Stories Sustain Us

Summary
In episode #57 of Stories Sustain Us, Steven sits down with Hannah Melville-Rea, a climate resilience researcher whose life journey spans Japan, New Zealand, Abu Dhabi, Australia, and now Stanford University in California. Hannah shares how her multicultural upbringing gave her a “dual lens” on culture, environment, and identity, shaping her unique perspective on sustainability.

From attending COP21 in Paris as part of the UAE student delegation to working in Australian climate policy and now focusing on flood risk, insurance, and equity in California, Hannah’s story highlights the importance of bridging global policy and grassroots community engagement.

She discusses her research on how flood mapping, insurance, and disaster recovery can unintentionally create inequities—and how listening directly to frontline communities can reshape climate resilience strategies. Hannah emphasizes that true progress requires both data-driven insights and community knowledge.

About the Guest
Hannah Melville-Rea is a PhD candidate and Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University, pursuing an interdisciplinary degree in environment and resources. Her research focuses on practical, community-based approaches to improving flood resilience and access to insurance in areas that are often overlooked. Raised in Japan by Australian and New Zealander parents, Hannah developed an early interest in how different countries prepare for and respond to natural disasters. She is interested in bridging science and policy to help reduce the impacts of climate-related events on vulnerable communities.

*Note, "Rea" is pronounced "Ray".

Show Notes
Social media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahmelvillerea/

Takeaways
•Cultural Duality Shapes Perspective: Growing up in Japan with Australian and New Zealand parents gave Hannah an appreciation for both cultural traditions and environmental challenges.
•Global to Local Journey: Hannah’s path moved from international climate negotiations (COP21) to national policy work in Australia, and now to local flood resilience in California.
•Community-Driven Research: Her work highlights the tension between prescriptive top-down policies and the lived realities of residents—showing the need to combine big data with lived experience.
•Equity in Climate Resilience: Flood insurance, mapping, and policy can unintentionally disadvantage vulnerable communities; solutions must be both fair and context-specific.
•Practical Call to Action: Building climate resilience starts with knowing your neighbors, supporting renters, and documenting household belongings for insurance purposes.
•Hope through Curiosity: Hannah believes that curiosity about ourselves, each other, and the environment can create a more collaborative and less judgmental world.

🎙️ Stories Sustain Us is more than a podcast—it's a powerful platform that shares inspiring stories from people working to make the world a better place. Through honest, heartfelt conversations, host Steven Schauer explores the connections between people, planet, and purpose. From climate change and environmental justice to cultural preservation and human resilience, each episode aims to ignite meaningful action toward a more sustainable future.

🌍 Learn more about the podcast, explore past episodes, and discover how you can support storytelling that drives change at storiessustainus.com.

🔗 Follow us and join the conversation:

Facebook: @storiessustainus
Instagram: @stories_sustain_us
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💚 Your voice matters. Share the stories that move you—and help sustain us all.

Summary
In episode 56 of Stories Sustain Us, Steven Schauer sits down with Majora Carter, award-winning urban revitalization strategist, real estate developer, and author of Reclaiming Your Community. From growing up in the South Bronx to spearheading transformative projects, Majora shares her deeply personal journey of resilience, creativity, and community leadership. She opens up about her family’s history in the Great Migration, the pivotal role her mother played in fostering her love of learning, and the turning point when her dog, Xena, led her to the Bronx River — a moment that sparked a cascade of change for her neighborhood.

Majora discusses her “talent retention” approach to community development, the power of restorative capitalism, and her bold vision for creating spaces that inspire residents to stay, thrive, and build generational wealth. This conversation is a masterclass in turning personal passion into systemic change.

About the Guest
Majora Carter is a real estate developer, urban revitalization strategy consultant, MacArthur Fellow, Peabody Award winning broadcaster, and teaches at Princeton University. She's responsible for the creation of numerous economic developments, technology inclusion projects, green-infrastructure developments & policies, and job training & placement systems. Carter applies corporate talent-retention consulting practice to reduce Brain Drain in American low-status communities. She has firsthand experience pioneering sustainable economic development in one of America's most storied low-status communities: the South Bronx, as well as cities across North America and abroad.

