Raye Evrard is Project Manager for OCTO, or “Open Communications for the Ocean,” an organization that serves as a global knowledge hub on sustainable ocean management and conservation. She’s also the host and producer of Salish Shes, a podcast that explores “the environment, people, politics, scandals, history, and creatures of the beautiful and economically vital Salish Sea” and OCTOPOD, OCTO’s “flagship podcast” that keeps listeners “up-to-date with the latest news and research from the world of sustainable ocean management and conservation.”
“Think twice before buying your feminist T-shirt from Forever 21.”
Samara Almonte and Jazlyn Marcos are with the University of Michigan’s Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program, a two-summer opportunity for undergraduate students who are “interested in conservation, nature, and the environment” and “looking for a space to have discussions about diversity and inclusion” as it pertains to those fields.
Fresh Forage is a casual farm-to-table restaurant in Ann Arbor that’s committed to using high-quality, sustainable ingredients sourced from local producers. Co-owners Andrew Sereno and Samuel Boyce joined host Bella Isaacs to talk about how they came up with the idea for Fresh Forage, their own experiences foraging for edible plants in the wild, the slow food movement, their future plans for the restaurant, and more.
This week’s show opens with the voices of commuters who participated in Bike to Work Day on May 17. They tell us why they bike, how they feel about biking in Ann Arbor, and what personal messages they have for the drivers they share the road with. Bike to Work Day is part the 2019 Commuter Challenge, which is sponsored by getDowntown, a program of TheRide that finds ways to encourage employers and employees who work in downtown Ann Arbor to explore different ways— like biking or walking or carpooling — of going about their daily commutes.
The Stewardship Network is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering individuals and organizations who are committed to working on conservation issues at the local level. They also help connect communities across the regions they serve in order to facilitate their collaboration. Lisa Brush is the Network’s executive director, Robert Luzynski serves as network administrator, and Jason Frenzel is co-cordinator of the Huron Arbor Cluster, the Ann Arbor region’s Collaborative Conservation Community.
Earlier this month, regular host Bella Isaacs met up with the executive and assistant directors of Growing Hope, Cynthia VanRenterghem and Erica Bloom. Their nonprofit focus on four interconnected areas of the local food system in Ypsilanti: farms and gardens, youth and schools, farmers markets, and food entrepreneurship. The three talk about the roots of Growing Hope (get it), how this organization seeks to empower food producers and consumers in Ypsilanti, and how you can get involved.
Editor’s note: We know the phone sounds get annoying at some points during this conversation, and we apologize.
This week, it’s all about the music, man. Matthew Burtner is an Alaskan-born composer, sound artist, and eco-acoustician whose music is inspired by the sounds of glaciers and, in many ways, the reality of climate change. David Jude is research scientist emeritus at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability, a renowned fish biologist, and the discoverer of the invasive round and tubenose goby fish in the Great Lakes. Finally, Jerry Mack is the host of “Nothin’ But the Blues” and “Yazoo City Calling” on WCBN, and he leads the band “Jerry Mack and the Terraplanes.”
Each year, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, more than 13,000 Michigan residents return to their communities after being incarcerated. But when they get home, those residents often face a series of challenges as they navigate re-entering society as well as finding work and housing with a criminal record.
Established in 2009, the Detroit Food Policy Council is a 21-member “education, advocacy, and policy organization” and advisory body to the Detroit City Council. It’s primary mission is to ensure “the development and maintenance of a sustainable and equitable food system” in order to create a “food-secure City of Detroit.” Unlike food policy councils in other cities, which are typically arms of the local government, Detroit’s is a nonprofit that was born out of community activism and organization spearheaded by the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network.
