In Our Backyard Podcast

Today’s episode we're back to Northampton County, North Carolina, where a quiet but critical debate is heating up over the future of farmland and solar energy. On April 7, 2025, community advocates Sylvia Vincent, Debbie Davis, and Alfred Kwasikpui presented a powerful case to the Northampton County Commissioners. Their message? That insufficient limits on solar farm expansion are threatening...

Today’s episode takes us to Northampton County, North Carolina, where a quiet but critical debate is heating up over the future of farmland and solar energy. On April 7, 2025, community advocates Sylvia Vincent, Debbie Davis, and Alfred Kwasikpui presented a powerful case to the Northampton County Commissioners. Their message? That insufficient limits on solar farm expansion are threatening the co...

Today, I’m talking with Cindy Lowry, who is the Executive Director of the Alabama Rivers Alliance. For over 25 years, the Alabama Rivers Alliance has been a powerful voice for the protection and restoration of Alabama’s incredible rivers, a network of waterways that are not only vital to the region’s ecology but also home to some of the richest aquatic biodiversity in the country. From the shimmer...

Today we’re diving into the work of Root Local , an organization on a mission to cultivate sustainability at the neighborhood level across Metro Atlanta. Joining us are two voices at the heart of this movement — Jamie Lee Perkins Dalton, Executive Director of Root Local, and Butch Whitfield , a Founding Board Member. Together, they’re helping communities grow greener, more connected, and more resi...

Today, we’re diving into the world of environmental health and clean water with a leader whose work is improving lives—especially the lives of our youngest and most vulnerable. Our guest is Jennifer Hoponick Redmon , the Senior Director of Environmental Health and Water Quality at RTI International —a nonprofit institute committed to delivering the promise of science for global good. Jennifer is a...

Mairah Clay who is the Southern WV Coordinator and Autumn Crowe who is the Deputy Director of WV Rivers. Many West Virginians are taking a stand against the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Communities across the state are voicing their opposition to a project they say threatens fragile ecosystems, endangers clean water sources, and disregards Indigenous and rural land rights. With the rugged beauty of A...

Sara Heilman is Energy Policy Coordinator with NC Warn. We talk about the work that NC Warn does throughout North Carolina and how they are primarily a watchdog organization for what Duke Energy is doing in the state. We focus on how the town of Carrboro is suing Duke Energy . This is the first lawsuit against an electric utility for deceiving the public about the dangers from burning fossil fuels...

Lib Hutchby is a member of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in the Triangle Branch, Raging Grannies, Frack Free UNC, and NC Environmental Network. In Chapel Hill, NC, local residents are rallying against a coal-fired power plant owned by UNC Chapel Hill, as well as a nearby Duke Energy gas build outs. Several community groups are also actively working to promote environmental...

Dr. Elizabeth Hessami, who is a licensed attorney. She has served as a visiting attorney for the Environmental Law Institute for nearly a decade, researching post-conflict natural resources management and specializing in armed conflict and the environment. As well as my professor at Johns Hopkins.  We talked at the end of last year and since then, Trump was sworn in as President of the United Stat...

Sweden has figured out recycling. This shows, as they are the highest recyclers in the world.  To talk about recycling we also have to mention all streams of waste - not just the products that are eligible to be recycled. In fact, only 1% of Sweden's trash goes into a landfill . Just to reiterate, 99% of Sweden’s waste is recycled! 52% is burned and converted into energy and then the remaining...

Steph Gans is an EJ Organizer for Clean Water for North Carolina. Clean Water for North Carolina’s mission is to promote clean, safe water and environments, and empower communities for all North Carolinians through advocacy, outreach, education, and technical assistance. With Steph we talk about the multiple natural gas build outs and data centers proposed in North Carolina, specifically how it wi...

Sweden is the most sustainable country in the world . For decades they have been paving the way for environmental action. In fact, they were the first country to pass an Environmental Protection Act back in 1967. They are also the highest recyclers in the world - read more about that here.  I was more than ecstatic to hear all of this - first coming from America where it took so much effort to do...