Show Notes
Majora Carter Group website: https://majoracartergroup.com/

Takeaways
•Roots in the South Bronx – Majora’s childhood was shaped by both hardship and the strength of a tightly knit community during the “burning Bronx.”
•Family Legacy – Her parents moved north seeking opportunity, and their sacrifices laid the foundation for her achievements.
•The Power of Early Encouragement – A private writing mentor at age six showed her the value of mentorship and possibility.
•Rediscovering Home – Returning for grad school and engaging with local arts projects rekindled her connection to her neighborhood.
•The Xena Moment – A morning run with her dog led to the Bronx River and sparked the creation of Hunts Point Riverside Park.
•Talent Retention Model – Her strategy focuses on keeping local talent in low-status communities through amenities, economic opportunities, and pride of place.
•Restorative Capitalism – Using economic tools to benefit entire communities, not just a few at the top.
•Current Projects – Revitalizing a historic rail station, creating a transit-oriented development with housing, jobs, and a hotel, and honoring historical figures like Elizabeth Gloucester.
•Hope for the Future – Building a world where communities can rest easy knowing they have enough — fostering generosity, dignity, and opportunity.

🎙️ Stories Sustain Us is more than a podcast—it's a powerful platform that shares inspiring stories from people working to make the world a better place. Through honest, heartfelt conversations, host Steven Schauer explores the connections between people, planet, and purpose. From climate change and environmental justice to cultural preservation and human resilience, each episode aims to ignite meaningful action toward a more sustainable future.

🌍 Learn more about the podcast, explore past episodes, and discover how you can support storytelling that drives change at storiessustainus.com.

🔗 Follow us and join the conversation:

Facebook: @storiessustainus
Instagram: @stories_sustain_us
X (Twitter): @stories_sustain
Bluesky: @storiessustainus

💚 Your voice matters. Share the stories that move you—and help sustain us all.

Summary
In Episode 55 of Stories Sustain Us, host Steven Schauer welcomes Bryant Pugh, a mental health advocate, abstract artist, and director of statewide training at the Mental Health Empowerment Project. Bryant shares his powerful story of growing up in California and Virginia, navigating childhood trauma, living with severe anxiety and depression, battling addiction, and ultimately finding recovery and purpose through art and peer support. His path led him to create arts collectives that support others with mental health challenges—first in Vermont, then in Virginia, and now in Buffalo, New York.

Steven and Bryant discuss how peer support works, why lived experience matters, and how creating space for vulnerability and storytelling can transform lives. Bryant’s journey from being kicked out of college to becoming a celebrated professor, husband, father, and professional artist offers a stunning example of how healing and purpose can grow from even the most difficult circumstances.

About the Guest
Bryant Pugh is the Director of Statewide Training at the Mental Health Empowerment Project (MHEP), where he helps create transformative training opportunities and community learning spaces that empower individuals to recognize their voice, power, and potential. Rooted in the principles of Authentic Peer Support, Bryant’s work emphasizes mutual relationships, lived experience, and the healing power of connection. His role invites deeper community engagement and supports each person’s right to lead their own journey.

Bryant is also a passionate advocate for mental health expression through the arts. He has founded and chaired two mental health arts collectives in Vermont and Virginia, and is currently developing a third in Buffalo, NY. These collectives center around individuals with lived experience in the mental health system—elevating them as artists first, not by diagnosis or label, but by their creativity and voice.

Bryant is also a professional abstract artist, working from his home studio in Buffalo, NY.

Show Notes
Mental Health Empowerment Project: https://mhepinc.org/
Eagle Bay Arts: https://eaglebayarts.com/

Takeaways
•Resilience through adversity: Bryant’s early life was marked by trauma, addiction, and depression, but he found hope through sobriety, creativity, and meaningful work.
•Art as healing: Abstract painting became a powerful coping mechanism and emotional outlet for Bryant, leading him to sell his work professionally and establish multiple arts collectives.
•Mental health advocacy: Through organizations like the Howard Center and Mental Health Empowerment Project, Bryant has helped empower others with lived experience.
•Peer support in action: Bryant shares how peer-led mental health support centers healing on empathy, lived experience, and mutual respect—not hierarchy.
•Hope and connection: Bryant’s story illustrates how sharing vulnerability can inspire others and create real community impact.

