Our first podcast series, ‘Redefining Conservation’ was a big success! We appreciate the hundreds of listeners as we began exploring the intersections between conservation and other forms of social justice such as pollution, water quality issues, ownership, and access. The goal was to amplify the voices of folks who are critical in co-creating our state’s vision to preserve 30% of lands by 2030 and beyond. We hope it was thought provoking, and that you were challenged! If you haven’t caught up, listen here.
Some of our most popular episodes were related to community land trusts, the future of farmland protection, and land back/access. Our team had a great time learning how to use the sound board and recording studio at WMPG in Portland. The WMPG staff were thoughtful and helpful as we underwent a crash-course in audio production. Anna Siegel, a Conservation Team volunteer who helped with preparing some episodes, writes, “My favorite experience in the process was moderating the conversation with Dr. John Hagan and Eliza Townsend. The three of them got to talk about (correction: nerd out about) birds, forestry, and ecology.”
Philip Mathieu, our 30x30 Team Co-Lead and editor of the podcast, added, “I love how this podcast started as an idea for a purely educational program and naturally evolved into an opportunity to build relationships. Our work led to an invitation to participate in the Natural and Working Lands Conservation Subgroup on the Maine Climate Council, but more importantly, started a dialogue with groups like Presente! Maine that haven't traditionally been a part of conversations about conservation.”
Matt Cannon reflects: “I really enjoyed grappling with how we can envision the shared future of housing, community land trusts, local agriculture, localized energy ownership and economic opportunities with Frank [Lowenstein] and Greg [Watson]. We all need to get more comfortable in these spaces as we face difficult choices about renewable energy siting, housing, biodiversity protection, and farmland protection against the backdrop of social inequities and a climate catastrophe.”
Nyalat Biliew, our Grassroots Climate Action Organizer, stated that “the opportunity for our volunteers and the public to derive value from the extensive effort we've invested in this podcast is very exciting. The relationships we've built and the fresh dialogues we've initiated have helped us better understand how we can center intersectionality in our conservation work. I encourage everyone to learn from these discussions and to invest time in continuing similar conversations within their work, particularly when discussing prioritizing marginalized communities.”
We’re working on a season 1 recap episode to come in the next month, and starting to plan for a potential season 2. As we move forward we would love for you to share your feedback/suggestions through this form!