Latest / Clean Water Conversations / Green Infrastructure, Stormwater, and Clean Water: Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay

Transcript

Green Infrastructure, Stormwater, and Clean Water: Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay · Clean Water Conversations

0:10
SPEAKER_00: Hello everyone, and welcome to Clean Water Conversations, the podcast where we have casual discussions about creating clean and clear water right here in Lancaster County.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: I'm Ken.
0:19
SPEAKER_03: Hey, everybody.
0:20
SPEAKER_03: I'm Alison.
0:21
SPEAKER_03: We're back.
0:22
SPEAKER_00: Yay! Welcome to season four.
0:26
SPEAKER_03: Oh yeah.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: And the studio audience is back as well.
0:31
SPEAKER_03: We feel the love out there.
0:32
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
0:34
SPEAKER_00: Season four, we are rolling.
0:36
SPEAKER_00: We're rolling.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: We we are.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: And we have a little bit of a kind of a theme.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
0:41
SPEAKER_00: And of course, as always, it is about the work that our partners are doing to create clean and clear water by 2040.
0:49
SPEAKER_03: Yep, right here in Lancaster County.
0:50
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
0:50
SPEAKER_03: We're all working towards one common goal.
0:53
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
0:54
SPEAKER_00: And coincidentally, it is also the end of the existing Bay Agreement at the end of 2025.
1:00
SPEAKER_00: Very true.
1:00
SPEAKER_00: So Lancaster plays a key role in that.
1:02
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
1:03
SPEAKER_00: So where do we stand as it relates to that?
1:06
SPEAKER_00: And we're going to be talking about that throughout this season.
1:08
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
1:09
SPEAKER_03: Because as we wrap up, there are so many stories to tell, so much progress to talk about.
1:13
SPEAKER_03: Because it's really this momentum builder.
1:15
SPEAKER_03: It's been happening and still continues to.
1:18
SPEAKER_03: So that demand for conservation, oh boy, we got lots to do, lots to talk about.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: And of course, as always, there's a lot of wins.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: True.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: And we always we kind of do this in our team meetings.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: It's like we start out, we have a weekly team talk meeting.
1:32
SPEAKER_00: And during that meeting, we ask everybody, what were your wins for the last week?
1:37
SPEAKER_00: So, Allison, what were your wins for the last week?
1:40
SPEAKER_03: Oh, I'm so excited about the win.
1:42
SPEAKER_03: Common agenda was approved by the board.
1:44
SPEAKER_03: It was shared with our network through the website.
1:48
SPEAKER_03: It's coming very shortly in the newsletter.
1:50
SPEAKER_03: And it is more than one it.
1:53
SPEAKER_03: There is a summary version, there is a narrative version, there's an implementation plan.
1:57
SPEAKER_03: So all these ways to make it real.
1:58
SPEAKER_03: So that's definitely a win.
2:00
SPEAKER_03: Thank you to everyone who participated in that process over the last eight months.
2:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
2:04
SPEAKER_00: And what everything that we do is kind of rooted in that common agenda was some neat stuff.
2:09
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
2:10
SPEAKER_00: Ken, what's your win this week?
2:11
SPEAKER_00: My win this week is we have network mapping.
2:16
SPEAKER_00: And what that basically means is the the individuals that have that have agreed to be our partners, we started with them.
2:22
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
2:23
SPEAKER_00: And we ask them to fill out a form and become part of this program wherein they look at the group of everybody else that we're contacting and and how well do you know them and and to put those little strings of association together to give us a better look at how everything is structured overall.
2:45
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's a visualization of that network.
2:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
2:47
SPEAKER_03: It's a cool way to look at those connections, how they change over time, what the strength is.
2:52
SPEAKER_03: And it helps you see how partners are current connected directly to each other.
2:57
SPEAKER_03: Like, yes, we exist as the Lancaster Clean Water Partners, but you don't have to go through us.
3:01
SPEAKER_03: This helps you see, oh, right, I know all those people.
3:05
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to them.
3:06
SPEAKER_00: It's neat.
3:06
SPEAKER_00: And then you can categorize in different ways those groups of people and use that data set to make different things happen.
3:15
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
3:15
SPEAKER_03: So and more strategic with your restoration choices, how you partner.
3:20
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
3:21
SPEAKER_00: And what that then says to me is if you want to be part of it, we're looking for new partners.
3:29
SPEAKER_03: Always.
3:30
SPEAKER_00: And it's pretty easy to sign up.
3:32
SPEAKER_00: If you go to our website, scroll all the way to the bottom, there is a box there that will link you right to the form that you can fill out.
3:41
SPEAKER_00: It takes less than 10 minutes probably to become a partner.
