In Our Backyard Podcast

In this episode, I’m joined by Al Kwasikpui, Sylvia Vincent, and Belinda Joyner - all residents of North Hampton County, for an in-depth conversation about the county’s approach to data center development, the proposed pauses on new projects, questions about transparency, and the future of their community. Data centers are often presented as engines of economic growth, bringing investment, jobs, a...

Knellee Bisram who is the founder of AHAM, the Art of Happiness and Mindfulness and the Academy of the Heart and Mind, an organization connecting mindfulness, education, nature, youth, and community resilience. Building on our last episode, this 10-minute guided meditation invites you to deepen your connection with mindfulness, the natural world, and the work of fostering resilient communities. Fo...

Today, we’re talking about mindfulness, but not just meditation or sitting quietly. Our guest is Knellee Bisram who is the founder of AHAM, the Art of Happiness and Mindfulness and the Academy of the Heart and Mind, an organization connecting mindfulness, education, nature, youth, and community resilience. We’ll explore how mindfulness can help us care for ourselves, our communities, and even the...

Today, we’re diving into the health of Charleston’s waterways and the work being done to protect them. I talked with Riley Egger, the Advocacy and Policy Director at Charleston Waterkeeper. Charleston is a community deeply connected to its rivers, creeks, marshes, and harbor, but those waterways face a growing number of challenges,  from pollution and development to flooding, population growth, an...

Our guest is Laura Early, Communications and Development Director at SouthWings, a nonprofit that connects volunteer pilots with conservation groups and journalists to document environmental issues from the air.  We’ll talk about how aerial storytelling can reveal things that aren’t always visible from the ground, who these volunteer pilots are, and what inspires them to take to the skies. We’ll a...

In this episode, we’re talking about the Gulf of Mexico, its incredible ecosystems, the communities that depend on it, and the environmental challenges it has faced for generations. I talk with Alex Horn, Communications Director for Healthy Gulf, an organization that has been working for decades to protect the Gulf and the communities connected to it. We’ll talk about how Healthy Gulf got started,...

Today we're talking about a project that has sparked years of debate over energy, environmental protection, and the future of rural communities. Our guest is Bruce Coffey with BREDL's Preserve Bent Mountain Chapter, an organization working to protect the Bent Mountain community from the Mountain Valley Pipeline. In this episode, Bruce shares what makes Bent Mountain such a special place, e...

On today's episode, we're joined by Jennifer Fee, Director of Communications & Marketing at Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper. Water is at the heart of Western New York, and protecting it is more important than ever.  We talk about the organization's mission to protect and restore our local waterways, the health of the Buffalo Niagara watershed, the biggest challenges facing our rivers a...

We're comparing Sweden and the United States. If you've ever traveled to Sweden, you've probably noticed how clean the cities are, how much public transportation is used, and how seriously recycling is taken. On the other hand, the United States is home to some of the world's most important environmental research, groundbreaking clean-energy companies, and national parks that have...

Today’s guest is Jesse Demonbreun-Chapman, Executive Director and Riverkeeper for the Coosa River Basin Initiative, an organization dedicated to protecting one of the most biologically diverse river systems in North America. Stretching across the southeastern United States, the Coosa River Basin is home to an extraordinary range of freshwater species and ecosystems, many of which exist nowhere els...

Today’s guest is Kristina Peterson, a facilitator with the Lowlander Center , an organization supporting lowland and coastal communities facing climate change, land loss, displacement, and environmental injustice.  A lowland is an area of land at a relatively low elevation, often located near coastlines, rivers, wetlands, or floodplains. Because these areas sit close to sea level, they are especia...

Welcome back to the show. Today we’re joined by Laura Iyer, founder of the Southern Sustainability Institute. Laura works with communities, businesses, and local leaders across the South to advance practical sustainability solutions through education, renewable energy, and community action. Today we’ll talk about what inspired her to launch the Institute, the future of sustainability in the South,...

