Guest Cedar Walters talks about the harms of plastics in our bodies and the environment in this episode and shares tactics to reduce plastic use.

Cedar Walters is Senior Director of Community Programs at West Central Initiative (WCI), where she leads community initiatives and connects people and communities with resources that support sustainability and resilience. In 2025 and 2026 she organized and supported eight community screenings of the Plastic People documentary, which led to the formation of a Beyond Plastics local chapter in west central Minnesota. Prior to joining WCI, Cedar worked at a county recycling facility for six years and became obsessed with waste reduction – specifically for plastics and food waste.

Cedar holds an MS in Biology and Environmental Education from North Dakota State University and has experience in distributed solar development, composting and recycling program development, sustainable food systems, and native prairie restoration projects. In her free time she can be found in her pollinator garden, spending time with family, reading, camping, knitting, and organizing for more inclusive and equitable communities.

RESOURCES

Beyond Plastics: trainings, resources, studies, fact sheets, map of local groups, speaker bureau, and more! https://www.beyondplastics.org/

Reasons to Say No to Plastics: https://files.captivate.fm/library/d7963bca-c38f-4d72-ae91-8cdf07543597/Reasons-to-Say-No-to-Plastics-Beyond-Plastics.pdf

Sustainable Closet Basics: https://files.captivate.fm/library/c83f24bf-6b68-4ec2-8d0a-0f95f0cd47fc/Sustainable-Closet-Basics.pdf

Thrift Tips and Gifts: https://files.captivate.fm/library/891f05db-1ed3-4c39-91e4-8e59fa005d3a/Thrift-Tips-and-Gifts.pdf

Compostable Products Purchasing Guid: https://files.captivate.fm/library/c0e48e78-f7dc-4692-aecc-8dacec5406d6/Compostable-Products-Purchasing-Guide.pdf

Reducing health impacts from plastics - Blog: https://www.beyondplastics.org/ask-a-scientist/avoid-plastic-toxic-chemicals

For West Central MN Specifically:

Quarterly Advocacy Trainings coming up in November – free on Zoom, pick a date that works for you:

• Saturday, 11/7 at 1:00 PM ET US
• Tuesday, 11/10 at 7:00 PM ET US
• Thursday, 11/12 at 7:00 PM ET US

Screening of Plastic People -coming up on September 26th at 6:30 pm at the Becker Co Museum in Detroit Lakes, MN https://www.facebook.com/share/1LUpEdwQFH/

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Erika

What does voting for the environment mean? How can we find our way through political hype? How do we listen to candidates more critically?

My guest today is Dave Homans. Dave is a retired physician who serves as Citizen Climate Lobby’s Co-Coordinator for the state of Minnesota. He is active in lobbying our elected representatives to promote policies that will mitigate climate warming.

Resources

• Open Secrets https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=elizabeth+manson&order=desc&sort=D
• Govtrack.com https://www.govtrack.us/
• Billtrack50 https://www.billtrack50.com/info/
• The Cook Political Report https://www.cookpolitical.com/
• League of Women voters https://www.lwvmn.org/2026-candidate-forums
• Environmental Voter Project https://www.environmentalvoter.org/
• Citizens Climate Lobby https://citizensclimatelobby.org/

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Website www.theglobalgritexperience.com

Thanks for listening and being a part of The Global Grit Experience. I SO appreciate you!

In this episode I give a little background of how I got into video, capturing stories around the world, and eventually, here, as a podcaster and host of The Global Grit Experience.

Examples of videos mentioned in the podcast

Volkswagen ID.4 Road Trip - What Fuels You- Ep.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ85tn5HDJ0

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV - Soul Pursuits Ep.1 - https://youtu.be/mlRZ-lckRWs?si=_CAeZTq5fLGZhxHd

Soul of of the Western Balkans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahpRDIo87n0&list=PLbXm1PcDvCSe_PjQUF6v1F51amDjI4cq7&index=24&t=2s

Woodland League - Ireland: https://youtu.be/MUT6miz2Kys

How do we as humans balance our self-interest drive with environmental sustainability. There’s no easy answer but it’s definitely worth pondering, talking about, and hopefully acting on for the future of our natural world (and us). My guest today is Dr. Dennis Jacobs, retired physics professor, pilot, aeronautical engineer, sustainability educator, and author of multiple books.

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Thanks for listening and being a part of The Global Grit Experience. I SO appreciate you!