3:45
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't cost anything.
3:46
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
3:46
SPEAKER_03: So there's all kinds of benefits.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: There are all kinds of benefits.
3:50
SPEAKER_03: So bring in some new people, find some new partners, some people that are connected to water or should be, and welcome them to our network.
3:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
3:58
SPEAKER_00: Hey, and speaking of partners, yes.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.
4:02
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, we got a good one today for you.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: We do.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: Emily Broch serves as the Green Infrastructure and Force Project's coordinator at the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.
4:13
SPEAKER_00: Let's check it out.
4:16
SPEAKER_02: I did take a trip to Maine last year, which was for birding.
4:20
SPEAKER_02: So that's.
4:22
SPEAKER_02: Did you see the puffins?
4:23
SPEAKER_02: I saw the puffins.
4:24
SPEAKER_02: So I would say that's that that was almost in the past, you know, in the time frame.
4:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
4:29
SPEAKER_02: So that would have yeah, that was definitely a bucket list kind of thing.
4:34
SPEAKER_02: I would also say that the past few years, I haven't actually been to all of the conservancy preserves.
4:40
SPEAKER_02: So I that's that's fine.
4:42
SPEAKER_02: That's sort of like an ongoing bucket list thing, is just to see more of you know the backyard.
4:50
SPEAKER_00: So it's I'm gonna put that on my bucket list.
4:52
SPEAKER_00: That's a good one.
4:53
SPEAKER_02: But then I thought, okay, well, just with life, it's not really realistic that I could get to every single one in a year.
4:59
SPEAKER_02: But I thought, well, maybe I could do one per month or something.
5:03
SPEAKER_02: But it's tough in the winter because it gets dark so early.
5:05
SPEAKER_02: You know, so then you're sort of limited by the weekend schedule.
5:10
SPEAKER_02: And then if you have other things going on, you're like, I but now there's other ones in the on the York side.
5:15
SPEAKER_02: So they have so many.
5:18
SPEAKER_02: So many now.
5:19
SPEAKER_02: I don't I don't even I don't even want to say they're not gonna be able to do that.
5:21
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
5:21
SPEAKER_02: I was thinking that's wrong.
5:23
SPEAKER_02: Brandon's gonna call it.
5:24
SPEAKER_02: No, Emily, it's actually you know so that would be just an ongoing bucket list.
5:30
SPEAKER_00: That is a that's a cool bucket list.
5:32
SPEAKER_00: I like it.
5:32
SPEAKER_00: I like that.
5:33
SPEAKER_00: Well, your icebreaker is if you could eliminate one thing from your daily routine, what would it be and why?
5:41
SPEAKER_02: I don't have a great I bet I would like to work on my daily routine.
5:46
SPEAKER_02: But I think it will be a lifelong thing to be a morning person.
5:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
5:50
SPEAKER_02: But if I could eliminate one thing, I would have to say doing the dishes, I think.
5:56
SPEAKER_02: But although that is when I tend to listen to my podcast.
5:59
SPEAKER_02: So I do, you know, some habit stacking there.
6:01
SPEAKER_00: But then don't then don't don't stop doing the dishes.
6:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, exactly.
6:06
SPEAKER_02: So um, yeah, just sometimes when you're like, I already did the dishes, how are there, you know, there's still more.
6:11
SPEAKER_02: Where do these come from?
6:12
SPEAKER_02: I just so maybe the dishes, but it is a nice opportunity to tune into a podcast.
6:18
SPEAKER_00: There you go, folks.
6:19
SPEAKER_00: If you're listening, do the dishes and listen to our podcast.
6:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
6:23
SPEAKER_02: And how about you, Ken?
6:24
SPEAKER_02: Is there something that you would add to your routine?
6:26
SPEAKER_00: Ooh.
6:27
SPEAKER_00: I actually have have just started to add something to my morning routine, and that is daily stretching.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: Because as I'm getting older, I am finding it is absolutely a necessary thing so that I'm not hobbling around the rest of the day, and it and it has been beneficial.
6:44
SPEAKER_02: That's fantastic.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
6:45
SPEAKER_02: You always feel better.
6:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
6:47
SPEAKER_03: Allison, how about you?
6:48
SPEAKER_03: Me, I would say that I have failed at my New Year's resolution here as the fall begins, but I would with tied to that is less scrolling, like not allowing myself to take my phone into bed or to places where I would be relaxing or giving myself a mental break otherwise.
7:06
SPEAKER_02: I love that.
7:06
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's it's an ongoing challenge.
7:08
SPEAKER_03: It is a challenge, yes.
7:10
SPEAKER_02: I think we're all there with you.
7:12
SPEAKER_00: Well, Emily, you are a former staff member at the Lancaster County Conservation District.