Lisa Sorg is the North Carolina reporter for InsideClimate News. A journalist for 30 years, Sorg covers energy, climate, environment and agriculture, as well as the social justice impacts of pollution and corporate malfeasance. The past couple of months Lisa has had a 5-story series called “Gaslighting” that breaks down several natural gas projects from gas pipelines, compressor stations, and powe...

Younju Lee is from South Korea and based in Paris, France. She is a Masters student for Environmental Policy as well as an intern with the Stakeholder Engagement team at United Nations Climate Change .  The United Nations is working around the world to cut emissions, pursue nature-based solutions, extend sustainable energy and invest in resilient cities, among many other initiatives. One of the mo...

Dr. Elizabeth Hessami is a professor at Johns Hopkins University and a licensed attorney. She has served as a visiting attorney for the Environmental Law Institute for nearly a decade, researching post-conflict natural resources management and specializing in armed conflict and the environment. And she was actually my professor for Environmental and Natural Resource Security in my masters program....

Court Lewis is the BREDL chapter President of Unicoi Clear in Unicoi County, TN and currently living in Upstate, South Carolina.  In late September of this year, category 4 Hurricane Helene caused widespread destruction and death across the Southeast United States including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. More than 230 people have been killed and it has ca...

Karen Hill is the President of the Tennessee Native Plant Society. The Tennessee Native Plant Society mission is to conserve and celebrate native plant communities and their habitats through education. From the Appalachian Mountains to the floodplains of the Mississippi, Tennessee’s native plant communities make one of the most botanically diverse and interesting states in the nation.  With Karen...

Abigail Franks who is the Membership and Policy Manager and Alexander Easdale who is the Executive Director at Southeast Climate and Energy Network.  The Southeast Climate and Energy Network has a mission to confront the climate crisis by creating strategic alignment, growing capacity, and building power among member organizations and their communities in the Southeast. They have a huge focus on g...

Carlton Turner is the Co-Director / Co-Founder at Sipp Culture. Based in the rural South, “Sipp Culture” is honoring the history and building the future of their community in Utica, MS.  Sipp Culture supports community development from the ground up through cultural production focused on self-determination and agency designed by them and for them. They believe that history, culture, and food affir...

Erica Hall is Executive Director and Board Chair at Florida Food Policy Council. Executive Committee Member of the Sierra Club, Florida Chapter. As well as a National Board of Director Member of the National Sierra Club.  The Florida Food Policy Council (FLFPC) works to address gaps and affect policy within the food system through integrity and collaboration for the benefit of all Floridians and t...

Hi everyone, we’re back with Debbie Clemens who is with the Outreach Coordinator for Orangutan Outreach. In this episode we talk all about palm oil and its effects. The sourcing of palm oil causes conflict because it has been produced illegally or under conditions associated with labor or human rights violations, ongoing destruction of rainforests, or expansion on carbon-rich peatlands.   One of t...

In this episode I continue my conversation with Debbie Clemens who is the Outreach Coordinator for Orangutan Outreach. We talk about the behind the scenes work that goes into making field work possible for these creatures. Tune in for the last episode of the series in two weeks. Contact and connect with Debbie: deb@redapes.org   https://redapes.org/     https://palmdoneright.com/what-is-conflict-p...

Debbie Clemens is the Outreach Coordinator for Orangutan Outreach. They are a US based charity that focuses on raising awareness and raising funds for their partners in Indonesia. They are personally not doing the orangutan rescue and rehabilitation work themselves, but are supporting those who are.  Mankind may be one of the orangutans' closest relatives but humans are also the greatest threa...

Leif Cocks is the Founder of The Orangutan Project. They are a passionate group of people based in Australia and are dedicated to saving the orangutan. They are led by an experienced set of wildlife experts that have been working for over 20 years to protect this species and their environment. And together they are working to protect orangutans from extinction.  Orangutans are the most intelligent...

Ben Frition is the Founder of The REED Center which is a Maryland-based nonprofit that seeks to repair the holistic connection of humans and their environment through research, engaging communities in farm programming, developing self-perpetuating ecosystems, and designing natural landscapes on residential and commercial scales. They strive to inspire and empower humanity to reconnect with Nature...