Wild Virginia Virtual Coffee Talk

Former Research Engineer Says the Clean Water Act Isn’t Just Science

Clean water is a necessity of life, and while it is a physical resource, it also has a significant human aspect. Access to clean water is essential for the health and well-being of individuals and communities, and lack of access can lead to a range of problems, including illness, poverty, and social inequality.
 
Grethe Lindemann, a Virginia native from coastal Hampton Roads, joins the podcast to discuss her experience with the Clean Water Advocates Program. Sailing and the watery wonders of the Chesapeake Bay played a major role throughout Grethe’s early years. Skippering a sailboat at age 14 alone under the stars in the Atlantic Ocean away from all civilization, yet surrounded by welcoming dolphins and more, changed her forever. With her first career as an award-winning NASA research engineer later morphing to both for-profit and non-profit entrepreneur in challenged locales including Appalachia – the land of most of her forbears – her focus on sustainable development and environmental justice and protection took hold.

The Power of Public Commenting on Projects that Hurt the Environment

Public commenting is a vital part of government decision-making processes. It allows citizens to give their input and voice their opinions on policies, regulations, and programs that the government is considering. Public commenting ensures that the government is aware of the needs and concerns of the citizens it serves. The public has a legal right to provide input on certain proposed government actions and public commenting can occur on the local, state, and federal levels of government.
Stephanie, one of the recent graduates of the Wild Virginia Clean Water Advocates Program, joins the Wild Virginia Virtual Coffee Talk Podcast to talk about the power of public commenting and how she hopes to use what she learned in preventing future environmental harms. Her goal is to work eventually with an environmental non-profit to make more of a difference in preserving our planet.

MVP Activist Says You Don’t Need a Technical Background to Be an Advocate

Environmental advocacy is a critical component of preserving the planet and mitigating the effects of climate change. Many people may be hesitant to participate in environmental advocacy because they feel that they lack the technical knowledge to make a meaningful contribution. However, it is important to recognize that anyone can be an environmental advocate, regardless of their background or expertise.
Gwyneth Homer grew up in southwestern Virginia and learned about the importance of being a community-member, on a human and ecosystem scale.  From an early age, she valued justice, and was engaged in civic action, writing letters, or participating in marches.  Today, she works in childcare, hoping to instill the values of justice, love, respect, and empathy by showing loving-kindness to the children.  She continues to be involved in social and environmental justice work, especially fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) since it runs through her county. 
She joins Wild Virginia Virtual Coffee Talk to discuss the Clean Water Advocates Program, why she joined the course, and what she hopes to use from it against fighting MVP with organizations like Wild Virginia, Protect Our Water Heritage Rights (POWHR), and Appalachian Voices.

Nature Play Center Founder Wants to Take More Action to Protect the Environment

Carolyn Schuyler is the founder of Wildrock, an organization that hopes to promote nature play for health with the idea that when children play in nature they become future stewards. After stepping aside as the director, Carolyn was called to take more action to protect our environment. “The problems are so big that Wild Virginia really does need volunteers to be able to have the expansive impact that the mission calls for.” Carolyn says we all need to be stepping up, it can't just be people working for a nonprofit. It's got to be all of us understanding what we can do as citizens.
 
She is a recent graduate of the Clean Water Advocates Program, an education program to train a small group of dedicated volunteers (“Advocates”) to support Wild Virginia’s efforts to protect Virginia’s water quality.
 
“Clean water is essential to the whole ecosystem. If you don't have clean water, of course, it affects all the life that's associated with that water.”

Are You Afraid of What Life Looks Like in a Drier World?

Are you afraid of what life looks like in a drier world? Thomas Culligan says, “It’s a human health crisis waiting to happen.” 
He references paddleboarding in the salt marshes of Charleston, South Carolina and seeing dolphins blow through their blowholes with a baby on their dorsal fin. Missing out on natural beauties like these is what he is afraid of if we don’t have clean water.  
“It may sound cliché, but water really is life.” 
Potential boiling water advisories, agricultural runoff into our streams, or a drier world in general: Culligan says it’s a recipe for disaster, but it’s 100% avoidable.
Living in Harrisonburg, VA, he says they have been in a drought since June and need 6-9 inches of rain to revive their groundwater. Culligan doesn’t think things like this are talked about enough.  
Tune in to this episode of Wild Virginia Coffee Talk to hear more about Thomas' experience with the Wild Virginia Clean Water Advocates program and why he wants a world still beautiful enough for the next generation to enjoy.