7:18
SPEAKER_00: First off, welcome home to your Yeah, thank you.
7:21
SPEAKER_00: Your formal former place of of work and residence for eight hours a day, anyway.
7:25
SPEAKER_00: So, what type of work did you do here?
7:28
SPEAKER_02: So I worked in the erosion and sediment department, and we would review erosion and sediment control plans for earth disturbance activities, typically new construction, that type of thing.
7:39
SPEAKER_02: Um, and then as part of that, we would also head out and do inspections on earth disturbance sites to reduce the impacts of accelerated erosion.
7:47
SPEAKER_03: What are the kind of things that would get you excited about those type of visits?
7:51
SPEAKER_03: I think about that lots.
7:52
SPEAKER_03: When I see the team members, like you're describing your role, there's so much technical work to it, but it's also so many relationships.
8:00
SPEAKER_02: Relationships and trust.
8:01
SPEAKER_02: I think, you know, when you're talking to a contractor who you've worked with before and you say, Hey, I was out on a site visit, I just noticed this, and they say, Oh yeah, we'll get that buttoned up, taking care of ASAP.
8:11
SPEAKER_02: So having that dialogue and and someone who you've worked with before can go a long way.
8:15
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, I would get excited when I see best management practices.
8:20
SPEAKER_02: Oh, nice.
8:21
SPEAKER_02: BMPs, magic erosion, erosion and sediment, best management practice practices, ENS, BMPs.
8:28
SPEAKER_02: Um, when you see them employed and they are functioning, and you think, oh, this is a, you know, this is a great example of a compost filter sock intercepting sediment before it gets to the stream.
8:39
SPEAKER_02: So when you go out on a site and you see them installed correctly or functioning, you think, yes, this is this is the way it's supposed to happen.
8:47
SPEAKER_02: Or when you start to see stabilization, which is essentially the the vegetation that's taking root and holding the soil in place, when you see once a project is starting to come to completion, or even before that, interim, if there's need for temporary vegetation control on a soil stockpile or something, when you see that implemented, you think, okay, good.
9:07
SPEAKER_02: That's, you know, that's what we need to see.
9:09
SPEAKER_02: So that's great.
9:10
SPEAKER_02: And what brought you to that role?
9:12
SPEAKER_02: I had been working in seasonal roles before that.
9:16
SPEAKER_02: Um, with I had two seasonal roles with the Fish and Wildlife Service.
9:20
SPEAKER_02: And then I happened to see that this was I was looking for something permanent and saw that this position had opened up in Lancaster, and I'm from Lancaster, so it was really just a very fortunate type of circumstance that it it all worked out, and I found something full-time at home.
9:38
SPEAKER_02: I felt very fortunate in that way.
9:40
SPEAKER_02: And then also having been from Lancaster, I'm so grateful for the experience that I had at the district just to get to know my own county better, just going out to different municipalities, so many different farms.
9:53
SPEAKER_02: And you think I would have never seen this, you know, if it hadn't been for this role.
9:56
SPEAKER_02: Or I would have never considered some of these as even issues until you're exposed to them and you say, Oh wow, okay, I never really thought about accelerated erosion this much before.
10:06
SPEAKER_02: But here I here I am.
10:09
SPEAKER_02: So dirt moving and paint drying.
10:11
SPEAKER_02: And so I will, I will say one of the things that I that I don't miss though is when we get those summer thunderstorms and you hear it on the roof.
10:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
10:22
SPEAKER_02: I would always think, oh gosh, like what do my sights look like?
10:25
SPEAKER_02: You know, which one am I gonna get a call about tomorrow?
10:29
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
10:29
SPEAKER_02: Muds on the road or something.
10:31
SPEAKER_02: So now when it's raining really hard and I can hear it on the roof, I can enjoy it a little bit more.
10:36
SPEAKER_02: It's not as not as anxiety-inducing that I'm not thinking about, oh, you know, are all of the BMPs installed?
10:44
SPEAKER_02: You know, are they functioning?
10:46
SPEAKER_00: So And for the record, you can use BMPs now because you already uh said set up what it was.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: Now, you also worked for the Fish and Wildlife Service in both Minnesota and Florida.
10:57
SPEAKER_00: Describe how those professional experiences looked and how do they connect here, the Susquehanna Valley, Langster County.
11:06
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
11:07
SPEAKER_02: So in Minnesota, I worked at Tamarack National Wildlife Refuge, and that was largely an environmental education role.
11:15
SPEAKER_02: So the refuge had this really phenomenal program where they had area elementary schools have various field trips throughout the year to the refuge throughout the different seasons.