Today we’re joined by Jackson Voss, Senior Government Affairs & Policy Advisor at the Alliance for Affordable Energy. He breaks down how energy systems are shaped, regulated, and experienced by everyday people. In this episode, we explore what the energy landscape looks like in New Orleans and across Louisiana, where climate vulnerability, aging infrastructure, and rising costs all intersect....

Today I’m joined by Sherrell Byrd who is the Founder and Executive Director at SOWEGA Rising. SOWEGA Rising, an organization doing powerful work to support Southwest Georgia and build a more resilient future.  Southwest Georgia faces interconnected challenges like limited economic opportunity, healthcare access gaps, aging infrastructure, and the pressures of a largely agriculture-based economy. O...

Today, we’re joined by Julie Bolthouse, Director of Land Use at the Piedmont Environmental Council. With Julie, we talk about the rapid expansion of data centers on the ground and how communities are responding. Virginia is often called the “data center capital of the world”. Data centers are reshaping landscapes, straining resources, and raising tough questions about growth and sustainability.  I...

Today we’re diving into the work happening on the ground in East Tennessee to support farmers, strengthen local food systems, and build healthier, more resilient communities. I’m joined by Andy Brown and Jillian Gorell from the Appalachian Resource Conservation & Development Council, an organization that’s been doing incredible work across the region, from farmland conservation and farmer trai...

I’m joined by Bill Powers from Living Well Collaborative with Earth Island Institute, an organization based in Bolivia. Bill is an author, ecologist, and storyteller whose work bridges the personal and the environment in a way that feels hopeful. We’re here to talk about his book Ripple: An Intimate Exchange of Urgency and Hope Between An Ecologist Dad and His Daughter . Through a series of heartf...

Today’s guest is Judy Braus, Executive Director of the North American Association for Environmental Education or NAAEE for short. NAAEE’s mission is to use the power of education to advance environmental literacy and civic engagement so that people and communities can make informed decisions and take action toward a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable future. They equip educators, leaders,...

As the world transitions toward a clean energy future, there is more demand for critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements. These minerals are essential for clean energy technologies, electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, and even our everyday electronics. But where do these minerals come from? Who controls their extraction? Who bears the environme...

I’m joined by Giulio Salerno from the Wild Oyster Project, an organization working to bring native oyster reefs back to San Francisco Bay and other West Coast estuaries. It’s about repairing ecosystems, building climate resilience, and bringing back something that once quietly held entire coastlines together. The Wild Oyster Project started with a simple but eye-opening realization: oysters used t...

Today we’re joined by Nadia Steinzor, Carnivore Conservation Director with Project Coyote, a national nonprofit working to promote coexistence between people and North America’s native carnivores. Nadia’s work sits at the intersection of science, policy, and community engagement, addressing a complex conservation challenge of how to live alongside predators in a rapidly changing landscape. When we...

In this episode, I speak with Yuka Nagashima, the Executive Director of Food Shift, she has spent her career working at the intersection of food, equity, and environmental impact. Food Shift is an organization dedicated to transforming our food system by addressing wasted food, redistributing surplus, and building more just, regenerative local food economies.  Food touches every part of our lives....

Today, we’re joined by David McGuire, Executive Director of Shark Stewards, an organization dedicated to protecting endangered marine species and the critical ocean habitats they depend on. For more than fifty years, foundational laws such as the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the National Marine Sanctuaries Act have served as our nation’s safety net for wildlife and...

My guest is Anupa Asokan, executive director of Fish On, an organization working to ensure that coastal communities and the ecosystems they rely on can thrive for generations to come. Fish On is all about empowering the people who know the water best: the anglers, families, and coastal residents whose lives are tied to healthy oceans. Through community-driven advocacy, science-based policy, and a...

Today on the podcast, we’re joined by Mary Olson, Executive Director of the Generational Radiation Impact Project, or GRIP,  an organization dedicated to understanding and addressing how radiation exposure affects people differently across age, sex, and generation. Mary has been a longtime advocate for more equitable and science-based radiation protection standards. Her work highlights something t...