How do you make stuff happen - like saving a beautiful area from development and creating instead an amazing nature-based park that the locals, wildlife, and tourists love? Let’s find out in this episode with guest, Polly Andersen. Polly’s love of nature led her to champion the Wannigan Regional Park in her hometown of Frazee, MN.

Resources

https://wanniganpark.com/

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Visit: www.theglobalgritexperience.com

Thanks for listening and being a part of The Global Grit Experience. I SO appreciate you!

Honey bees! In this episode I chat with Sawyer Gilsdorf, professional beekeeper with Björn’s Colorado Honey in Boulder, Colorado (and my awesome nephew) to learn what’s involved with beekeeping year round in colder winter climates. And, of course, learn some amazing honey bee fun facts and their intricate matriarchal society.

Resources:

Björns Colorado Honey

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Thanks for listening and being a part of The Global Grit Experience. I appreciate you!

Emilia Skogen fell in love with birds at a young age and has been working with them ever since. In today's episode, I talk with her about why she's specifically working with three bird species in Minnesota and what conservation for them looks like through forestry management. Emilia is a Minnesota Public Lands Conservation Forester with the American Bird Conservancy.

RESOURCES

https://abcbirds.org/

https://abcbirds.org/ways-to-give/

https://abcbirds.org/get-involved/

Outdoor Heritage Fund work - Details about the three bird species Emilia works with, where the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) works, and how many acres of habitat ABC has worked with partner agencies to manage for birds so far.

https://abcbirds.org/where-we-work/north-america/great-lakes-ohf-grants/

FREE FORESTRY FOR MINNESOTA BIRDS GUIDE

https://www.birds.cornell.edu/landtrust/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ForestryForMNBirdsGuidebook.pdf

EMILIA SKOGEN CONTACT INFORMATION

Fee free to email or call Emilia if they'd like more information on any topics, or want to connect with ABC's private lands foresters on managing their land for birds and other wildlife: [email protected] / (612) 439-2011

Contact Emilia for any information about ball cactus.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

WI DNR MOSS (managed old-growth silvicultural study)

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/WildlifeHabitat/research/moss

Audubon MN secretive marsh bird surveys

https://www.audubon.org/umr/projects/monitoring-secretive-marsh-birds-minnesota

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Thanks for listening and being a part of The Global Grit Experience. I appreciate you!

In this episode I hit the North Country Trail with Matt Davis, the Regional Trail Coordinator for MN, ND and WI for the nonprofit, North Country Trail Association. We talk about this beautiful 5,000 mile trail, why public lands are important (in SO many ways), how they’re being taken away, sold, and at risk, and what we can do to stop this attack.

Matt also shares a few summer tips to keep us safe and comfy hiking.

Resources

North Country Trail Association: northcountrytrail.org

Sierra Club: https://www.sierraclub.org/issues/environment/public-lands

Trust for Public Land: https://www.tpl.org

League of Conservation Voters: https://www.lcv.org

5 Calls - An easy place to call your legislators to protect public lands: https://5calls.org/

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Minnesota's AQI hit record highs recently during the wildfires making it feel apocalyptic with smoky, brown skies, evacuated homes, and air quality that made it dangerous and painful to breathe.

Erika sits down in the midst of it with guest Julia Frost Nerbonne, Executive Director of Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light to talk about what it was like experiencing climate chaos firsthand and what diverse faiths are doing together to move forward with climate solutions. This conversation is real, inspiring, and hopeful.

Resources:

www.mnipl.org

[email protected]

651.301.8195

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Erika sits down and talks with farmer Cody Kurowski at his Sower’s Harvest Farm in Fergus Falls, MN to find out what got him into farming, why he’s going the chemical-free route, and how you farm year-round in a frigid winter state like Minnesota.

Resources:

Sower’s Harvest Farm

https://www.sowersharvestfarm.com/

https://www.facebook.com/sowersharvestfarm/

https://www.instagram.com/sowersharvestfarm/

Summer Veggie Recipes:

https://pinchofyum.com/summer-produce-recipes

https://www.bakedbymelissa.com/blogs/recipes/farm-stand-salad

https://www.homechef.com/meals/farmstand-salad

Follow The Global Grit Experience:

Instagram: @thegloabgritexperience

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Visit: www.theglobalgritexperience.com

Thanks for listening and being a part of The Global Grit Experience. I appreciate you!