11:27
SPEAKER_02: So my role was facilitating that process, communicating with some of the volunteer educators who were helping, with the the teachers who were coming, and having having an opportunity for very young students with, you know, at a very impressionable age experience something that was in their backyard, which was this amazing wildlife refuge.
11:49
SPEAKER_02: Um that was the experience of connecting people, you know, to the environment.
11:55
SPEAKER_02: And then in Florida, I worked at Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, which is beautiful.
12:01
SPEAKER_02: If you've never been there, it's just a very lovely, lovely place.
12:06
SPEAKER_02: And if you're not familiar, it is uh resting sanctuary for manatees.
12:11
SPEAKER_02: So in the winter, in the colder months when the manatees are coming back from the colder Gulf waters, they find resting spots in in Crystal River where their the water is a little bit warmer in parts of the bay.
12:22
SPEAKER_02: So at that in that role, I was doing some bird surveys, submerged aquatic vegetation surveys, and then also public use surveys.
12:34
SPEAKER_02: So literally counting, like how are people, how are visitors using the refuge?
12:39
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
12:39
SPEAKER_02: Are they boating?
12:40
SPEAKER_02: How are they viewing from the land?
12:43
SPEAKER_02: Are they coming up on a kayak or a paddleboard?
12:45
SPEAKER_02: And then the refuge would use those, use that data to inform their management decisions of of you know how they are managing the interest, managing the flow of people who want to see this amazing, this amazing phenomenon of the manatees.
13:02
SPEAKER_03: Um you're still interested in the data collection, we may put you on the team of the uh data for the common agenda.
13:10
SPEAKER_03: It's a big part of it.
13:11
SPEAKER_03: You're right.
13:12
SPEAKER_03: It informs the use and the results, like the numbers of species, and in our case, number of people or number of partners or ways that they're using information, it does inform what do we do next, or how do we make decisions as a group in order to decide what we do next.
13:30
SPEAKER_03: So it yeah, it does.
13:31
SPEAKER_03: It's really important.
13:32
SPEAKER_03: So thank you for what you did for the Fish and Wildlife Service.
13:35
SPEAKER_02: And I think both roles, although they were vastly different habitat types, the the guiding force was still connecting people to the environment.
13:45
SPEAKER_02: Or how do we how do we manage our interaction with the environment?
13:48
SPEAKER_02: Um, especially in the case of the work in Florida.
13:52
SPEAKER_02: So, and I think to a large degree, that's what we're focused on with the clean water work here in Pennsylvania is how do we how do we share the message about this work with a larger audience?
14:04
SPEAKER_02: How do we connect different age groups?
14:06
SPEAKER_02: How do we connect different communities or populations with with this work that's ongoing?
14:11
SPEAKER_02: So I would say in a in a loose sense, they they all relate in the sense that it's a it's the connector.
14:18
SPEAKER_03: The connector.
14:19
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
14:19
SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's kind of like a watershed of everything coming downstream but connected between the different parts of the watershed.
14:27
SPEAKER_03: So yeah, I hear what you're saying about that interest in your backyard, but also understanding how our neighbors may be disconnected and we can reach out to them for new things.
14:37
SPEAKER_03: Right.
14:37
unknown: Right.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: So you have your BA in environmental studies from University of Pittsburgh.
14:43
SPEAKER_00: Go Berg.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: What sparked your interest in environmental studies?
14:48
SPEAKER_02: I didn't know that that's what I wanted to study.
14:50
SPEAKER_02: It's just, and I'm showing my age here, Ken, but when it when we had the course selection book and I was leafing through it, I don't know if they still print those anymore.
14:58
SPEAKER_02: But that all of those courses were what stood out to me.
15:01
SPEAKER_02: So natural disasters or the earth systems, the climate, those were the courses that I thought, oh, I'd like maybe can I put that as my elective?
15:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
15:10
SPEAKER_02: And so it it was more of a progression that that's what I that's what I was gravitating toward.
15:17
SPEAKER_02: In I think it was in middle school, I did a career shadow with an occupational therapist and thought, oh, I could really see myself doing that.
15:24
SPEAKER_02: I like, you know, I love people working with working with people, helping people.
15:29
SPEAKER_02: Um, thought that's what I wanted to do.
15:32
SPEAKER_02: So hadn't declared that as my major.
15:34
SPEAKER_02: And of course, you know, my mom was happy about that with job security and working in the medical field.
15:39
SPEAKER_02: Um and then of course I wasn't so sure that that's what I not that I didn't want to study that, but then what was speaking to me and what what jumped out at me were these environmental courses.
15:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:52
SPEAKER_02: So it I guess was a slow progression.
15:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:55
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: Now, did you grow up in nature?
15:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I grew up playing outside.
