GREENE – Dale Johnson will present his film, “Canada’s National Parks,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 8, and 2 and 7 p.m. Friday, March 9, at the Araxine Wilkins Sawyer Memorial. Admission is free, and the doors will open one hour before shows.

After finishing a stint in the Army Security Agency, Johnson traveled throughout Central America, living for a time with the Choco Indians in lower Panama in the jungles near the Columbian border. He did his first filming on that trip.

On returning, he earned a degree at the University of Texas and began working in the commercial film business in Dallas, where he filmed commercials, documentaries and theatrical features.

He worked on television specials, which aired on CBS and ABC, then spent two years directing and filming the outdoor television series, “The Lone Star Sportsman” which took him all over the United States and several foreign countries.

Johnson joined the film unit attached to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, producing public relations and documentary films on the space program. He spent five years at NASA working on many films during “Skylab” era.

Moving to Alaska, he formed Trailwood Films, producing television commercials, sponsored films and documentaries. Many won prizes and two of them collected the CINE Golden Eagle.

Because of his keen interest in wildlife and photographic ability, he has been profiled in “National Wildlife” magazine. His most recently completed films have been a widescreen production for the National Forest Service, which won a Gold Medal at the New York International Film Festival, and a National Geographic Special about wolves in Yellowstone National Park.

Johnson and his wife, fellow travelogue artist, Sandy Mortimer, reside in Shelbyville, Ky.

Canada’s national parks are a gateway to a wilderness experience for millions of people.

“Canada’s Incredible Parks” will take the audience through 21 parks from east to west, starting with L’Anse aux Meadows Park in Newfoundland, where Vikings waded ashore a thousand years ago. Other parks include Gros Moren, Cape Breton Highlands, Kejimkujik, Prince Edward Island, Kouchibourquac, Fundy, La Mauricie, Point Pelee, Ellesmere Island, Grasslands, Riding Mountain, Waterton Lakes, Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, Yoho, Wood Buffalo, Nahanni, Pacific Rim and Kluane.

The Sawyer Memorial is located at 371 Sawyer Road. For more information, call 946-5311 or visit http://ourworld.cs.com/sawyerfoundation.

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