Earthworms

Here at the confluence of the fourth largest watershed on Earth, most St. Louisans don't connect with our big rivers - or our community tributaries - beyond an occasional public event. How to help us relate to the value, needs and health of our waters? Convening presenters from local, DC and global advocacy groups, this is the Global Freshwaters Summit's intent.

Organizer Laura Madden grew up in St. Louis on Coldwater Creek, now notoriously contaminated by radioactive waste. From a visit here with DC colleague and friend Myra Jackson, these women have rallied colleagues in environmental and social action, coordinating a virtual event hosted by the Missouri Historical Society around their landmark "Mighty Mississippi" exhibit.

Conference sessions and a film festival take place April 19-23, on Zoom. Registration is free. Overflowing the banks of "normal" Earth Week events, this summit aims to Change In One Generation how we humans relate to freshwater resources - and each other.

THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms Engineer, with a shout-out to Andy Coco and Jon Valley, KDHX production staff. Related Earthworms Conversations:

Related Earthworms Conversations: Mighty Mississippi Exhibit with curator David Lobbig (Dec 2019)

Living with Rivers: Big Muddy MO (Feb 2019)

Earth Day, April 22, is one of the most widely observed dates on this planet. For enviro-advocates, this celebration has become Earth Month: starts in March, runs to May.

This is way true for the folks of EarthDay-365, celebrating virtually again this year in St. Louis. Executive Director Dr. Jess Watson, and Bob Henkel, Director of Programs. Earthworms host Jean Ponzi knows Jess and Bob as colleagues and friends, so this preview of a month of social action, learning, engagement and fun comes from heart, hands and eco-logic intertwined.

Give a listen, get involved! Happy Earth Month to you!

THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms engineer, and to Andy Coco and Jon Valley, the KDHX production team.

Related Earthworms Conversations:Earth Day: History of a Genius Event with Adam Rome (May 2018)

As dancer and choreographer Dawn Karlovsky read about The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate in Peter Wohlleben's bestseller of that name, SHE felt that communication - and transformed her experience into dance.

Her conversation with Earthworms host Jean Ponzi explores the nature of movement as a primary force mastered (even in stillness) by trees, from whom our species can take a useful leaf!

Karlovsky and Company's performance this spring of Interwoven celebrates the nourishing nurturing interconnected nature of what we now know as the "Wood-Wide Web" in a collaborative performance that includes original music by Tory Starbuck and Kalo Hoyle with stage design/visual art by Dr. Bill Russell.

Audiences can virtually experience Interwoven March 26 - April 11, and learn more about this and other collaborative works at www.karlovskydance.org THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms friend & engineer, and to KDHX production staff Andy Coco and Jon Valley.

Related Earthworms Conversations: In the Company of Trees with Andrea Sarubbi Fareshteh (Jan 2019)

Joan Lipkin: Focusing Theater Power on Climate Change (Oct 2017)

Related: Joan Lipkin Climate Plays

NEED PIX from Dawn

Becky Brittain is a passionate sparkler of life, a practiced mover of energies to help ourselves, Earth and others. Her new book The Art of Sparkling - Share Your Inner Light with the World (Weeping Willow, 2020) embodies Becky's energy, grounded in some hefty experiential cred.

Becky Brittain, Ph.D., R-DMT, is a clinically trained psychotherapist, life coach, registered dance-movement therapist, and energy transmitter. Her doctorate in prenatal and perinatal psychology from the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, M.A. in dance therapy from UCLA, and B.A. in Psychology and Dance have, as she describes in the book, all contributed to Becky's work in evolving fields and to her sparkle explorations.

Becky Brittain and Earthworms host Jean Ponzi are old friends. When Becky taught somatic psychology at Washington University in St. Louis (for 29 years) she tuned into Earthworms on KDHX, driving home from class. Hear connection sparkling between these two! As Becky Brittain says, it's a dance in light.

THANKS to Earthworms Green-pro engineer Andy Heaslet, with a shout-out always to KDHX production pros Andy Coco and Jon Valley. Related Earthworms Conversations: Dr. Sharon Deem DVM - One Health for People, Animals, Earth (August 2020)

Pen Augustin on Energy Healing (May 2015)

Crystal Moore Stevens: Grow, Create, Inspire (Oct 2016)

Lark Rodman on Ecological Revival (Feb 2015)

Sparkle Plenty - Yippee-oo!

Back in 2009, HUD gave St. Louis their largest-ever grant award to develop a regional sustainability plan. A zillion stakeholder-session hours late, OneSTL took form. But, as with many plans, there was no $$ for implementation - until Person-Power took the helm.

Today, circles of advocates working in six focus areas are implementing SMART targets, making OneSTL both plan and reality. Earthworms is proud to spotlight OneSTL in this conversation with Aaron Young, Sustainability Project Manager, and Gena Jain, Sustainability Planner with our East-West Gateway Council of Governments.

Across our bi-state region, under the banner of OneSTL, good work is underway the areas of Food Access, Water and Green Infrastructure, Materials and Recycling, Energy and Emissions, Green Transportation and Biodiversity. Give a listen!

THANKS to Earthworms engineers, Andy Heaslet, Jon Valley and Andy Coco

Earthworms host Jean Ponzi contributed to We Are OneSTL stories for November 2020.

