Conservation Connection

Underwater robots searching for deep sea coral, algae-loving bacteria that might solve wastewater problems, and an invasive seaweed that is shifting ecosystems and bringing bacterial hitchhikers; quite a broad range for undergraduate research! Lilia, Pressley, Ana, and Jordan are three undergraduates from across the country participating in the Fort Johnson REU program this summer, and they sit down with the Conservation Connection team to share their experiences and discoveries.

Not only are these undergrads pushing the boundaries of scientific understanding in their topics, they're practicing valuable skills in science communication that they'll need for the rest of their careers as researchers! Communicating science to other researchers is one thing, but helping the public understand why their research matters is a different skill set entirely.

Want to read more about their work this summer? Check out the Fort Johnson REU Blog: https://blogreu.wordpress.com

The Hansen name was made famous when Mark Victor Hansen co-created the best selling book series Chicken Soup For the Soul, and he and his family are using their success to make this planet a better place! We sit down for a mini episode with the team that's pushing to make water-purifying technology available across the globe. Powered by table salt and a tiny solar panel, this device can fit in a pocket and purify up to 10 gallons of water a day!  Listen in to hear all about its development and how it can save lives.

Check out these links to learn more: 

metamorphosisenergy.us

https://ecoworldtechnologies.com

Here are some of our favorite quotes from this episode!

"I wanted to be involved in something that was game-changing and positive for the world so I became a part of Metamorphosis Energy." -Preston Weekes

"9000 people die a day from drinking contaminated water. 5000 of those are children." -Crystal Hansen

"You can disinfect this water with no power, no resources. You can do it anywhere in the world." -Preston Weekes

"We’re a solution company, and there aren’t many of them around. Both philosophically and technologically." -Mark Victor Hansen

Intersex snails with a story to tell, dead shrimp that are validating a mathematical model, and the hidden dangers of oceanic micro-plastics; quite a broad range for undergraduate research! Sam, Carolina, and Kelsey are three undergraduates from across the country participating in the Fort Johnson REU program this summer, and they sit down with the Conservation Connection team to share their experiences and discoveries.

Not only are these undergrads pushing the boundaries of scientific understanding in their topics, they're practicing valuable skills in science communication that they'll need for the rest of their careers as researchers! Communicating science to other researchers is one thing, but helping the public understand why their research matters is a different skill set entirely.

Want to read more about their work this summer? Check out the Fort Johnson REU Blog: https://blogreu.wordpress.com

Extremophile bacteria affecting clouds, disappearing crocodiles, and an epidemic affecting wild sea lions; quite a broad range for undergraduate research! Jackson, Jules, and Katherine are three undergraduates from across the country participating in the Fort Johnson REU program this summer, and they sit down with the Conservation Connection team to share their experiences and discoveries.  

Not only are these undergrads pushing the boundaries of scientific understanding in their topics, they're practicing valuable skills in science communication that they'll need for the rest of their careers as researchers! Communicating science to other researchers is one thing, but helping the public understand why their research matters is a different skill set entirely. 

Want to read more about their work this summer? Check out the Fort Johnson REU Blog: https://blogreu.wordpress.com

Charley and Aislinn are two of the founding members of Heirs to Our Oceans, a global youth organization that is working to inspire kids to learn about and protect oceans and waterways for future generations. Did we mention they are only 15 and 13? Yep, these teens aren't just sitting back and waiting, they're taking action today to protect their own futures! With chapters from Kentucky to Palau, this nonprofit is building up steam to be a major player in the fight to protect our planet! Listen in to hear how they got started, how you can help, and how YOU can join the movement. 

To visit their website, click here: www.heirstoouroceans.com

To see the latest news from Heirs to Our Oceans, visit their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/heirstoouroceans

To see even more Heirs news, check out their instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heirstoouroceans/

Here are some of our favorite quotes from this episode!

“I’m focusing more on ocean legislation and policy which is a bit different from other kids' focus areas.”  -Aislinn

“We’re really all about connecting youth globally, really around the world, and getting all youth connected around the problem of ocean conservation.”  -Aislinn

“My sister and I got together a bunch of our friends and people that our friends knew and we came together as the first Heirs to our Oceans chapter.”  -Charley

“We realized that it was more important to get kids inspired now and have that be the journey.”  -Charley

“Support your local youth. Support them in their passions and where they want to go with the environment and their careers.”  -Charley

“Really everyone needs to get involved. It’s the next generation stepping forward, its previous generations helping us out, it’s people from around the world coming together to solve these problems.”  -Aislinn

We're kicking off our first mini-series by bringing Dr. Bob Podolsky back on the show! He's the director of both the Grice Marine Lab and the Fort Johnson REU Program, and he's sitting down with his colleague Dr. Heather Fullerton to describe the incredible opportunities they make available to undergraduate students every summer. These students get ten weeks to pursue original research, allowing them to experience the life of a professional researcher while honing skills they'll need in their future careers. 

Every Sunday for the next three weeks we'll be posting an episode that highlights these students' research and their experience in Charleston during this field season, so be sure to tune in next weekend!

