Television Show on Green Careers to Premiere Jan. 20

"Going Green," the latest episode of the "degrees that work." career-awareness television series produced by Pennsylvania College of Technology and WVIA-TV, is scheduled to premiere at 8 p.m. Jan. 20 on WVIA.

Green careers hold promise for the future in Pennsylvania which is among the states with the highest number of green jobs and across the nation, and the episode examines two of the five green-industry sectors identified by Pennsylvania in its Green Jobs Report: agriculture and resource conservation, and pollution prevention and environmental cleanup.

From greenhouse seedling to restaurant plate, the effort of a committed sustainable farmer to produce lettuce is documented, and the viability of careers in sustainable agriculture is explored.

"We have a serious problem with a dearth of young farmers," said the farmer featured in the episode, Leah Tewksbury, of Tewksbury Grace Farms, located outside Muncy. Tewksbury and her husband, Johnny, have been farming sustainably full time for 10 years. "When we are done in 10 to 15 years, who is going to be growing fine, quality food?"

The episode also features a trip to the recycling center in Pennsylvania's largest county, revealing opportunities and challenges in the pollution prevention and environmental cleanup sector.

An estimated 50 tons of recyclables enter the Lycoming County recycling center each day, but another 40 percent of the materials that enter the county landfill could be diverted to recycling centers, according to Jason Yorks, resource recovery manager and county recycling coordinator and a 2009 Penn College graduate who also appears in the episode.

The show also includes a look at how colleges are incorporating green concepts to better prepare students for an exciting future.

Among those interviewed, in addition to Tewksbury and Yorks, are Kim Seeley, president of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture; Mary A. Sullivan, dean of natural resources management at Penn College; and Chef Michael J. Ditchfield, instructor of hospitality management/culinary arts at the college.

The 8 p.m. premiere of "degrees that work.: Going Green" will headline a Jan. 20 "degrees that work." marathon on WVIA, featuring the series' episodes on welding careers at 8:30 p.m., advanced manufacturing at 9 p.m. and plastics at 9:30 p.m.

The award-winning "degrees that work." documentary series is intended as a public-service initiative to apprise young people of varied, and sometimes overlooked, career opportunities as they explore their fit in the workforce. Free educational materials designed for use in the classroom have been developed to accompany the series.

Lesson planning guides and full episodes are available for download online . Full episodes are also available at the college's YouTube channel.

For general information about the college, visit on the Web , e-mail or call toll-free 800-367-9222.