Connecting Communities: Kalamazoo Earth Day
Connecting Communities, is a podcast for stories of individuals and groups who are taking action on environmental issues. We will to show you how you can begin urban gardening, native planting, and exploring sustainable energy. Connecting Communities is a part of the Kalamazoo Earth Day Festival. You can watch the video recording of the show on one of PMN’s cable outlets or on-demand at publicmedianet.org. Opinions shared in the show may not reflect the opinions or beliefs of the Kalamazoo Earth Day Committee as a whole or each individual involved.
Episodes
Mia Breznau is a young climate activist in Kalamazoo. She has been participating and planning service projects, advocating for legislation, and organizing other young people for public demonstrations. In this episode, Mia shares her story and some of the influential mentors and organizations that have guided her journey.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Urban Bird Treaty (https://www.fws.gov/program/urban-bird-treaty)
Starlite Collective is an artist community led by Erica and Val to support and promote artists in Southwest Michigan. The way they have designed the collective to remove all barriers for their artists, from physical to financial ones. They have applied the same thought and inclusive attitude toward their inaugural Starlite Arts and Music Festival, in Kalamazoo on August 15-17, 2025.
The city of Kalamazoo has a calendar full of programs for residents that will help them get out and enjoy nature safely. Destiny Stetina joins us to talk about the programs and the impact such programs have had on her own life.
Contact info for Destiny: stetinad@kalamazoocity.org
After October 1, contact: gishj@kalamazoocity.org
Relevant links:
Social media:
Only a few hundred years ago, our ancestors were just as familiar with the night sky as they were with the daytime sky. Now we are quite separated from it. Steven Crawford, the Planetarium Technician at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, visits the podcast to discuss the night sky, and how to planetarium can help people access the wonder and majesty of it.
For information about the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, and to purchase tickets to the p...
Patrick Hershberger visited the June TrashLoveKzoo clean up to document their progress. The volunteers journeyed into the woods near where the Sprinkle Road road crosses over the Kalamazoo River. The images of the garbage have to be seen to be believed! Even faced with that amount of trash, the group completed their goal and then some!
Battle Creek Unlimited is an economic development non-profit that has aquired 10 acres along the Kalamazoo River that runs through downtown. For decades, this area has been a highly industrial one, with the banks of the river reflecting that. A cement channel was created in 1962 to prevent flooding. The buildings along the channel have been removed, and now the property sits behind a chain link fence. What is the plan for this area...
Monoform Cinema is a group that is bringing a curated, non-commercial film experience to Kalamazoo. The team (Gabe Ybarra, Jaycie McGruder, Steve Remenapp, and Carman Goodrich) remember the days when the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema was operating and people could go to see movies for more than just the day’s big blockbusters. From the serious to the humorous, Monoform brings people together and shows films that spark movement, a juxtapo...
Residents who follow the page Yes, There Really Is A Kalamazoo Meme Page on Facebook and Instagram frequently comment on the page's original memes saying "This is so true." The page nods to neighborhood inside jokes, winks about local heroes, and waves a big red flag toward nefarious characters. So who are these meme makers? Their names are Joel Crookston and Tyler Dancer - but what is their motivation and inspiration? Joel and Tyl...
Discover how Kalamazoo Youth Development Network is changing the landscape of youth services in our community. Unlike distant foundations, KYD Net provides hands-on support, valuable assessment tools, and actionable improvement strategies—all at no cost to local programs. What makes their approach so effective? Why do community leaders consider their expertise "priceless"? Join us as three team members from KYD Net reveal their col...
Reforest Vine can install a curb garden in one day. Mitch Lettow fills us in on the process and how these tiny gardens impact biodiversity and habitat availability for the smallest creatures.
Stop by the Kalamazoo Valley Museum for an early season tour of their rain gardens. These gardens help keep storm water drains clean, as well as help to keep flood-prone spaces from getting soggy.
Every year, Charlie's P.L.A.C.E. and the Rotary conduct big clean ups in Kalamazoo's Douglass neighborhood and on the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail.
The Edison neighborhood got together for Earth Day to tackle a large dumping site and to plant trees in the space.
Audubon Society of Kalamazoo, Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy, and Wild Ones lead us on a Signs of Spring tour for Earth Day in Upjohn Park. Connecting Communities presents a pod short showcasing the presenters as they discussed the natural habitat of the park with participants of the walk.
Connecting Communities pod short with Mike List, a representative of the Edison Resident Scholars group discussing the cleanup on Earth Day at the Literacy Lane and Albert White Literacy Trail.
The first Fun Run hosted by the Winchell and Oakwood neighborhoods to celebrate Earth Day, and Connecting Communities was there to find out all about it!
Edison neighborhood had a seed planting event and Vine did their annual clean up and celebration in the park.
Children's Nature Playscape has a really fun and engaging Family Fun Day each year to celebrate Earth Day! Meet Nature Nate and Daphne Len Ben (author of Queenie Saves the World).
Ian Stewart joins us on the pod to talk about his trash picking project. This guy went from zero experience to being "passionate about picking up trash." He has accomplished some amazing projects and is definitely shaking things up in Kalamazoo's waste world.
We joined Michigan Waterway Stewards to tackle invasive brush and cleanup trash at two of Kalamazoo's parks along the river, Mayor Riverfront and Verburg Parks. Volunteers were lead by team leads to identify and remove invasive species. The Michigan Waterway Stewards will lead a fall event to continue the project at both parks for further restoration.
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