Programs

02-01-21  Creative Activism: Art for Environmental Advocacy

Guest: Melissa Guillet, Founder of 15 Minute Field Trips

 Nature is a boundless source of inspiration for art, and this art can  magnify the beauty, wonder and creative genius of Nature. Displayed in  public places, nature-inspired art can help engage people in issues they  may otherwise overlook, ignore, or neglect. This episode begins with a  walk through an ocean side park, where environmental artwork is on  display. 

Story walking photo blog: Beavertail Art 

01-04-21 Redefining Conservation and Wildlife Outreach

Guest: Mary Gannon,  Wildlife Outreach Coordinator for the Division of Fish and Wildlife, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

Combining education, communication and policy, outreach engages the general public in the world of science to increase  understanding of specific issues, which can lead to more informed choices. This episode begins with a collection of story walking tales involving white-tailed deer.

Story walking photo blog: EcoDetectives Look Out for Deer

12-07-20 Offsetting Schools' Paper Usage, One Tree at a Time

Guests: Lizzy Elsner and Sethu Odayappan, Co-founders of Tree-Plenish

Tree planting is a natural solution to mitigating climate change. Schools consume a lot of paper. Tree-Plenish is a national student-led movement to plant trees, with the goal of replenishing resources to match the amount of paper used. This episode begins with a walk through a city  school neighborhood, observing the beginnings of urban revitalization and exploring the many benefits derived from the planting of trees. 

Story walking photo blog: EcoDetectives on the Urban Trail

11-02-20  Environmental Action During the Pandemic: How to Maintain Momentum
Guests: Eric Magers, Sara Spellman, Ashley Desrosiers, Seaside Sustainability 

Well-accustomed to virtual programming, Seaside Sustainability has maintained its  unique internship program, which engages hundreds of high school and  college students around the world in meaningful hands-on study, giving them the experiential training required to become future leaders in the  stewardship of our planet. This episode's story walk goes along the docks and shores of West Falmouth Harbor to learn about how oysters help mitigate ocean pollution. 

Story walking photo blog: Dock Walk

10-05-20 Leaving a Greener Legacy: Choices for Natural Burial

Guest, Ann Porto, Psy. D., Volunteer, Funeral Consumers Alliance

With people becoming more environmentally and economically conscious in  their everyday life purchasing decisions, there  is a growing interest in greener end-of-life decisions, such as  home vigils and green burials. By its purest definition, green burial is  the interment of the body of a dead person directly in the soil, in a  manner that allows the body to be naturally recycled.  This episode begins with a cemetery story walk. 

Story walking photo blog: Cemetery Story Walk

09-07-2020 Virtual Environmental Learning 

Guest Lauren Parmelee, Director of Environmental Education, Audubon Society of RI

In adapting to COVID-19 restrictions, environmental education providers have become more innovative and tech savvy in the delivery of programs. This episode shares the story of a birdwalk along a board walk and offers ideas and resources for best practices in EE.

Story walking photo blog: EcoDetectives in the Wetlands

08-03-20 What is Geoengineering? 

Guests Rachael McIntosh and Susan Clarke

Geoengineering is the intentional manipulation of the environment, that effect changes to Earth’s atmosphere and/or surface. No laws govern geoengineering, and our guests have been working to introduce The Geoengineering Act of 2020.

Story Walking photo blog: EcoDetectiive Among the Trees 

07-06-20 Developing a Sustainable Textile Industry for the 21st Century  

Guest Amy DuFault, Sustainable Fashion Journalist & Organizer,  SENE Fibershed 

How deeply do people consider the environmental impact of their clothing purchases?  Eco-conscious fashion change makers are working to solve the environmental problems created by the “fast fashion” approach that has  dominated the clothing industry for the past 50 years. This episode begins with a walk to the  former site of the Greenwich Bleachery, an Industrial Era textile mill. 

Story Walk photo blog: EcoDetective at Bleachery Falls

06-01-20   Shopping the Online Farmers’ Market 

Guests Patrick Straus and Brandon Monti, Co-founders of Freshconn

While COVID-19 has highlighted weaknesses and inequities in America’s supermarket supply system, FreshConn, is a new enterprise that combines local farm fresh ordering, home delivery, nutrition education and food rescue and relief for the less fortunate. 