🎙️ Stories Sustain Us is more than a podcast—it's a powerful platform that shares inspiring stories from people working to make the world a better place. Through honest, heartfelt conversations, host Steven Schauer explores the connections between people, planet, and purpose. From climate change and environmental justice to cultural preservation and human resilience, each episode aims to ignite meaningful action toward a more sustainable future.

🌍 Learn more about the podcast, explore past episodes, and discover how you can support storytelling that drives change at storiessustainus.com.

🔗 Follow us and join the conversation:

Facebook: @storiessustainus
Instagram: @stories_sustain_us
X (Twitter): @stories_sustain
Bluesky: @storiessustainus

💚 Your voice matters. Share the stories that move you—and help sustain us all.

Summary
In Episode 54 of Stories Sustain Us, host Steven Schauer has a heartfelt and deeply inspiring conversation with Broadway star, author, producer, and podcast host Meredith Patterson. From dancing in her childhood living room to starring on Broadway, Meredith shares the highs and lows of her remarkable journey, and she opens up about her early ambitions, professional triumphs, and personal struggles. She shares how those difficult years became the catalyst for transformation, sparking a powerful journey of self-discovery, healing, and personal empowerment.

Now living in Montana with her family and producing her own show, The Meredith Patterson Podcast, Meredith talks about the importance of self-care, therapy, mental health awareness, and radical acceptance. Meredith and Steven explore how self-compassion and curiosity can be game-changers in a society often driven by perfectionism, comparison, anxiety, and burnout. This episode is a powerful reminder that rewiring our minds for gratitude and love is not only possible—it’s necessary!

About the Guest
Meredith Patterson is a Broadway actress, singer, dancer, writer, producer, holistic & mindset coach, and keynote speaker whose career spans Broadway, television, film, and beyond. Recognized as a true triple-threat performer, she has been praised by critics as “exquisite,” possessing a “lit-from-within radiance” as a dancer and a “rich, glowing voice” that captivates audiences. Whether starring on Broadway, appearing on network television, recording jazz music, writing her memoirs, or hosting her own podcast, Patterson’s journey is one of resilience, reinvention, and unwavering passion for storytelling. 

Show Notes
Website: https://meredithpatterson.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeredithPattersonActress
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merpatterson
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredith-patterson/

Takeaways
•Grit, Gratitude, and Growth: Meredith’s early struggles in New York taught her the value of resilience and staying focused on her dreams.
•Self-Worth Beyond Success: A powerful message that personal value is not tied to fame, awards, or career milestones.
•The Power of Exfoliation: She reframes her hardest years (divorce, bankruptcy, loss) as a metaphorical "exfoliation" of the old layers that no longer served her.
•Manifestation in Action: Meredith shares how visualizing her ideal life partner helped her meet and marry her husband.
•Mental Health and Self-Care: Therapy, mindfulness, daily gratitude, and self-compassion practices became the foundation for her healing.
•Curiosity as a Gateway: Whether it’s being "sober curious" or "gratitude curious," Meredith advocates for openness and exploration in personal development.
•Ripple Effect of Compassion: Choosing love, even in the face of hate or division, has the power to transform the world around us.

🎙️ Stories Sustain Us is more than a podcast—it's a powerful platform that shares inspiring stories from people working to make the world a better place. Through honest, heartfelt conversations, host Steven Schauer explores the connections between people, planet, and purpose. From climate change and environmental justice to cultural preservation and human resilience, each episode aims to ignite meaningful action toward a more sustainable future.

🌍 Learn more about the podcast, explore past episodes, and discover how you can support storytelling that drives change at storiessustainus.com.

🔗 Follow us and join the conversation:

Facebook: @storiessustainus
Instagram: @stories_sustain_us
X (Twitter): @stories_sustain
Bluesky: @storiessustainus

💚 Your voice matters. Share the stories that move you—and help sustain us all.

Summary
In episode 53 of Stories Sustain Us, host Steven Schauer sits down with Lynn Bohart, a mystery writer, former nonprofit executive, and educator with decades of experience in storytelling and fundraising. Lynn reveals how she uses the structure of fiction to draw readers into emotionally resonant stories that also spotlight societal challenges like sex trafficking and homelessness. She explains why traditional facts-and-figures communications often fail to move people—and how emotionally grounded storytelling can do what data alone cannot: connect, engage, and inspire. The conversation dives into the neuroscience of storytelling, the evolving expectations of modern readers, and how nonprofits can rewrite their communications to be more impactful.

