Ron Lopez: Hunting Down Potentially Toxic Algae in a Major Virginia River

05/17/24 • 30 min

Ron Lopez is a researcher in wetlands ecology at Virginia Commonwealth University who is part of a team breaking ground on our understanding of potentially toxic algae blooms in the Shenandoah River. His efforts toward developing remote-sensing methods to map those slilmy blooms are the basis of his ongoing doctoral thesis. So, yes, we will be talking about drones. Lopez also discusses his atypical path into academia.

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Symone Barkley: Why Our Children Need Environmental Education

Symone Barkley, a Baltimore native, is a recipient of the North American Association for Environmental Education’s "30 Under 30 Award," which recognizes young leaders in the field worldwide. And she’s a fellow traveler in the podcast world, hosting a podcast series for her employer, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That would be “Planet NOAA." Here, she discusses the state of environmental education in America and what can be done to get kids more interested in nature studies. Barkley also talks about the kits she has developed providing kids with hands-on, STEM-based activities. More info about the kits is available here.

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Connor Tupponce: How a Treaty from 1677 Can Help Save the Bay

Connor Tupponce, a member of the Upper Mattaponi and Chickahominy tribes, discusses his work promoting tribal consultation in environmental and land-use matters in Virginia. Indigenous voices are crucial in managing public lands, he says. That's especially true at Werowocomoco, the recently rediscovered site along the York River that was once the seat of the Powhatan Confederacy.