Former Veterinarian Continues Environmental Passion Through Water Advocacy

Alice Frei is a retired veterinarian. During her veterinary career she owned a small practice in Houston and cared for dogs, cats, exotics, and wildlife. After retirement she moved to Charlottesville, Virginia and became involved in environmental conservation. She presently volunteers for Rivanna Master Naturalist, Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards, Botanical Garden of the Piedmont, and Rivanna Conservation Alliance. Through RCA she developed keen interest in water conservation and health. She has continued monitoring Charlottesville area streams for cleanliness, bacteria, and macroscopic indicator species of water health.  
She is currently a student in the pilot class of 2023 for Wild Virginia's Water Advocates Program. She joins the podcast to discuss her passion for the environment, what issues she hopes to tackle after graduating the program, and why water is essential to life.

Meet the New Face of Habitat Connectivity in Virginia

Wild Virginia is excited to welcome Jessica Roberts, the new face of habitat connectivity in our state!
She has a background in endangered species population restoration and has many years of experience working in animal husbandry, community-based conservation initiatives, and environmental education program development. Her research with behavior-based management and conservation translocations has been developed to give direct, usable evidence-based information for other endangered species restoration specialists. Her hopes for Wild Virginia’s habitat connectivity campaign are to combine advocacy, wildlife restoration research, and community-based conservation to enhance wildlife corridors in our state.
Tune in to our newest episode of Wild Virginia Virtual Coffee Talk to learn more!

Learn More About PFAS and the Health Effects

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - “forever chemicals” - threatens our health and our environment. Initial studies conducted by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) have confirmed PFAS contamination in surface waters, groundwater, and drinking water throughout the state. To address this pollution and public health problem, Virginia should use existing authority under the federal Clean Water Act to require disclosure and control of the discharge of these chemicals into our waters.

Top Environmental Nonprofits Working to Conserve Resources and Protect the Planet

Join Publicity & Outreach Director, Katie Keller, to hear about some of the top environmental nonprofits in Virginia, across the country and even those with a global impact. You'll also learn about some of the incredible conservation efforts they are working on and how those campaigns are helping to combat climate change.

This Business Has Kept Almost 30K pounds of Material Away from the Landfill

The Scrappy Elephant is an arts and crafts storefront and community that has helped to divert almost 30,000 pounds of unwanted materials away from the landfill. They are also a Wild Virginia business partner, offering our donors 10% art supplies when they show their Wild Virginia member card. 
UVA / Wild Virginia intern, Haley Freeborn, chats with The Scrappy Elephant owner, Sarah, about the importance diverting waste away from landfills has on methane levels and climate change.
 
* AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO DIVERT MATERIALS FROM THE LANDFILL? BECAUSE LANDFILLS ARE BAD FOR OUR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT. IN 1988, THE EPA STATED ALL LANDFILLS WILL EVENTUALLY LEAK. THAT MEANS THAT RUNOFF CARRYING WITH IT TOXIC CHEMICALS FROM OUR WASTE, ENDS UP IN OUR WATER SUPPLIES. MANY COMMUNITIES SURROUNDING LANDFILLS HAVE HAD THEIR DRINKING WATER CONTAMINATED BY LEAKING LANDFILLS.
LANDFILLS ARE A MAJOR SOURCE OF METHANE. THE EPA ALSO FOUND LANDFILLS TO BE THE THIRD-LARGEST SOURCE OF HUMAN-RELATED METHANE EMISSIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. METHANE IS A GREENHOUSE GAS 86 TIMES MORE POTENT THAN CARBON DIOXIDE ACCORDING TO THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, MAKING IT A POWERFUL CONTRIBUTOR TO OUR CLIMATE CRISIS.