Maya Alexander: Building Stronger Connections Between the Black Community and Nature

03/22/24 • 27 min

Helping others fall in love with nature is one of Maya Alexander's main passions. She is African American and has experienced first hand the challenges of engaging with the outdoors, a pasttime that has traditionally been associated with the white middle class. Yet, Alexander, a community engagement manager for Virginia's Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley, finds a way to keep moving forward in the face of adversity. We talked about her strategies for encouraging more diversity in outdoor pursuits. And she offered glimpses into how environmental organizations can take up causes for marginalized communities ... without alienating them.

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Noah Bressman: Fighting Invasive Fish Species with Our Forks

Noah Bressman, a Salisbury University researcher, has quickly made a name for himself as a marine biology researcher and a science communicator. He’s active on social media. He organizes fishing tournaments that incorporate environmental education. He envisions a world with fewer invasive fish in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries -- a world made possible by people making subtle shifts to their diets.

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Jay Fleming: Capturing the Chesapeake Bay's Disappearing History

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