OAKLAND — A new documentary highlighting the history of redwood trees around Oakland’s parks is set to begin filming in the next few weeks.

The film, called “Old Survivor,” focuses on one of the East Bay’s oldest redwood trees and highlights many of the redwood forests in the area.

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“It’s an impressive tree, but it’s growing on a cliff and it’s really inaccessible, which is why it’s still there,” Stan Dodson, founder of the Oakland Trails organization and executive producer of the film, said. “We’re using that tree as an icon to tell the history of the redwoods in the East Bay.”

The film will also include interviews from the Save the Redwoods League and focus on conservation efforts.

“This is going to be a story of resilience, not only the redwoods but just the fact that people in this community did this,” Dodson said. “It’s pretty amazing.”

In 1916, a $200,000 bond was passed to purchase 200 acres of forest in Oakland, what is now a part of Joaquin Miller Park.

“And that was all done in the middle of the Depression, people in the 1930s voted to tax themselves to form this park,” Dodson said. “It’s pretty amazing.”

Filming will begin in mid-March and will feature drone footage from a number of parks around Oakland. It is estimated to run about 20 minutes and will premier at a free event at the Chabot Space and Science Center on Oct. 9.

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Currently, Dodson said the film has funding support from the East Bay Regional Park District, Save the Redwoods League and the City of Oakland. The film’s budget is $50,000, however, so the group is still actively looking for corporate sponsors.

This will be the second documentary Oakland Trails has created, after “Trailhead,” which highlighted the East Bay’s extensive trail system. Dodson added that he hopes “Old Survivor” will encourage people to get outside and enjoy the outdoors that Oakland has to offer.

“We want this film to promote stewardship, outdoor recreation and really connect people to the ecology of the redwood forest,” he said. “And we also want people to understand how resilient this redwood forest is and how amazing it is that we still have it.”

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Those interested in sponsoring the making of Old Survivor can do so here: https://oaklandtrails.org/film-sponsorship/