Story Walk photo blog: DeTECHtive Work

05-04-20  Wild Weed Wisdom 

Guest: Katrina Blair, Founder, Turtle Lake Refuge; Author, Wisdom of the Wild Weeds

Wild plants are an abundant and unrealized source of nutrition and sustenance that can provide food insecurity. Many common weeds can be cultivated to nourish our bodies and enrich our soils. Various roots, shoots, leaves, flowers and seeds can be prepared as foods in a vast number of ways that are flavorful and rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and an untold number of beneficial phytonutrients. 

Story Walk photo blog: EcoDetectives in the Weeds

04-06-20 Keep Earth Beautiful: Stop Litter, Recycle and Engage in Ecotourism 

Guests: Donna Kaehler, Director for Keep Blackstone Valley Beautiful, and James Toomey, Director of Marketing, Blackstone Valley Tourism Council

As Earth Day goes digital in response to the current pandemic, we’ll be talking about impactful actions we can take to help the Earth, despite the social isolation impressed upon us.

Story Walk photo blog: EcoDetectives on the Trail

03-02-20 Earth Care Composting for Climate Restoration 

Guest: Jayne Merner Senecal, Owner of Earth Care Farm 

When we compost our food waste instead of dumping it into a landfill, we help build a system that pulls carbon out of the atmosphere and returns it to the earth where it can nurture life. This episode features a story walk through Earth Care Farm, the first and largest composting operation in Rhode Island. Story Walk photo blog: EcoDetectives Dig Up Some Dirt

02-03-20  The Amazing World of Solar Energy

Guests: Dana Goodman, Solar Consultant, NEC Solar, and Tom Seiter, Homeowner

Solar energy is limitless, clean and surprisingly affordable. This episode will investigate the many ways in which sunlight sustains and energizes our world, 

Story Walk photo blogs: Rome Point Story Walk and EcoDetectives Investigate Solar Energy

01-06-20  What is Environmental Literacy? 

Guest: Rachel Holbert, President of RIEEA
The Campaign for Environmental Literacy defines environmental literacy (EL) as “a broad understanding of how people and societies relate to each other and to natural systems, and how they might do so sustainably.” 

Story Walk photo blog: EcoDetective on the Marsh  

12-02-19  Building Local Food Systems Through Community

Guests: Leigh Vincola, Manager at Farm Fresh Rhode Island, and Susan Murray, Market Manager and Farmer at Coastal Foodshed

How do local food systems support sustainability and preserve the environment?  The majority of produce sold in New England super markets is shipped all the way from California, and that requires a lot of fossil fuel for transport. The region has established a bold plan to produce 50 percent of its food by the year 2060. 

Story Walk photo blog: EcoShopper at the Farmers Market 

11-04-19 Achieving the Vision of a Tobacco-Free Environment 

Guest: Bob Houghtaling, Director of the Eastern States Youth to Youth Conference   

How does tobacco use effect on our environment, our health, our society and our young people? While cigarette smoking has come down, vaping use has risen dramatically, with serious repercussions. 

Story Walk photo blog: EcoDetective at the Harborside 

10-07-19   Voyaging into an Ocean of Plastic 

Guest: Captain Breezy Grenier, Founder, Eco-Elders and Scientists are Super Heroes   

How is plastic litter effecting ocean waters and marine life? Plastic bottles and bags, drinking straws, cigarette butts and microplastics get carried down storm drains or down rivers and out into the ocean. We will begin with a story walk through Scalloptown Park and along the shore of Goddard Memorial State Park. 

Story Walk photo blogs: EcoDetective in Scalloptown Park and EcoPirate on the Cove and EcoDetective Solves the Cryptic Triptych 

09-02-19   Following in the Flow to Clean Up Our Waters 

Guest: Bonnie Combs, Marketing Director, Blackstone Heritage Corridor   

Clean water is one of our most important resources. It sustains our lives, our health, our economy and our natural environment. How did our rivers and oceans become so polluted with trash, chemicals and bacteria, and what are we doing about it? 

Story Walk photo blogs: EcoDetectives on the River and EcoPirates on the Lookout for Litter and A Field Trip for Teachers 

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