom's Rafiki's Planet Watch is also created. Hosted by David Mizejewski of the National Wildlife Federation(R) (NWF) and wildlife craft specialist Molly Pesce, the first one-hour special -- BACKYARD HABITAT: Magical Transformations -- premieres Monday, November 27, at 8 PM (ET/PT). The second, BACKYARD HABITAT: With Special Guest Wynonna Judd -- premieres Monday, December 11, at 8 PM (ET/PT).

"We're proud to be involved in a project that gives back to animals and the environment while bringing smiles to children's faces," says Maureen Smith, executive vice president and general manager, Animal Planet, US. "With the help of Disney's Animal Kingdom and Wynonna Judd, these habitats are now a reality for two deserving facilities and their patients, and we are grateful for their participation and support."

BACKYARD HABITAT: Magical Transformations reveals the beauty of nature and the magic of Disney. For this special, the show enlists the help of some dedicated kids from a local Boys & Girls Club who create a large habitat at Disney's Animal Kingdom and then work side by side with patients at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children to install a smaller scale "sister habitat."

"It's been an incredible experience to work with Animal Planet, the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and the amazing children from the Boys & Girls Club to create two habitats that are havens for animals and provide a healing benefit to the children," says Beth Stevens, vice president, Disney's Animal Kingdom and Animal Programs. "Disney is very proud to be part of this extraordinary project."

In the second special, Wynonna Judd visits the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. David, Molly, Wynonna and the children work to transform a rooftop area into a certified haven for local birds, butterflies and other wildlife, creating a soothing healing garden in the hospital. Their goal is to leave a living legacy of plants and wildlife that will comfort future patients in the years to come. Wynonna also sings a special song of hope to the children, and the special unveils a big surprise for the hospital -- their project will be certified by the National Wildlife Federation as the organization's 70,000th WILDLIFE HABITAT. There are 1,361 certified habitats in the state of Tennessee and 117 in Nashville. To be certified, a property must provide food, water, shelter and a place for wildlife to raise its young.

"Being involved with Backyard Habitat and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in this project has been an uplifting and meaningful experience for me," says Wynonna Judd. "I have truly been blessed by these special children and their families as well as the dedicated and caring staff of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital. My hope is that everyone finds comfort, peace and joy within the beautiful habitat we helped to create."

Created in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, BACKYARD HABITAT builds on the organization's current Backyard Wildlife Habitat(TM) certification program, which for over 30 years has inspired people to make a home for wildlife right outside their doors. Each episode transforms an outdoor space into a certified haven for local flowers, plants, reptiles, birds and other wildlife. Viewers can tune into BACKYARD HABITAT weekdays at 9 AM (ET/PT) and learn how to transform their own yards into certified habitats. They can also visit animalplanet.com for more information and to connect to helpful links.

BACKYARD HABITAT: Magical Transformations and BACKYARD HABITAT: With Special Guest Wynonna Judd is produced for Animal Planet by Rivr Media. Grace Novinger is the supervising producer for Rivr Media. Alexandra Bennett is the executive producer for Animal Planet.

Animal Planet, available in more than 89 million homes nationwide, is the only television network dedicated exclusively to the connection between humans and animals. The network brings people of all ages together by tapping into a fundamental fascination with animals through an array of fresh programming that includes humor, competition, drama and spectacle from the animal kingdom. Animal Planet is a property of Discovery Communications, the leading global real-world media and entertainment company. Discovery has grown from its core property, the Discovery Channel, first launched in the United States in 1985, to current global operations in 170 countries and territories with 1.4 billion cumulative subscribers. DCI's over 100 networks of distinctive programming represent 29 network entertainment brands. DCI's other properties consist of Discovery Education and COSMEO, a revolutionary online homework help service, as well as Discovery Commerce, which operates more than 100 Discovery Channel Stores in the U.S. DCI also distributes BBC America in the United States. DCI's ownership consists of four shareholders: Discovery Holding Company (NASDAQ:DISCA)(NASDAQ:DISCB), Cox Communications, Inc., Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, the Company's Founder and Chairman.

The mission of the National Wildlife Federation is to inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future. Learn more at http://www.nwf.org/.

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Source: Animal Planet

CONTACT: Melissa Olear of Animal Planet, +1-240-662-2946,
Melissa_Olear@discovery.com

Web site: http://www.discovery.com/
http://animalplanet.com/
http://www.nwf.org/

NOTE TO EDITORS: To download photos from BACKYARD HABITAT: Magical Transformations and BACKYARD HABITAT: with Special Guest Wynonna Judd go to www.press.discovery.com, click US networks; Animal Planet; Photography and Artwork.

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