About the Guest
Lynn Bohart is not your average mystery writer. She holds a master's degree in theater and spent 35+ years in the nonprofit world. After retiring from her day job, she launched Lil Dog Communications, a freelance writing company, giving her the opportunity to write for nonprofits all over the world. She has eleven paranormal mystery novels, two short story books, and three nonfiction books on Amazon. Having spent so much of her career working with nonprofits, it was natural for her to include social justice issues in many of her books. As a result, she has written about sex trafficking, black market adoption, bullying, child abuse, and homelessness as a way to draw attention to these issues and hopefully get people inspired to get involved.

Show Notes
Consultant website: www.lildogcommunications.com
Author website: www.lynnbohart-author.com
Special Promotion: To receive a free writing tools eBook from Lynn, go to her website  (lynnbohart-author.com) to select the book you want, and then contact her using the “Contact/Newsletter” page. Be sure to mention her guest appearance on Stories Sustain Us.

Takeaways
•Storytelling as Impact: Lynn’s career and creative work demonstrate how storytelling can humanize complex issues like sex trafficking, homelessness, and climate change—turning statistics into personal stories that inspire action.
•Creative Origins: Her background in theater and directing, along with a pivotal ghost story workshop, led her to a thriving second career as a mystery novelist, blending entertainment with advocacy.
•Writing for Change: Lynn uses her mystery series to subtly raise awareness of real-world issues, encouraging readers to care and take action—without sounding preachy.
•Fundraising Meets Narrative: With decades of nonprofit experience, Lynn teaches organizations how to harness emotional storytelling in appeals, case statements, and campaigns, urging them to "lead with emotion, follow with facts, and close with emotion."
•The Science of Story: From oxytocin to cave paintings, Lynn explains why the human brain is wired for stories—and why even government and nonprofit communications need to embrace this ancient truth.

🎙️ Stories Sustain Us is more than a podcast—it's a powerful platform that shares inspiring stories from people working to make the world a better place. Through honest, heartfelt conversations, host Steven Schauer explores the connections between people, planet, and purpose. From climate change and environmental justice to cultural preservation and human resilience, each episode aims to ignite meaningful action toward a more sustainable future.

🌍 Learn more about the podcast, explore past episodes, and discover how you can support storytelling that drives change at storiessustainus.com.

🔗 Follow us and join the conversation:

Facebook: @storiessustainus
Instagram: @stories_sustain_us
X (Twitter): @stories_sustain
Bluesky: @storiessustainus

💚 Your voice matters. Share the stories that move you—and help sustain us all.

Summary
Episode 52 of Stories Sustain Us is a visionary follow-up conversation where host Steven Schauer welcomes back Fritz Neumeyer for part three of a deep-dive into the bold and brilliant blueprint behind Oceans 2050’s goal of restoring ocean abundance within a generation. Moving beyond inspiration and into detailed action, Fritz unpacks the “what” of ocean restoration—outlining scalable, finance-driven models that blend environmental restoration with the hard economics of real estate development, insurance, and ROI.

From the potential of reefs to act as natural coastal infrastructure to the use of 3D printing and quantum computing to model optimal reef design, Fritz shares how new tools, data, and thinking are helping move marine restoration from idealism into implementation. This episode challenges assumptions, bridges divides between romantic idealism and pragmatic capitalism, and shows how sustainability’s triple bottom line—people, planet, and profit—can truly come together beneath the waves.

About the Guest
Fritz Neumeyer, Co-Founder, CEO
As CEO and Co-Founder, Fritz has been shaping Oceans 2050's organization, strategy and concepts since its inception.

He is a professional architect with an avid interest in philosophy, science, and sport. Educated in the classics, with a Master’s from ETH Zurich, his role is delivering the architecture of ocean restoration.

He applies his unique skillset to design the Oceans 2050 ecosystem using architectural theory, practices and systems design while creating first-of-its- kind digital tools for the ocean community.