16:00
SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of trees around my parents' house, so definitely spent a lot of time outside as a kid.
16:05
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
16:06
SPEAKER_02: But there was no stream in my backyard.
16:07
SPEAKER_02: Unfortunately, had I had there been a stream, I might have made some discoveries sooner.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
16:12
SPEAKER_02: But yeah.
16:14
SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
16:15
SPEAKER_00: And you did say that you're love working with people.
16:19
SPEAKER_00: And you brought on some unique local partners like Brightside Baptist Opportunity Center.
16:26
SPEAKER_00: Why is that important to clean water here in Lancaster?
16:29
SPEAKER_02: Well, I think that if we, as we're doing clean water work, we can't leave voices out.
16:35
SPEAKER_02: The more invoices that we include, I think ultimately the more successful we'll be in realizing the goals that we have around clean water.
16:43
SPEAKER_02: And we all drink the same water, we all breathe the same air.
16:47
SPEAKER_02: So having a collaborative effort towards that will ultimately be more successful if that's how we approach it.
16:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:55
SPEAKER_03: So the work that you're doing now is with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and that has a green infrastructure focus to it, which for sure ties to partners and collaboration, but how does it tie to manatees in Pittsburgh and the type of environmental work that you are obviously so passionate about?
17:14
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
17:15
SPEAKER_02: So I am the Pennsylvania Green Infrastructure and Forest Projects coordinator for the Alliance.
17:21
SPEAKER_02: And green infrastructure in general is looking at how we can mimic nature-based solutions to manage things like stormwater in our built environment.
17:31
SPEAKER_02: So we do a lot of work looking at, okay, how can we reduce runoff using things like rain gardens?
17:37
SPEAKER_02: How can we bring in other voices who might be interested in a rain garden and have that be something that they can learn from, or that the greater, the wider public can learn from, but at the same time manage some stormwater in the process and be almost like a living classroom.
17:53
SPEAKER_02: So that's one thing that has been so exciting at Brightside is the rain garden has just been such a catalyst for involving some of their youth programs and their STEM programs, but then just this ongoing installation.
18:08
SPEAKER_02: I'm not sure.
18:09
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's kind of a growth of that.
18:10
SPEAKER_02: It's not its own program, but it's like this connector piece, right?
18:13
SPEAKER_02: It's a connector, yeah.
18:14
SPEAKER_02: And so it has been a way for other members of the congregation to be curious, like, oh, I I saw this was blooming in the the rain garden, or there was a really touching story that was shared with me that there was a woman who had passed away and she loved butterflies.
18:34
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yes, I remember this.
18:36
SPEAKER_02: That's a good story.
18:38
SPEAKER_02: At her funeral, they kept seeing butterflies through the sanctuary window, which were visiting the flowers in the rain garden.
18:46
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
18:46
SPEAKER_02: It was just so so touching that that that was something that had extended meaning beyond just it beyond just its function as a ring garden that is helping to steward the watershed.
19:00
SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's awesome.
19:02
SPEAKER_02: But also a way that served to offer some some meaning to the folks attending the the future.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that is so cool.
19:08
SPEAKER_02: It was a little off topic.
19:09
SPEAKER_02: Sorry.
19:10
SPEAKER_02: No, not at all.
19:12
SPEAKER_02: Not at all.
19:12
SPEAKER_03: That's exactly the kind of work that you're focused on of those people and access and how green infrastructure is a tool to help bring those things together.
19:22
SPEAKER_03: How does that work for the alliance?
19:24
SPEAKER_03: Like, how is that a priority for your organization?
19:26
SPEAKER_03: Because I think of the we've had some mother gas from the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay on and you guys do everything from buffers to ag to green infrastructure and water quality monitoring.
19:35
SPEAKER_03: And so what does that look like for Emily here in Lancaster?
19:38
SPEAKER_03: And how does that, I guess, translate into some specific geographies, maybe?
19:42
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
19:42
SPEAKER_02: So we, I guess for myself, I'm looking at where can we fill gaps that maybe a municipality is not to connect the local community or residents with on the ground actions that they can take, even if it's just learning about stormwater as an entry point.
20:00
SPEAKER_02: But maybe once we learn about stormwater, is there a small action step that once someone is interested, that a small action step that they can take?
20:09
SPEAKER_02: So is that disconnecting their downspout if they are able to something, you know, so looking for the entry point for different audiences.
20:18
SPEAKER_02: So Yeah, you're giving them action steps.
20:21
SPEAKER_02: Right.
20:21
SPEAKER_02: And so maybe oftentimes I see native plants as a really powerful gateway practice.
20:28
SPEAKER_02: Someone might be interested in swamp milkweed because they heard that it supports monarch butterfly caterpillars.
20:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:37
SPEAKER_02: And then you say, well, if you plant it near your downspout, it really likes moist soil.
20:42
SPEAKER_02: So that's a way to help absorb storm water.
20:45
SPEAKER_02: And then it can be a progression from there where maybe it sparks a small amount of curiosity, and then they plant a couple more milkweed plants, and pretty soon we have a rain garden.
20:56
SPEAKER_02: Hopefully.
20:58
SPEAKER_02: It literally grows from there.
20:59
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
21:00
SPEAKER_02: So I think that using those aspects of the natural world and curiosity about wildlife or curiosity about being involved in protecting biodiversity that can lead to other things that bigger steps.
21:15
SPEAKER_00: Now you are a part of the Lancaster Bird Society.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: What sparked your interest in birds?
21:22
SPEAKER_02: So I had gone on a field trip in college, which was actually for a geology course, ironically enough.
21:30
SPEAKER_02: But one of the professors who had attended the trip was the biology professor, Tony Bledsoe.
21:38
SPEAKER_02: I still remember.
21:39
SPEAKER_02: I don't even remember where it was at, to be honest.
21:41
SPEAKER_02: But we were standing at the edge of a lake and it was right around dusk, so it was very hard to see.
21:47
SPEAKER_02: And a bird flew out, and he basically could only see the silhouette.
21:51
SPEAKER_02: And I g what I know now is maybe habitat clues and flight pattern, maybe some type of call note, but he called out what the bird was, and I don't Remember what the bird was, but I thought, how did he do that?
22:02
SPEAKER_02: That's really cool.
22:03
SPEAKER_02: I'd like to be able to do that.
22:05
SPEAKER_02: So just by having some minimal clues about, you know, maybe he had the silhouette of the bird, he was able to identify it.
22:13
SPEAKER_02: So I tucked that away and didn't take any action on that.
22:17
SPEAKER_02: I think I bought a bird book, but didn't really know how to use it.
22:20
SPEAKER_02: And as part of the environmental studies degree requirement, we had to do a field course.
22:25
SPEAKER_02: And so I thought, well, I'll do ecology.
22:27
SPEAKER_02: I'll do the ecology in the lab as part of my field course requirement.
22:31
SPEAKER_02: And at the last minute, I crossed it out and selected ornithology.
22:36
SPEAKER_02: I didn't know we had to get up at 4 a.m.
22:38
SPEAKER_02: every day to admit to that.
22:41
SPEAKER_02: And I struggled being a morning person.
22:43
SPEAKER_02: But I'm glad I didn't know that when I signed up for it.
22:46
SPEAKER_01: Right.
22:47
SPEAKER_02: But so then I took uh lo and behold, it was Tony Bledsoe leading this bird horse.
22:52
SPEAKER_02: Once we had the binoculars in hand and everything, once I saw these birds through my binoculars and the colors were so vivid, and I thought, oh my gosh, I've been, you mean I've been missing out on this the whole time?
23:04
SPEAKER_02: Like these have these birds aren't exotic birds.
23:07
SPEAKER_02: I've never taken a closer look at them or or paused to notice them.
23:12
SPEAKER_02: So I think it was seeing the birds through the binoculars that really did it for me.
23:17
SPEAKER_02: And you know, common birds like a northern cardinal or a tree swallow and seeing that really bright, vivid coloration of their feathers, I think is what did it for me.
23:26
SPEAKER_02: But I'm curious, Ken, what if you have a spark bird or a bird?
23:32
SPEAKER_02: Because I I heard that you are interested in birds, you might have taken skill track and just started, but it's a but it's a similar thing.
23:39
SPEAKER_00: And I think I've talked about this on the podcast before.
23:41
SPEAKER_00: But Water Week, we did a uh a nature walk, and Mike from Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake was leading it.
23:50
SPEAKER_00: And it was a similar type of thing.
23:52
SPEAKER_00: It's like he hears a call and he goes, Oh yeah, that's a you know, that that that's a bluebird.
23:58
SPEAKER_00: And then he'd look around and he'd he'd find it and he'd point at it right up there at the top of that tree.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: And I went, How the heck can he find that so darn quick?
24:05
SPEAKER_00: Uh and then he's actually doing bird calls.
24:09
SPEAKER_00: And I'm listening to these birds responding back to him.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, okay, there's something here.
24:14
SPEAKER_00: There's there's something there's something neat going on.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: And I thought, you know, but the ability to recognize a call and find the bird and you know, being able to identify it, just really like that would be a really cool skill to have.
24:27
SPEAKER_00: And then as I same type of thing, as as I study birds a little bit more and and the beauty of their of their plumage and and whatnot is is really kind of fascinating me.