If you'd like to learn more about the College of Charleston REU Program, click here: http://reu.cofc.edu

If you'd like to check out their Instagram, click here: https://www.instagram.com/cofcbiology/?hl=en

If you'd like to check out their Facebook, click here: https://www.facebook.com/cofcbiology/

Heidi Whitehead is the Executive Director of the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, and has helped countless marine mammals in need over the course of her career. Listen in to hear about TMMSN's partnership with SeaWorld and how their "time capsule" of resources is advancing the field of marine mammal medicine and rehabilitation all over the world!  She also shares wild stories of rescuing animals in the wake of devastating hurricanes.

To learn more about the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, click here: http://www.dolphinrescue.org

To see the latest news from the TMMSN, visit their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tmmsn.dolphin.rescue

Here are some of our favorite quotes from this episode!

“We look at every animal that comes in as an opportunity to help future animals that strand.”

“It’s not all just playing with dolphins in a pool; when you’re dealing with rescue and rehabilitation specifically you’re not dealing with healthy animals.”

“Several years ago we formalized the partnership [with SeaWorld] so that we could really move forward and advance the stranding network’s ability to provide care for more animals.”

“I got in touch with the Coast Guard helicopter crew and said ‘There’s no way we can get this dolphin back unless we put it in your helicopter!’ ”

Dr. Slattery is the Director of the Institute for Environmental Studies at Texas Christian University, and he and his students are making waves all over the field of ecology! Listen in to hear more about TCU's research station in the Cloud Forests of Costa Rica, where it's not precipitation but the clouds themselves that feed the hydrologic cycle. We also discuss the plight of the South African Rhino, possible solutions to the problem, and the incredibly complex issue of wildlife poaching. 

To learn more about TCU's Environmental Studies program, click here:  https://environment.tcu.edu/ 

To learn more about rhinos in South Africa, click here:  https://planetrhino.tcu.edu/ 

Here are some of our favorite quotes from this episode!

"If you’re dealing with difficult environmental issues, you need a broad range of perspectives."

"I think it’s not overstating the case to say that within a decade or two we’re looking at [rhinos] being gone unless we solve this problem."

"When someone in the bush gets approached by a poacher or a poaching syndicate, not even necessarily to poach an animal but just tell them where these animals are, and they can get the equivalent of one to four years salary just by telling them that and they can put food on the table to feed their family for one year or more, that’s an easy decision. I probably would make the same decision."

"Most people have that visceral reaction 'let’s just arm everybody and go shoot poachers.'  We’re not going to be able to shoot our way out of this crisis."

"It all simply comes down to finding a way for these local communities to protect [the rhinos] themselves in the long run."

"I know we’ve turned every one of those young men and women into advocates for wildlife conservation, so that’s been really powerful."

Museums are illuminating places, and no one knows that better than Kirk Johnson, the Sant Director of the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institute. He believes that museums are the last bastions of the real thing: one of the only places left where you can come face-to-face with an authentic artifact and experience it first hand. Listen in as Chance and Sarah Kathryn talk with Kirk about his experience as the Director over the last few years; everything from innovative technology to the magical surprises that come with working at a world class museum of natural history. 

Do you know what animal is the closest living relative to a bear? Or how many squirrel specimens can be found in the National Squirrel Collection? Kirk shares these tidbits and more! 

If you're in the DC area, check out the new exhibit "Deep Time" opening this Saturday, June 8th 2019! It's more than a fossil room, it tells the story of life on our planet from the earliest organisms to modern day, and continues on into the future of what our planet may look like!

Here are some of our favorite quotes from this episode:

"I prefer to think of museums as the last bastion of the real thing."  - Kirk Johnson

"If you ask the question: what’s the nearest living animal to a bear, most people can’t answer that question.  Can you?" - Kirk Johnson

"Down the hall from my office is the national squirrel collection, where we have 32 thousand squirrels." - Kirk Johnson

"The whole story of conservation is based on what do we stand to lose on planet Earth, and the first thing you have to know is what do we have on planet Earth." - Kirk Johnson

"It’s about 15 million years old. It’s on display in the new exhibit. You’ve probably never heard of it. David Attenborough had never heard of it! I was so psyched to stump David Attenborough." -Kirk Johnson

The world's coral reefs are in crisis and dying off at an alarming rate, but conservationists are working day and night to protect them! Meet Guyon Brenna and Zoë Ward, two members of Reef Life Foundation ( https://www.reeflifefoundation.org/post/last-chance-endeavors) who are doing just that. Reef Life Foundation and its partners have developed a brand new material (Oceanite) that they're using to build artificial reefs, and are applying the cutting edge science of coral micro-fragmentation to grow corals up to 50 times faster than they would out in the wild!

Click here to purchase a bracelet and plant a coral:  https://www.reeflifefoundation.org/shop 

Click here to see Oceanite and a micro-fragmentation disk:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YITW3s63b1c 

Click here to watch a video about their test sites in St. Maarten:  https://vimeo.com/325568580 

Here are some of our favorite quotes from this episode:

"The rate at which we can get coral to grow... is unlike anything we've ever seen before" -Zoë Ward, Reef Life Foundation

"On SeaLegacy's website, we are their only solutions partner. So we are the person that they expect to have results, do the thing, figure it out." -Guyon Brenna, Reef Life Foundation

"If you are a fan of breathing, then you should be a fan of reefs." -Zoë Ward, Reef Life Foundation

" We want to be the first line out there, planting the coral and making sure that we’re having an impact in the areas that we’re supporting." -Zoë Ward, Reef Life Foundation