Show Notes
Oceans 2050: https://oceans2050.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oceans-2050/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Oceans2050/
Fritz Neumeyer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fritz-neumeyer-oceans2050/

Takeaways
•Concrete over concepts: To gain traction, environmental initiatives must move beyond lofty language and show how projects work at a granular, executable level.
•From carbon to capital: The future lies in localizing environmental finance—shifting from global carbon markets to local value generation via ecosystem services like flood protection and fisheries.
•Reefs as infrastructure: Coral reefs can be designed, modeled, and built like cities—using architectural thinking, AI, and 3D printing to optimize both ecological and economic benefits.
•Insurance is the entry point: Coastal damage risk modeling, informed by cutting-edge data and climate projections, creates a compelling financial case for investment in natural infrastructure.
•Triple bottom line in action: Projects that restore biodiversity, protect property, and support livelihoods bring together stakeholders across political and economic spectrums.
•Design matters: Beauty, function, and cultural resonance must be integrated into environmental design to foster public support and long-term success.

🎙️ Stories Sustain Us is more than a podcast—it's a powerful platform that shares inspiring stories from people working to make the world a better place. Through honest, heartfelt conversations, host Steven Schauer explores the connections between people, planet, and purpose. From climate change and environmental justice to cultural preservation and human resilience, each episode aims to ignite meaningful action toward a more sustainable future.

🌍 Learn more about the podcast, explore past episodes, and discover how you can support storytelling that drives change at storiessustainus.com.

🔗 Follow us and join the conversation:

Facebook: @storiessustainus
Instagram: @stories_sustain_us
X (Twitter): @stories_sustain
Bluesky: @storiessustainus

💚 Your voice matters. Share the stories that move you—and help sustain us all.

Summary
In Episode 51 of Stories Sustain Us, host Steven Schauer sits down with Aaron White, the co-founder of Climate Karen—a bold new brand using humor and a dose of irreverence to re-engage people in the climate fight. From a small town in Wisconsin to ten years in East Africa, Aaron’s career has spanned humanitarian work, social innovation, and cutting-edge startups. He shares his powerful story of co-creating solutions with communities—from keeping girls in school in rural Ethiopia to building a carbon-removal brand that makes taking climate action fun and accessible.

Together, Aaron and Steven unpack why Climate Karen is the “Liquid Death” of climate brands, how personal agency combats climate despair, and why community is the cornerstone of lasting change. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the climate crisis and unsure how to help, this episode will leave you laughing, inspired, and ready to give a tiny sh*t.

About the Guest
Aaron White spent 10 years in Ethiopia doing humanitarian work before becoming an entrepreneur.  Passionate about human-centered design for major challenges, Aaron co-founded the world's first digital inhaler for kids with asthma and contributed to rare brain cancer research. Now, climate change. Aaron lives with his wife Zayid, two VERY energetic children, and an orange cat named Willis in the mountains of North Carolina.

Show Notes
Climatekaren.com
Instagram: @climate.karen

Takeaways
•From Midwest to Mountains: Aaron White shares his winding journey from Wisconsin to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, via Ethiopia and East Africa.
•A Decade in East Africa: Aaron worked in humanitarian aid and launched a human-centered design consultancy in Ethiopia, focusing on inclusive, user-led development strategies and helping nearly a million Ethiopian girls stay in school longer.
•Startup Spirit Meets Social Impact: Aaron translated his field experience into startup ventures in medical devices, oncology, and ESG consulting—always tackling big problems with small, agile teams.
•Birth of Climate Karen: Inspired by brands like Liquid Death, Aaron co-founded Climate Karen, a cheeky, counterculture brand designed to re-engage people in climate action with humor, optimism, and agency.
•Membership Model for Change: Climate Karen’s $1 membership funds real carbon removal projects like biochar and tree planting while building a community to pressure big brands toward sustainability.
•Shifting the Blame: Aaron emphasizes the need to shift responsibility away from individuals and toward systemic change and corporate accountability.
•Humor as a Tool Against Climate Despair: The absurdity of the climate crisis is matched with equally bold messaging, comedy, and community to cut through doomscroll fatigue and inspire action.
•Hope Through Action: Aaron’s hopeful vision of a kind, equitable world is grounded in realism and compassion, especially for the most vulnerable.