24:36
SPEAKER_02: So and I think they're such a cool, to use the expression canary in the coal mine, because they're so visible, yeah.
24:42
SPEAKER_02: That's been one thing that's been a nice part of the birding experience, is that if you're familiar with eBird, you can log your observations and then it's being it's contributing to citizen science and helping scientists understand bird populations and distribution.
24:59
SPEAKER_02: Uh so that that feels really powerful that you're you might be birding in a very common place, but you're recording the species that you're seeing, and that can add to the collective effort.
25:09
SPEAKER_02: Contributing.
25:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
25:11
SPEAKER_03: Do you see that tied to your forestry work or your green infrastructure?
25:14
SPEAKER_03: Like you talked about the plants that go in for certain habitat.
25:18
SPEAKER_03: Are those are you seeing the results of that of bird populations?
25:22
SPEAKER_02: I I would say that's definitely a driving force in something that gives me resolve when you're when you're implementing a project, and then afterwards you go back and visit and you start to see or notice the habitat being used as habitat, and you think, oh, this is, you know, these birds wouldn't be here if this habitat wasn't here, like if this was still just turf grass.
25:42
SPEAKER_02: So one example to go back to Bright Side is there's a number of purple cone flowers that are planted on the the edge of the rain garden where it's not quite as moist and damp, but have seen quite a few goldfinches enjoying those seeds.
25:57
SPEAKER_02: So that's that's a very colorful bird, and that can really that could be a spark bird for someone to, oh, that's a really neat bird.
26:04
SPEAKER_02: I haven't seen that before to spark curiosity.
26:06
SPEAKER_02: What is it?
26:07
SPEAKER_03: Well, and to have that have that access because of a habitat that has been planted.
26:12
SPEAKER_03: And otherwise, people in that area or people in the space that don't or in a space that isn't green, they don't have that access.
26:19
SPEAKER_03: And so it's such a direct connection, like you said, giving people that option opportunity.
26:24
SPEAKER_02: So Yeah.
26:25
SPEAKER_02: And this spring I went and I popped over.
26:28
SPEAKER_02: I was in the neighborhood and popped over to Brightside one day just to check on the rain garden.
26:33
SPEAKER_02: And I almost stepped on a mallard that was she was so camouflaged.
26:38
SPEAKER_02: I didn't see her until I was almost on top of her.
26:40
SPEAKER_02: So there was a mallard that was using it as a nest.
26:43
SPEAKER_02: As a nest.
26:44
SPEAKER_02: And I have unfortunate news that I don't think that she, I don't think it was a successful nest attack.
26:51
SPEAKER_02: I don't know that the eggs ever hatched, unfortunately.
26:55
SPEAKER_02: But that was still a really powerful reminder that if we recreate pockets of habitat, that that can really have a net benefit for wildlife.
27:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
27:04
SPEAKER_02: That's amazing.
27:06
SPEAKER_03: A question for you because of that work in Lancaster and looking, you've mentioned the collaborative approach and these goals that we're all kind of sharing.
27:14
SPEAKER_03: So one of the things for us in 2025 is that we're looking at 25 as this milestone for Bay related things.
27:22
SPEAKER_03: So your team at the Alliance is Bay Wide, Chesapeake Bay wide watershed.
27:27
SPEAKER_03: In Lancaster, we want a clean and clear water in Lancaster, but 2025 for Bay related work, water quality, that's not our stopping point.
27:34
SPEAKER_03: So what brings you excitement and some eagerness as we all kind of look beyond 2025?
27:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think for me, Alison, the numbers are important, but I think Yeah, you date a person.
27:46
SPEAKER_02: But um I think what really motivates me more than that per se is the collective awareness that we're building.
27:53
SPEAKER_02: There's a, I feel like there's this groundswell of awareness, of you know, a wider public being informed, a wider public being aware that there is clean water work happening and that there are so many different groups, it's hard to keep up with all of the good work that different groups are doing to work towards this goal.
28:12
SPEAKER_02: So for me, I think what brings me excitement is thinking about how more people are coming into the work.
28:19
unknown: Yeah.
28:20
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's in no short part due to amazing things like Water Week.
28:24
SPEAKER_02: Like every year there's more Water Week events, and that's so amazing to see more people downtown participating and getting their tree, you know, and not just Water Week, I'm using that as an example, but if I run into a student in school district of Lancaster and ask them, Do you know what our river, what the name of our river is?
28:44
SPEAKER_02: And they say, the Conestoga.
28:46
SPEAKER_02: And that is that for me is so exciting that we have more of an awareness across different age groups.
28:53
SPEAKER_02: There's just an effort across many levels to bring more people into the conversation and more people into the to the space.
