In Our Backyard Podcast

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 planet and what we can learn when we step outside the classroom and into nature and community.Contact or connect: https://www.ahameducation.org/ 

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, and the impacts of a changing climate.In this episode, Riley helps us better understand what makes Charleston’s waterways so unique, the threats they face, and the work Charleston Waterkeeper is doing on the ground through water quality monitoring, habitat restoration, and advocacy.We’ll also talk about how scientific data can shape policy, how monitoring can lead to real-world change, and what the latest water quality trends are telling us about the future of Charleston’s waterways.Contact and connect: https://charlestonwaterkeeper.org/

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 also explore some of the environmental challenges SouthWings is documenting and how those images can influence conservation, journalism, and policy.Email: ⁠ ⁠[email protected]⁠https://skytruth.org/case-studies/the-colossal-oil-spill-big-energy-tried-to-hide-for-14-yearshttps://www.cnn.com/2025/05/19/climate/xai-musk-memphis-turbines-pollutionhttps://www.selc.org/news/inside-memphis-fight-against-xai/https://www.southwings.org/passengers/request-a-flight

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, what exactly we mean when we talk about “the Gulf,” and why this waterbody is so important to wildlife, our climate, our economy, and the people who call the Gulf Coast home.We’ll also look at the history of pollution and environmental threats in the region, the ongoing impacts of offshore oil and gas development, and the work Healthy Gulf is doing today to hold industries accountable and protect these ecosystems. We also talk about the recent proposal involving the potential storage of radioactive nuclear waste beneath the Gulf, and what Healthy Gulf is doing in response.https://healthygulf.org/ ttps://www.nola.com/news/business/louisiana-gulf-nuclear-waste-storage-plan/article_6c2ae372-82a8-4855-b430-c45a3822a30f.html?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

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, explains the route and purpose of the pipeline, and discusses why so many local residents have opposed the project. We explore the environmental and public health impacts, hear about the community's organizing efforts, get an update on where the project stands today, and ask the big question: Is this pipeline even necessary? Finally, we'll talk about how listeners can get involved and support the ongoing work to protect Bent Mountain. Contact and connect with Bruce: [email protected] https://archive.bredl.org/safeguard_americas_resources/200910_BREDL_Motion_to_Intervene_MVP_Extension_Request.html