🎙️ Stories Sustain Us is more than a podcast—it's a powerful platform that shares inspiring stories from people working to make the world a better place. Through honest, heartfelt conversations, host Steven Schauer explores the connections between people, planet, and purpose. From climate change and environmental justice to cultural preservation and human resilience, each episode aims to ignite meaningful action toward a more sustainable future.

🌍 Learn more about the podcast, explore past episodes, and discover how you can support storytelling that drives change at storiessustainus.com.

🔗 Follow us and join the conversation:

Facebook: @storiessustainus
Instagram: @stories_sustain_us
X (Twitter): @stories_sustain
Bluesky: @storiessustainus

💚 Your voice matters. Share the stories that move you—and help sustain us all.

Summary
On episode 50 of Stories Sustain Us, which celebrates the show’s one-year anniversary, host Steven Schauer is joined by the brilliant and inspiring Dr. Katharine Hayhoe—climate scientist, author, and Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy. In this deep and meaningful conversation, Dr. Hayhoe shares how her Christian faith led her to climate science, breaks down climate solutions into three accessible metaphorical buckets (turning off the hose, enlarging the drain, and teaching people to swim), and emphasizes the power of communication in driving climate action. Together, Steven and Dr. Hayhoe explore how values—not just data—guide our decisions, why climate change is a moral and human issue, and how everyday people can become the most trusted messengers. This milestone episode is a hopeful, practical, and empowering call to action for anyone ready to use their voice for good.

About the Guest
Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change on people and the planet. She is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. She has served as a lead author for the Second, Third, and Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessments and her work has resulted in over 125 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and other publications. She is the author of the best-selling book Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World. She also hosts the PBS Digital Series Global Weirding and is a co-founder of Science Moms. Hayhoe is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Scientific Affiliation, an Honourary Fellow of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, an Oxfam Sister of the Planet, and the World Evangelical Alliance’s Climate Ambassador. She has been named to lists including the TIME 100 Most Influential People and Fortune's 50 World's Greatest Leaders, received a number of awards including the National Center for Science Education’s Friend of the Planet Award, the American Geophysical Union’s Climate Communication Prize and Ambassador Award, and the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award, and is a United Nations Champion of the Earth in Science and Innovation.

Show Notes
Website: katharinehayhoe.com

Takeaways
•Faith and science are not at odds.
•Climate change is personal: It affects food, water, health, housing, and the world’s most vulnerable communities.
•No silver bullet—just silver buckshot: Effective solutions require a mix of strategies, from clean energy to green infrastructure to climate-smart agriculture.
•Communication is crucial: The most powerful climate messengers are not scientists—they're friends, family, and neighbors.
•Six ways to make a difference: Dr. Hayhoe shares her "head, heart, hands" framework and top actions anyone can take today.
•Hope is a choice: We must actively seek it out and share the s

🎙️ Stories Sustain Us is more than a podcast—it's a powerful platform that shares inspiring stories from people working to make the world a better place. Through honest, heartfelt conversations, host Steven Schauer explores the connections between people, planet, and purpose. From climate change and environmental justice to cultural preservation and human resilience, each episode aims to ignite meaningful action toward a more sustainable future.

🌍 Learn more about the podcast, explore past episodes, and discover how you can support storytelling that drives change at storiessustainus.com.

🔗 Follow us and join the conversation:

Facebook: @storiessustainus
Instagram: @stories_sustain_us
X (Twitter): @stories_sustain
Bluesky: @storiessustainus

💚 Your voice matters. Share the stories that move you—and help sustain us all.

Summary
Stories Sustain Us episode 49 is a special one-year anniversary episode where host Steven Schauer reflects on the powerful themes that emerged across the first 48 episodes. Through selected clips from past guests, Steven weaves together a narrative that reveals how sustainability is more than a goal—it’s a deeply human journey.

The episode is organized into three compelling themes:
1.From Trauma to Transformation – Personal healing as a foundation for global restoration.
2.Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things – Everyday individuals driving environmental and social change.
3.Restoration as Rebellion – Acts of sustainability that challenge the systems causing harm.

Featuring stories from Roy Hudgens, Chad Brown, Brad Perry, Dr. Tom Murphy, Ramandeep Najjar, Shaun Donovan, Suzanne Scott, Jenny Barlow, Jess Serrante, Kostantsa Rangelova, Brenda Geofrey, and Fritz Neumeyer, this retrospective celebrates a year of truth-telling, resilience, and collective hope.