29:03
SPEAKER_02: I don't think that we'll be completely successful if we're doing it in a vacuum.
29:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
29:09
SPEAKER_02: I think we have to, you know, and I mentioned Water Week, but I think also the the work of Clean Water Partners to elevate the narrative, to elevate the stories and highlight the different projects that are happening or voices where municipalities are doing good work and clean water projects.
29:27
SPEAKER_02: So I think that's what gives me resolve and excitement.
29:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
29:31
SPEAKER_02: So good, so good.
29:34
SPEAKER_00: We have arrived at my favorite part of the show, and that is trivia time.
29:39
SPEAKER_03: Here we go.
29:40
SPEAKER_00: Now we did a similar thing with Sally Reynolds back in season one, I believe it was, where I described a bird and then she told me what that bird was.
29:49
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna try something a little bit similar, but more audio.
29:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna play a bird call for you, and I need you to tell me what that bird is.
29:59
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
29:59
SPEAKER_02: All right, I'll do my best.
30:01
SPEAKER_00: Here we go.
30:09
SPEAKER_02: Morning dove?
30:10
SPEAKER_00: It is a morning dove.
30:11
SPEAKER_02: That is one of my favorite birds.
30:13
SPEAKER_02: Just because the sound is so soothing.
30:17
SPEAKER_00: Moving on to number two.
30:22
SPEAKER_02: Northern Cardinal?
30:23
SPEAKER_02: It is a cardinal.
30:24
SPEAKER_02: Oh, she's good.
30:26
SPEAKER_00: Number three.
30:32
SPEAKER_03: The blue jay?
30:33
SPEAKER_00: It is a blue jay.
30:36
SPEAKER_00: Yes, you're on a roll.
30:37
SPEAKER_00: I love that.
30:38
SPEAKER_00: Number four.
30:46
SPEAKER_00: It is a gold finch.
30:48
SPEAKER_00: All right.
30:49
SPEAKER_00: Very good.
30:50
SPEAKER_00: The next one.
30:56
SPEAKER_02: Piliated woodpecker?
30:57
SPEAKER_00: He is indeed a pileated woodpecker.
30:59
SPEAKER_00: Not only did she get woodpecker, she got pileated woodpecker.
31:02
SPEAKER_00: I love that.
31:03
SPEAKER_00: That is pretty good.
31:03
SPEAKER_03: You can start whipping out species names, like Latin terms.
31:08
SPEAKER_03: Amazed.
31:09
SPEAKER_00: I'm just hey, if she starts using the Latin terms, I'm just gonna have to assume that she's saying the right thing because I don't know them.
31:16
SPEAKER_00: Moving on to the next one.
31:30
SPEAKER_02: This is when I wish I had some habitat for his 10.
31:36
SPEAKER_02: American Robin.
31:37
SPEAKER_00: It is a robin.
31:39
SPEAKER_02: I don't know why that one threw me for a loop.
31:43
SPEAKER_00: This one might not.
31:44
SPEAKER_00: This one should be a pretty, pretty good one for you.
31:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, brown-headed cowbird.
31:56
SPEAKER_00: It is indeed a brown-headed cowbird.
31:58
unknown: Wow.
31:59
SPEAKER_02: I'm discovering how important those habitat clues are.
32:02
SPEAKER_02: When I hear the sound in isolation, it's like, oh, what else?
32:05
SPEAKER_03: I feel like the podcast area has now been turned into an avian.
32:08
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
32:09
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
32:11
SPEAKER_00: And the next one.
32:17
SPEAKER_03: I should know the name of this group.
32:20
SPEAKER_02: The birds.
32:20
SPEAKER_02: It is the birds.
32:23
SPEAKER_02: It's a very familiar song.
32:24
SPEAKER_02: I just wasn't 100% sure of the artist.
32:27
SPEAKER_02: That's perfect.
32:29
SPEAKER_00: I love that.
32:30
SPEAKER_02: You did it.
32:30
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
32:31
SPEAKER_00: Great job.
32:32
SPEAKER_02: Oh, well, thank you, Kev.
32:34
SPEAKER_00: That is our trivia, and that is our episode.
32:38
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, Emily, for joining us.
32:41
SPEAKER_02: Oh, thank you both.
32:42
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's been wonderful to chat.
32:44
SPEAKER_00: And we will be back in just a couple of weeks.
32:47
SPEAKER_00: Until then, take care.
32:49
SPEAKER_03: Bye, everybody.
32:52
SPEAKER_00: Cleanwater Conversations is brought to you by Lancaster Clean Water Partners.
32:56
SPEAKER_00: If you have comments or suggestions on show topics, please contact us at infolancaster cleanwaterpartners.com.
33:04
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening.