Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Tuning in to Science: How to Reach Remote Communities through Radio
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Tuning in to Science: How to Reach Remote Communities through Radio
In vast, rural areas of the Southwest, where there’s no phone service or internet, radio rules. Science communicator Christopher Calvo, former host of “This Is the Colorado Plateau,” tells how community radio helped him share science over the airwaves. A production of Park Science magazine, Winter 2023 issue (December 29, 2023), https://www.nps.gov/subjects/parkscience.
---
TRANSCRIPT:
---
[PODCAST INTRODUCTION, WITH MUSIC: Welcome to Park Science Podcast, a podcast of Park Science magazine that highlights milestones and contributions to science made by parks and programs of the National Park Service. Find our podcast series as well as the full Park Science magazine online at nps.gov/parkscience.]
[MUSIC BY THA ‘YOTIES FROM THE SONG “YOTIES,” UNDER CHRIS’S VOICE]
CHRIS: It was 11 a.m. on a Thursday, and like every week, I was sitting in front of a microphone, surrounded by the sliders and dials of a big sound board. I had just finished my latest science program that I would do live at the local community radio station in Flagstaff, Arizona. I flipped the microphone switch off and slid my headphones down, and I waited for a familiar sound that I absolutely knew I would hear.
[SOUND OF LANDLINE PHONE RINGING]
CHRIS: There it is. The phone ringing. It never fails. Every single time I finish up a show, the studio phone rings.
[SOUND OF PHONE RINGING]
CHRIS: I already knew what the person on the other end of the line was going to say, word for word.
[SOUND OF PHONE RINGING, THEN HANDSET BEING PICKED UP]
CHRIS: Hello. Thanks so much for calling 101.5 Radio Sunnyside, the voice of the people. My name is Christopher. How can I help you? VOICE ON THE PHONE: Haven't you heard? Radio is dead.
[SOUND OF PHONE HANGING UP]
CHRIS: Just like clockwork, always the same voice, always the same message. “And was it true?” I thought to myself, as I was sitting there in the studio. Was radio as a form of communication really dead?
[MUSIC BY THA ‘YOTIES FROM THE SONG “LIVE CONCIOUSLY,” UNDER CHRIS’S VOICE]
Community radio can give scientists access to places that you wouldn't even think was possible. Like someone's kitchen. Or their vehicle. Or your voice is with them when they're walking down a trail. Radio truly has a huge reach, especially in rural areas like this one where I'm from here on the Colorado Plateau, where often the only good form of community outreach is through the airwaves.
But let's head back to the beginning, back to when I first had this idea to do a science radio show. Back to when I realized the true importance and value of communicating science directly to the people and not just to other scientists. My name is Christopher Calvo, and I had at that time been a wildlife biologist, and I studied birds mostly here in the southwestern United States for 16 wonderful years.
[SOUND OF COMMON BLACK HAWK CALLING]
CHRIS: That right there. That's the call of the common black hawk [1].
[SOUND OF SOUTHWESTERN WILLOW FLYCATCHER CALLING]
CHRIS: And that was the iconic southwestern willow flycatcher [2].
[SOUND OF YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO CALLING]
CHRIS: And finally that call there, that was from the yellow-billed cuckoo [3], one of my favorite birds. These are all birds that migrate to habitat that exists along rivers and creeks here in the low and high deserts of the Southwest. And most of the time, it was my job to find out where they were and how they were doing. I would help write proposals. I'd help shape protocols; I'd do the field work; I'd analyze data; I'd write the reports. I'd even train other scientists, and I honestly thought at that time that I was being the best scientist I could be.
But sometimes after work, when I'd be in these communities out having a beer and small-talking with locals, I would realize that so many folks don't even know what a yellow billed-cuckoo is. Or that they are an imperiled species. Or that the riparian habitat that they love out their back door is suffering dramatically from long-term drought and climate change. I was doing the science, sure, but turns out I was missing one of the most important skills that scientists can have. And that is communicating. Communicating what I'm doing. And communicating the importance of it to the public. And once I realized that, I set out to try and become a better science communicator. But at that time, I just didn't really know how. Well, thankfully, the answer came in an unlikely place later on that season when I was out late one night surveying for this bird right here.
[SOUND OF MEXICAN SPOTTED OWL CALLING]
CHRIS: That was the Mexican spotted owl [4], and it is an imperiled bird that lives here in the Southwest. And it was 1:00 a.m., and I was exhausted. I had walked so far in the woods and hadn't got a single owl detection. I’d just got back to my truck.
[SOUND OF CAR DOOR OPENING AND CLOSING, THEN KEY TURNING IN THE IGNITION, THEN TUNING A RADIO, UNDER CHRIS’S VOICE]
CHRIS: Weary and sleepy, I decided to turn on the radio, but my go-to radio station was out. So instead I spun the dial and I landed on a radio show unlike anything I had ever heard before.
[MUSIC FROM THE SONG “DOGS OF WAR” BY SWAMP WOLF]
CHRIS: It was a hardcore heavy metal show, a music genre that is rare to hear on the airwaves. And what made this show truly unique was the host. He went by the name DJ Heavy DK, and he was vivacious. He effortlessly created skits where he played each character carrying on a conversation with himself. He had humor, he had wit and depth; he was absolutely mesmerizing. I instantly felt awake, and the miles blurred by as I tuned into his every word. And as I sat there listening, I realized something really important in regard to my science communication conundrum. I could reach people through the radio.
Like I said, where I live and work is part of an extremely rural and vast area. The Colorado Plateau region covers roughly 150,000 square miles, and it crosses over four states. There are many sovereign nations within the Colorado Plateau as well, including the Pueblo Nations like the Acoma and the Dil’zhe’e and the White Mountain Apache. And the Havasupai and the Hopi, the Hualapai, the Southern Paiute, the Southern Ute, the Ute Mountain Ute, the Zuni, and, of course, the Diné Nation, whose lands alone cover an area the size of West Virginia. And of course, it’s home to an incredible number of national parks and national monuments. In fact, the only other place with more parks and monuments is Washington, DC. But their parks are often the size of a building, whereas our parks here on the Colorado Plateau, well, sometimes they’re the size of the entire state of Rhode Island. So yeah, radio is as vital a form of communication here as anything.
Many areas of the Colorado Plateau have absolutely no phone service, no Internet infrastructure. But radio, well, radio reaches all the far corners. And case in point, here I was out in the middle of nowhere, listening in to the radio and getting completely inspired. I wish the radio DJ could have known. So at the end of his show, DJ Heavy DK, he added that if any listeners out there wanted to have their own radio show and be a part of this community radio station, to send an e-mail in, and they’d get back to us. And wow, I sent an e-mail about my science show early that next morning. And within a couple of weeks, I was, thankfully, in the studio and talking science to the regional community and to those that would tune in online all over the world.
[OPENING MUSIC BY THA ‘YOTIES FROM THE SONG “RESTLESS NATIVES” AND NARRATION FOR “THIS IS THE COLORADO PLATEAU” RADIO SHOW, FADING OUT, VARIOUS SPEAKERS: This is science. This is culture. This is nature. This is community. This is the Colorado Plateau. Hosted by Christopher Calvo.]
CHRIS: And as with any good community radio station, the sky is absolutely the limit as far as content goes. I was able to do shows about regional science projects like the California Condor Recovery Plan [5] around Grand Canyon National Park, or how seismic activity from oil drilling operations was affecting the structural integrity of ancient ancestral Puebloan structures at Chaco Culture National Historic Park. I could do a show about literally anything. But I really loved doing my own interviews with astronomers, and laboratory technicians, and authors, and field biologists, and my personal favorite type of science communicator, teachers. Like right here with this great interview here I had with Dr. Tad Theimer, a biology professor at Northern Arizona University.
[SOUND CLIP OF TAD THEIMER SPEAKING WITH CHRIS: The other I think is important for a good teacher is to really do your homework. Know your stuff. And I think this comes from being an interpreter; kids will figure out real quickly if you don’t know what you’re talking about. They are a great, great way to find out that you have to know your stuff if you’re going to convince kids you know what you’re talking about. And that’s developing trust. And I think trust is so important in everything we do. In teaching. In science. In communicating science and bringing about real change. Trust is critical for that. If you want to inspire people to be learners themselves, you’ve got to convince them that that’s what you are. And not just convince them, you’ve got to be it. You have to be true. And so that becomes an important part of that. Building that trust. Being honest. And just working really hard to be the best you possibly can at what you’re trying to do.]
CHRIS: And sometimes I’d just show up to places and start recording, like I did here at the famous Pecos archaeological science conference that was happening just outside of Flagstaff, Arizona.
[SOUND CLIP OF CHRIS INTERVIEWING HANNAH ELLIOT: Please introduce yourself and tell me a little bit about your research. So my name is Hannah Elliott, and I am a summer 2018 intern at Petrified Forest National Park. And as part of the internship program, each one of us did an independent research project. And for my project, I chose to look at historic inscriptions that are located along the 35th parallel that runs through the park. And part of what I was looking at was looking into questions of identity and what these inscriptions could tell us about the people that had come through at one point or another and decided to leave their mark. And I found some pretty interesting things along with what was the priority of information that people decided to leave. How did they decide to express this and how was identity expressed and retained by some of these people that oftentimes were very far from home. And it was a really interesting project and I learned a lot and I really enjoyed doing it.]
CHRIS: Often I'd bring my microphone to broadcast community events. For instance, there was a panel session about the importance of the new Bears Ears National Monument and the management partnership with Indigenous leaders. And from that, here's artist and activist Ed Kabotie talking about his love for our region.
[SOUND CLIP OF ED KABOTIE TALKING: In my music, the band that you're going to hear tonight, we call ourselves the Yoties, which is short for coyotes, because we feel like we're howling for the people and the lands of the Colorado Plateau, the Colorado Plateau being, you know, a sacred landscape to not only my people, but many Indigenous Tribes of this area. And you know, when we think of the Colorado Plateau, we're thinking of a land of sacredness, a land of beauty, a land that many people experience the beauty with us in the national monuments and so forth.
And yet it's a land that's very highly exploited. I'd like to point out there's 500 standing rocks in these hemispheres, you know. There’s 500 open pit uranium mines on the Navajo Nation, you know. The only existing uranium mine in Arizona, you know, being the Canyon Mine, you know, and the proposed haul route, the only existing mill, you know, right next to the Ute Mountain Ute people just a few miles from here, you know. And this is something that all of us, I think, should be crying out for so like Lyle, I'm gonna just say kwakwha, thank you to all of you too, for making the effort to enrich yourself, educate yourself, and, you know, share in our struggle together for Mother Earth.]
CHRIS: And one of the best parts I have to say was being able to use my time slot in the studio to open the door for other creators who could use that space for their passions. Like for instance, the wonderful Southwestern forger and educator, Ashley Doyle, who did several shows on the plants of our region.
[SOUND CLIP OF ASHLEY DOYLE TALKING AND WALKING ON A GRAVEL PATH, WITH CRY OF A PINYON JAY [6], FADING OUT: Let's move on from that nice little field or pasture we were perusing mullein [7], and let's move deep into the Plateau region of the pinyon pine [8] forest.]
CHRIS: It was amazing being able to communicate science this way. And above all else, hearing from the people who I happened to reach. Well, that was one of the most powerful things I have ever experienced in my career as a scientist. I heard from a high school student who was inspired by the show, and she decided to become a citizen scientist. That was amazing. I would sometimes just hear from people like, for instance, an elder from Germany who contacted me, and they just wanted me to know that their big dream had always been to come to the Colorado Plateau and see Rainbow Bridge. But they never got to. But they loved to listen to the show.
And sometimes folks would contact me with questions, really great questions. And sometimes they just wanted to share memories. And sometimes they wanted to come on the show themselves. And every connection was one that came organically. There was no marketing, there was no advertisements, no anything, really. It was just a matter of putting it out there, of sitting down and creating something and setting it loose into the world over the airwaves. Look at this very moment right now, right this second. And thanks so much for listening, by the way. But here we are, you and I. So allow me to take this opportunity and say to you that you are important. What you do with your life is important. How do you communicate your story? That’s also important. Think about things that might be unconventional forms of communication. Sometimes those are the best way to go about it. If I hadn't took that step into community radio, there is no way that you would be listening to my story here today. Well, now it's your turn. Tell me your story. I'm listening.
MUSIC BY THA ‘YOTIES FROM THE SONG, “LIVE CONCIOUSLY”]
CHRIS: Oh, but one other thing real quick before you get started recording. I was back at the studio and I just finished another science radio show and well, you guessed it, this happened again.
[SOUND OF LANDLINE PHONE RINGING]
CHRIS: But this time, I finally had something to say back.
[SOUND OF PHONE RINGING, THEN HANDSET BEING PICKED UP]
CHRIS: Well, hello. Appreciate you calling Radio Sunnyside. This is Christopher. And before you speak, I just have one thing I want to ask. You might think the radio is dead, but how come you keep tuning in every single week? Radio sure doesn't sound dead to me.
[SOUND OF DIAL TONE, THEN HANDSET BEING PUT BACK]
CHRIS: They hung up, and I put the phone down too. A reggae song was coming on over the speaker. I turned up the volume on the mixer and, smiling, I started working on some ideas for next week's show.
[MUSIC BY THA ‘YOTIES FROM THE SONG, “THE RIVER,” FADING UNDER CHRIS’S VOICE]
CHRIS: This is Christopher Calvo of the Southern Colorado Plateau inventory and Monitoring Network. I'd like to say thanks so much to the two great bands, Swamp Wolf and Tha ‘Yoties with Ed Kabotie for use of their incredible music. And thanks especially to you, the listeners.
[MUSIC BY THA ‘YOTIES FROM THE SONG, “THE RIVER”]
[PODCAST CONCLUSION, WITH MUSIC: This has been Park Science Podcast. Catch up on more podcasts and articles at nps.gov/parkscience.] _____________________________________________________________________________________
Credits: Bird songs—U.S. Geological Survey; Music from Tha ‘Yoties and their songs, ”Yoties,” “Live Consciously,” “Restless Natives,” and “The River” used by permission of Ed Kabotie, © Ed Kabotie; Music from Swamp Wolf and the song “The Dogs of War” used by permission of Steve Kaufman, © Steve Kaufman. _____________________________________________________________________________________
[NOTES:
About the author: Christopher Calvo is a biologist and science communicator with the National Park Service’s Southern Colorado Plateau Inventory and Monitoring Network.
[1] See https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Black_Hawk/
[2] See https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/6749
[3] See https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/3911
[4] See https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/8196
[5] See https://www.fws.gov/program/california-condor-recovery
[6] See https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/9420
[7] See https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=VETH
[8] See https://www.nps.gov/para/learn/nature/pinyon-pine.htm]
View all episodes
By National Park ServiceIn vast, rural areas of the Southwest, where there’s no phone service or internet, radio rules. Science communicator Christopher Calvo, former host of “This Is the Colorado Plateau,” tells how community radio helped him share science over the airwaves. A production of Park Science magazine, Winter 2023 issue (December 29, 2023), https://www.nps.gov/subjects/parkscience.
---
TRANSCRIPT:
---
[PODCAST INTRODUCTION, WITH MUSIC: Welcome to Park Science Podcast, a podcast of Park Science magazine that highlights milestones and contributions to science made by parks and programs of the National Park Service. Find our podcast series as well as the full Park Science magazine online at nps.gov/parkscience.]
[MUSIC BY THA ‘YOTIES FROM THE SONG “YOTIES,” UNDER CHRIS’S VOICE]
CHRIS: It was 11 a.m. on a Thursday, and like every week, I was sitting in front of a microphone, surrounded by the sliders and dials of a big sound board. I had just finished my latest science program that I would do live at the local community radio station in Flagstaff, Arizona. I flipped the microphone switch off and slid my headphones down, and I waited for a familiar sound that I absolutely knew I would hear.
[SOUND OF LANDLINE PHONE RINGING]
CHRIS: There it is. The phone ringing. It never fails. Every single time I finish up a show, the studio phone rings.
[SOUND OF PHONE RINGING]
CHRIS: I already knew what the person on the other end of the line was going to say, word for word.
[SOUND OF PHONE RINGING, THEN HANDSET BEING PICKED UP]
CHRIS: Hello. Thanks so much for calling 101.5 Radio Sunnyside, the voice of the people. My name is Christopher. How can I help you? VOICE ON THE PHONE: Haven't you heard? Radio is dead.
[SOUND OF PHONE HANGING UP]
CHRIS: Just like clockwork, always the same voice, always the same message. “And was it true?” I thought to myself, as I was sitting there in the studio. Was radio as a form of communication really dead?
[MUSIC BY THA ‘YOTIES FROM THE SONG “LIVE CONCIOUSLY,” UNDER CHRIS’S VOICE]
Community radio can give scientists access to places that you wouldn't even think was possible. Like someone's kitchen. Or their vehicle. Or your voice is with them when they're walking down a trail. Radio truly has a huge reach, especially in rural areas like this one where I'm from here on the Colorado Plateau, where often the only good form of community outreach is through the airwaves.
But let's head back to the beginning, back to when I first had this idea to do a science radio show. Back to when I realized the true importance and value of communicating science directly to the people and not just to other scientists. My name is Christopher Calvo, and I had at that time been a wildlife biologist, and I studied birds mostly here in the southwestern United States for 16 wonderful years.
[SOUND OF COMMON BLACK HAWK CALLING]
CHRIS: That right there. That's the call of the common black hawk [1].
[SOUND OF SOUTHWESTERN WILLOW FLYCATCHER CALLING]
CHRIS: And that was the iconic southwestern willow flycatcher [2].
[SOUND OF YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO CALLING]
CHRIS: And finally that call there, that was from the yellow-billed cuckoo [3], one of my favorite birds. These are all birds that migrate to habitat that exists along rivers and creeks here in the low and high deserts of the Southwest. And most of the time, it was my job to find out where they were and how they were doing. I would help write proposals. I'd help shape protocols; I'd do the field work; I'd analyze data; I'd write the reports. I'd even train other scientists, and I honestly thought at that time that I was being the best scientist I could be.
But sometimes after work, when I'd be in these communities out having a beer and small-talking with locals, I would realize that so many folks don't even know what a yellow billed-cuckoo is. Or that they are an imperiled species. Or that the riparian habitat that they love out their back door is suffering dramatically from long-term drought and climate change. I was doing the science, sure, but turns out I was missing one of the most important skills that scientists can have. And that is communicating. Communicating what I'm doing. And communicating the importance of it to the public. And once I realized that, I set out to try and become a better science communicator. But at that time, I just didn't really know how. Well, thankfully, the answer came in an unlikely place later on that season when I was out late one night surveying for this bird right here.
[SOUND OF MEXICAN SPOTTED OWL CALLING]
CHRIS: That was the Mexican spotted owl [4], and it is an imperiled bird that lives here in the Southwest. And it was 1:00 a.m., and I was exhausted. I had walked so far in the woods and hadn't got a single owl detection. I’d just got back to my truck.
[SOUND OF CAR DOOR OPENING AND CLOSING, THEN KEY TURNING IN THE IGNITION, THEN TUNING A RADIO, UNDER CHRIS’S VOICE]
CHRIS: Weary and sleepy, I decided to turn on the radio, but my go-to radio station was out. So instead I spun the dial and I landed on a radio show unlike anything I had ever heard before.
[MUSIC FROM THE SONG “DOGS OF WAR” BY SWAMP WOLF]
CHRIS: It was a hardcore heavy metal show, a music genre that is rare to hear on the airwaves. And what made this show truly unique was the host. He went by the name DJ Heavy DK, and he was vivacious. He effortlessly created skits where he played each character carrying on a conversation with himself. He had humor, he had wit and depth; he was absolutely mesmerizing. I instantly felt awake, and the miles blurred by as I tuned into his every word. And as I sat there listening, I realized something really important in regard to my science communication conundrum. I could reach people through the radio.
Like I said, where I live and work is part of an extremely rural and vast area. The Colorado Plateau region covers roughly 150,000 square miles, and it crosses over four states. There are many sovereign nations within the Colorado Plateau as well, including the Pueblo Nations like the Acoma and the Dil’zhe’e and the White Mountain Apache. And the Havasupai and the Hopi, the Hualapai, the Southern Paiute, the Southern Ute, the Ute Mountain Ute, the Zuni, and, of course, the Diné Nation, whose lands alone cover an area the size of West Virginia. And of course, it’s home to an incredible number of national parks and national monuments. In fact, the only other place with more parks and monuments is Washington, DC. But their parks are often the size of a building, whereas our parks here on the Colorado Plateau, well, sometimes they’re the size of the entire state of Rhode Island. So yeah, radio is as vital a form of communication here as anything.
Many areas of the Colorado Plateau have absolutely no phone service, no Internet infrastructure. But radio, well, radio reaches all the far corners. And case in point, here I was out in the middle of nowhere, listening in to the radio and getting completely inspired. I wish the radio DJ could have known. So at the end of his show, DJ Heavy DK, he added that if any listeners out there wanted to have their own radio show and be a part of this community radio station, to send an e-mail in, and they’d get back to us. And wow, I sent an e-mail about my science show early that next morning. And within a couple of weeks, I was, thankfully, in the studio and talking science to the regional community and to those that would tune in online all over the world.
[OPENING MUSIC BY THA ‘YOTIES FROM THE SONG “RESTLESS NATIVES” AND NARRATION FOR “THIS IS THE COLORADO PLATEAU” RADIO SHOW, FADING OUT, VARIOUS SPEAKERS: This is science. This is culture. This is nature. This is community. This is the Colorado Plateau. Hosted by Christopher Calvo.]
CHRIS: And as with any good community radio station, the sky is absolutely the limit as far as content goes. I was able to do shows about regional science projects like the California Condor Recovery Plan [5] around Grand Canyon National Park, or how seismic activity from oil drilling operations was affecting the structural integrity of ancient ancestral Puebloan structures at Chaco Culture National Historic Park. I could do a show about literally anything. But I really loved doing my own interviews with astronomers, and laboratory technicians, and authors, and field biologists, and my personal favorite type of science communicator, teachers. Like right here with this great interview here I had with Dr. Tad Theimer, a biology professor at Northern Arizona University.
[SOUND CLIP OF TAD THEIMER SPEAKING WITH CHRIS: The other I think is important for a good teacher is to really do your homework. Know your stuff. And I think this comes from being an interpreter; kids will figure out real quickly if you don’t know what you’re talking about. They are a great, great way to find out that you have to know your stuff if you’re going to convince kids you know what you’re talking about. And that’s developing trust. And I think trust is so important in everything we do. In teaching. In science. In communicating science and bringing about real change. Trust is critical for that. If you want to inspire people to be learners themselves, you’ve got to convince them that that’s what you are. And not just convince them, you’ve got to be it. You have to be true. And so that becomes an important part of that. Building that trust. Being honest. And just working really hard to be the best you possibly can at what you’re trying to do.]
CHRIS: And sometimes I’d just show up to places and start recording, like I did here at the famous Pecos archaeological science conference that was happening just outside of Flagstaff, Arizona.
[SOUND CLIP OF CHRIS INTERVIEWING HANNAH ELLIOT: Please introduce yourself and tell me a little bit about your research. So my name is Hannah Elliott, and I am a summer 2018 intern at Petrified Forest National Park. And as part of the internship program, each one of us did an independent research project. And for my project, I chose to look at historic inscriptions that are located along the 35th parallel that runs through the park. And part of what I was looking at was looking into questions of identity and what these inscriptions could tell us about the people that had come through at one point or another and decided to leave their mark. And I found some pretty interesting things along with what was the priority of information that people decided to leave. How did they decide to express this and how was identity expressed and retained by some of these people that oftentimes were very far from home. And it was a really interesting project and I learned a lot and I really enjoyed doing it.]
CHRIS: Often I'd bring my microphone to broadcast community events. For instance, there was a panel session about the importance of the new Bears Ears National Monument and the management partnership with Indigenous leaders. And from that, here's artist and activist Ed Kabotie talking about his love for our region.
[SOUND CLIP OF ED KABOTIE TALKING: In my music, the band that you're going to hear tonight, we call ourselves the Yoties, which is short for coyotes, because we feel like we're howling for the people and the lands of the Colorado Plateau, the Colorado Plateau being, you know, a sacred landscape to not only my people, but many Indigenous Tribes of this area. And you know, when we think of the Colorado Plateau, we're thinking of a land of sacredness, a land of beauty, a land that many people experience the beauty with us in the national monuments and so forth.
And yet it's a land that's very highly exploited. I'd like to point out there's 500 standing rocks in these hemispheres, you know. There’s 500 open pit uranium mines on the Navajo Nation, you know. The only existing uranium mine in Arizona, you know, being the Canyon Mine, you know, and the proposed haul route, the only existing mill, you know, right next to the Ute Mountain Ute people just a few miles from here, you know. And this is something that all of us, I think, should be crying out for so like Lyle, I'm gonna just say kwakwha, thank you to all of you too, for making the effort to enrich yourself, educate yourself, and, you know, share in our struggle together for Mother Earth.]
CHRIS: And one of the best parts I have to say was being able to use my time slot in the studio to open the door for other creators who could use that space for their passions. Like for instance, the wonderful Southwestern forger and educator, Ashley Doyle, who did several shows on the plants of our region.
[SOUND CLIP OF ASHLEY DOYLE TALKING AND WALKING ON A GRAVEL PATH, WITH CRY OF A PINYON JAY [6], FADING OUT: Let's move on from that nice little field or pasture we were perusing mullein [7], and let's move deep into the Plateau region of the pinyon pine [8] forest.]
CHRIS: It was amazing being able to communicate science this way. And above all else, hearing from the people who I happened to reach. Well, that was one of the most powerful things I have ever experienced in my career as a scientist. I heard from a high school student who was inspired by the show, and she decided to become a citizen scientist. That was amazing. I would sometimes just hear from people like, for instance, an elder from Germany who contacted me, and they just wanted me to know that their big dream had always been to come to the Colorado Plateau and see Rainbow Bridge. But they never got to. But they loved to listen to the show.
And sometimes folks would contact me with questions, really great questions. And sometimes they just wanted to share memories. And sometimes they wanted to come on the show themselves. And every connection was one that came organically. There was no marketing, there was no advertisements, no anything, really. It was just a matter of putting it out there, of sitting down and creating something and setting it loose into the world over the airwaves. Look at this very moment right now, right this second. And thanks so much for listening, by the way. But here we are, you and I. So allow me to take this opportunity and say to you that you are important. What you do with your life is important. How do you communicate your story? That’s also important. Think about things that might be unconventional forms of communication. Sometimes those are the best way to go about it. If I hadn't took that step into community radio, there is no way that you would be listening to my story here today. Well, now it's your turn. Tell me your story. I'm listening.
MUSIC BY THA ‘YOTIES FROM THE SONG, “LIVE CONCIOUSLY”]
CHRIS: Oh, but one other thing real quick before you get started recording. I was back at the studio and I just finished another science radio show and well, you guessed it, this happened again.
[SOUND OF LANDLINE PHONE RINGING]
CHRIS: But this time, I finally had something to say back.
[SOUND OF PHONE RINGING, THEN HANDSET BEING PICKED UP]
CHRIS: Well, hello. Appreciate you calling Radio Sunnyside. This is Christopher. And before you speak, I just have one thing I want to ask. You might think the radio is dead, but how come you keep tuning in every single week? Radio sure doesn't sound dead to me.
[SOUND OF DIAL TONE, THEN HANDSET BEING PUT BACK]
CHRIS: They hung up, and I put the phone down too. A reggae song was coming on over the speaker. I turned up the volume on the mixer and, smiling, I started working on some ideas for next week's show.
[MUSIC BY THA ‘YOTIES FROM THE SONG, “THE RIVER,” FADING UNDER CHRIS’S VOICE]
CHRIS: This is Christopher Calvo of the Southern Colorado Plateau inventory and Monitoring Network. I'd like to say thanks so much to the two great bands, Swamp Wolf and Tha ‘Yoties with Ed Kabotie for use of their incredible music. And thanks especially to you, the listeners.
[MUSIC BY THA ‘YOTIES FROM THE SONG, “THE RIVER”]
[PODCAST CONCLUSION, WITH MUSIC: This has been Park Science Podcast. Catch up on more podcasts and articles at nps.gov/parkscience.] _____________________________________________________________________________________
Credits: Bird songs—U.S. Geological Survey; Music from Tha ‘Yoties and their songs, ”Yoties,” “Live Consciously,” “Restless Natives,” and “The River” used by permission of Ed Kabotie, © Ed Kabotie; Music from Swamp Wolf and the song “The Dogs of War” used by permission of Steve Kaufman, © Steve Kaufman. _____________________________________________________________________________________
[NOTES:
About the author: Christopher Calvo is a biologist and science communicator with the National Park Service’s Southern Colorado Plateau Inventory and Monitoring Network.
[1] See https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Black_Hawk/
[2] See https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/6749
[3] See https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/3911
[4] See https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/8196
[5] See https://www.fws.gov/program/california-condor-recovery
[6] See https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/9420
[7] See https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=VETH
[8] See https://www.nps.gov/para/learn/nature/pinyon-pine.htm]