Earthworms Conversations with St. Louis Leaders:

Dr. Sharon Deem, DVM: One Health for People, Animals, Earth

VR Botany: Dr. Kyra Krakos Brings Outdoors Waaaaaaay In

Heather Navarro: 50 Years of MO Coalition for the Environment

The mission of Heru Urban Farming, growing on lots in the City of St. Louis, is to bring healthy, sustainable produce to those who need it most. Founder and CEO Tyrean Heru Lewis is a 5th generation farmer with a background in health and physical education, a Master's degree in Management, and a vibrant passion for growing food that will grow health and vitality for the community he feeds.

Heru's passion is a tangible force. Hearing him talk about his work is feeling the joyful focus he pours into working. Inspiring, practical. Extraordinary. Heru Urban Farming holds Golden Beet Certification from Known & Grown STL, our regional sustainable food brand and certification system.

Big congrats for the early December announcement that Heru Urban Farming is awarded a $50,000 grant from the University of Missouri-St. Louis Accelerator. Heru is one of five recipients selected from 470 applicants. The award also includes $200,000 in in-kind service from the Accelerator program.

THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms engineer, supported by Andy Coco and Jon Valley at KDHX Production

Related Earthworms Conversations: Tosha Phonix: Organizing Food Justice, Growing Community (Oct 2019)

Known & Grown: Brand Boosting Capacity for Local Food (June 2019)

Greenwood Cemetery: History, Community, Restoration Work (Jan 2018)

Earthworms On The Farm - conversation series NEW for 2021! This periodic feature welcomes farmer participants in Known & Grown STL, a regional local-food certification program and brand from the Missouri Coalition for the Environment.

First up: Crystal Stevens, whose Flourish farm is located near Godfrey Illinois, returns to Earthworms to share her story of family-farming over 100 varieties of fruits, flowers and culinary and medicinal herbs.

Learn more about Flourish and Known & Grown STL!

Andy Heaslet is Earthworms engineer, supported by Andy Coco and Jon Valley on the KDHX staff. THANKS!

Related Earthworms Conversations:

Known & Grown STL: New Brand Boosts Capacity for Local Food (June 2019)

Tend & Flourish School of Botanicals (Feb 2020)

Grow, Create, Inspire: a Lifestyle Guide from Crystal Stevens (Oct 2016)

Along the trail into a New Year, Terrain Magazine celebrates outdoor activity - and local faves - with 2021 Readers' Choice Awards.

Editor/publisher Brad Kovach shares the what-how-why of this specialized pub's success, promoting hiking, climbing, paddling, cycling and generally, actively enjoying NATURE.

Big Thanks to Terrain readers for naming KDHX Earthworms host Jean Ponzi your choice as Enviro-Advocate this year! Especially appreciated since Choice honorees are totally proposed by Readers, not suggested by any official list. Yay! Means a lot!

THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms Enviro-Active Engineer, and to Andy Coco and Jon Valley of KDHX Production.

Related Earthworms Conversations: The New Territory: Traversing the Literary Midwest with Tina Casagrand (May 2017)

Livin' with Rivers: Big Muddy MO with Greg Poleski (Feb 2017)

The Big Book of Nature Activities (June 2016)

Back in Summer 2018, when Earthworms met Tim Kiefer and Beth Grolmes-Kiefer, they talked their dream of urban farming while their subscription compost collection service was taking off through St. Louis' central corridor.

FF toward end of '20 to hear how their Perennial City enterprise is now growing year-round. How Tim and Beth are learning lessons, taking steps forward, back and cyclical - and growing their full-circle urban agriculture dream.

THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms friend & audio engineer, and to KDHX production pros Andy Coco and Jon Valley.

Related Earthworms Conversations:

Fungus Farming for Food & Fun: McCully Heritage Project (Feb 2018)

Perennial City: Urban Mavens of Productive Decay (Aug 2018)

The Easy Chicken: Fowl Fun Comes to You (Dec 2017) Dr. Elaine Ingham: Soil Science Rocks Plant Health (Oct 2017)

When E.O. Wilson, one of the greatest biologists of all time, wrote his memoir Naturalist in 1994, could he have imagined his work illustrated to reach a 21st century visual audience? Today, he does!

KDHX host Jean Ponzi flips the cover with conversation and full-color VIEWS of the new graphic adaptation of Naturalist (November, 2020 - Island Press), in a special KDHX Earthworms Live edition with guest Jim Ottaviani, author of this evolution of a science classic.

What did it take to translate the work of a lifetime into comic form? Ottaviani's comic writing opus spans almost every scientific discipline! Earthworms digs into his Naturalist collaboration with illustrator C. M. Butzer and the book's legendary subject, with rigor, humor and plenty of ants.

Please strongly consider buying Naturalist, and any other publications, from your local independent bookstore!

THANKS to Earthworms tech team: Andy Coco, Andy Heaslet, Jon Valley and Ronnie Wisdom for hatching out this Earthworms Live!

Related Earthworms Conversations: Rule of Five, Landmark Enviro-Case from Supreme Court (June 2020)

One Health for People, Animals, Earth - Dr. Sharon Deem (June 2020)

Nature's Best Hope? Entomologist Doug Tallamy says WE are! (February 2020)