Takeaways
•Healing is generative: Many changemakers began their sustainability work by first confronting and healing personal trauma.
•Anyone can lead: Real transformation often starts with ordinary people who act with purpose and persistence.
•Restoration is rebellion: Challenging ecological and social harm requires courage, innovation, and often a radical reimagining of what’s possible.
•Hope is action: From community-led land trusts in Scotland to solar engineering in Zanzibar, local victories inspire global hope.

🎙️ Stories Sustain Us is more than a podcast—it's a powerful platform that shares inspiring stories from people working to make the world a better place. Through honest, heartfelt conversations, host Steven Schauer explores the connections between people, planet, and purpose. From climate change and environmental justice to cultural preservation and human resilience, each episode aims to ignite meaningful action toward a more sustainable future.

🌍 Learn more about the podcast, explore past episodes, and discover how you can support storytelling that drives change at storiessustainus.com.

🔗 Follow us and join the conversation:

Facebook: @storiessustainus
Instagram: @stories_sustain_us
X (Twitter): @stories_sustain
Bluesky: @storiessustainus

💚 Your voice matters. Share the stories that move you—and help sustain us all.

Summary
In episode 48 of Stories Sustain Us, James Fester shares how his early love for the outdoors and a deep respect for education shaped his journey as a teacher, author, and advocate for experiential learning. From leading middle school students on trips to Washington D.C. to writing The National Park Classroom, James explores how public lands, community partnerships, and project-based learning can transform education.

Host Steven Schauer and James dive into the power of inquiry-based teaching, the value of local history, and the role organizations like National Geographic, UNESCO, and PBLWorks play in supporting innovative educators. They discuss how park rangers, national parks, and informal education can inspire curiosity, civic engagement, and a lasting connection to the natural world.

This episode is a call to action—for teachers, parents, and policymakers—to reimagine learning, support conservation, and build a more hopeful future through collaboration and curiosity.

About the Guest
During more than two decades in education, James Fester M.Ed has worked in public, private, and online schools as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, technology director, and curriculum specialist.

In addition to serving as a member of PBLWorks’ National Faculty where he helps develop schools and teachers across the globe, James is Google Certified Innovator and a widely published author. He contributes regularly to a wide range of blogs and online publications such as Edutopia, ISTE, and National Geographic. He has also written two books, the latest of which is titled The National Park Classroom and published globally by ISTE in 2024. 

Show Notes
National Park Classroom: https://www.nationalparkclassroom.com/book

Takeaways
•James was raised by public school teachers, influencing his career path.
•He had a strong connection to the outdoors from a young age.
•James believes in the importance of outdoor education for student engagement.
•James emphasizes the need for diverse teaching methodologies.
•Teaching methods can be enhanced by informal education principles.
•Volunteering can provide valuable experiences for educators.
•Engaging students with local history increases their interest.
•Park rangers can offer unique educational perspectives.
•Inquiry-based learning is essential in modern education.
•Teachers can leverage public land resources for classroom use.
•Collaboration between teachers and park rangers can enhance learning.
•The National Park Classroom book provides practical teaching strategies.
•Project-based learning makes education more relevant and engaging.
•Engaging with national parks can inspire conservation efforts.
•Educators should utilize available resources to enhance teaching.
•Building connections with experts enriches the learning experience.
•Awareness of national parks is crucial for future conservationists.
•Hope for the future lies in communication

🎙️ Stories Sustain Us is more than a podcast—it's a powerful platform that shares inspiring stories from people working to make the world a better place. Through honest, heartfelt conversations, host Steven Schauer explores the connections between people, planet, and purpose. From climate change and environmental justice to cultural preservation and human resilience, each episode aims to ignite meaningful action toward a more sustainable future.

🌍 Learn more about the podcast, explore past episodes, and discover how you can support storytelling that drives change at storiessustainus.com.

🔗 Follow us and join the conversation:

Facebook: @storiessustainus
Instagram: @stories_sustain_us
X (Twitter): @stories_sustain
Bluesky: @storiessustainus

💚 Your voice matters. Share the stories that move you—and help sustain us all.