The Sustainable Carolina Podcast

Six million people living in the United States do not have access to safely managed sanitation. But Amy Kryston is cautiously optimistic that this public health problem can be solved in our lifetimes.

In 2022, Amy began a deep dive into this staggering statistic. Through the UNC Institute for the Environment's Environmental Justice Graduate Research Award, she wrote a systematic review  on the social barriers to adeq...

"Anyone who thinks they're too small to make a difference has never met the honey bee." 

Nathan Halsey, co-president of the Carolina Beekeeping Club lives by this quote. As a high school student during the pandemic, he picked up beekeeping. When he arrived to Carolina, he knew he wanted to continue his business, Halsey's Hives. But he also wanted to make an impact on campus. In this episode, he shares h...

On the fourth and final bonus episode, we learn about applying research out in the real world and engaging students in the process. 

First, UNC Department of Earth Marine and Environmental Sciences Assistant Professor Antonia Sebastian talks about her research on 100-year floodplains, urban development and the social implications of development. She also shares how her research influences the ways she engages with students...

This third bonus episode explores water. 

First, we take to the skies with UNC Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences Professor Tamlin Pavelsky. Pavelsky, who serves as the freshwater science lead for NASA's Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission, shares findings from the Atlantic Coast to the Yukon Delta to the Kakhovka Dam. SWOT is visualizing rivers and lakes in ways we've never seen before...

This episode explores two topics in global public health, presented at our spring Sustainability Research Symposium. Both researchers begin their conversations by sharing how our changing climate impacts their research and respective fields of study.

Lindsey Smith Taillie, Gillings School of Global Public Health Department of Nutrition associate professor and associate chair of academics, shares research she's complet...

In the first of four bonus episodes this season, we have Mike Piehler and Chloe Hall's talks from our April 2024 Sustainability Research Symposium. The research presented in this episode takes place at two of the UNC Institute for the Environment's field sites. Piehler's episode looks at blue carbon storage at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences and Hall's research takes us to the Highlands Biological Station, ...

Ileana Fenwick is both a marine scientist and a data scientist. Pursuing her doctorate in the UNC Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences, she searches for patterns in fisheries ecology data. Because she strongly believes that greater data transparency and inclusion will help solve the climate change puzzle, she challenges herself to share her own data and code with other scientists.

 Outside of her research, Fenwick ...

Ella Feathers, a senior at Carolina, wears many hats in the sustainability space at Carolina. She has served on the Carolina Sustainability Council and currently co-chairs the UNC Student Government Department of Environmental Affairs. She also works as a science communicator for the Data Driven EnviroLab, led by Angel Hsu. In her episode, Ella talks about recognizing burnout, carrying a mindset of progress and  showing up in the s...

On Earth Day 2024, Chief Sustainability Officer Mike Piehler gives an update on the University's sustainability initiative, Sustainable Carolina. He walks through Carolina's Climate Action Plan, Water Plan and progress made from 2020 - 2024. This audio comes from a video, shared on the UNC Institute for the Environment's YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/HpjasYF_IaM?feature=shared

Launched in fall 2020, Sustainab...

Between his day job and his passion projects, Will Freund gets the best of both worlds. As the community engagement specialist for Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, he leads programs for adults, teens and our youngest North Carolinians. And every April when Morehead's Science Expo rolls around, he runs the show. Freund has a natural curiosity for the world around, and it's contagious to those around him. His debut ...

Julie Jacobson Vann made her way down to North Carolina to pursue her passion — and Ph.D. — in public health. She grew up in Wisconsin knowing the importance of water quality and recycling. So when she began her career at the UNC School of Nursing, it only made sense that she would incorporate environmental health and sustainability into the courses she taught. Most recently, her interest, advocacy and volunteerism led her to be na...

In this episode, Assistant Professor and Voit Gilmore Fellow Amanda DelVecchia talks about her lab's work in understanding greenhouse gas flux — the natural release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere — in rivers and streams. 

Then Drew Coleman, chair of the UNC Environment, Energy and Ecology (E3P) program talks about balancing Earth's ecosystems. Specifically, he talks about his partnership with the NC Coll...

In the third of four bonus episodes, we bring you a conversation about water and air quality from two centers based out of UNC Institute for the Environment.  First, Megan Lane talks about the work the Center for Public Engagement with Science is doing, especially as it has to do with water quality. Then Sarav Arunachalam, director of the Center for Environmental Modeling for Policy Development, talks about a case study his team co...

In the second of four summer bonus episodes, we talk with Xuewei Wang of Data Driven EnviroLab and Noah Kittner of Gillings School of Global Public Health.

The Data-Driven EnviroLab us using both large data sets and citizen science to analyze the impacts of urban heat islands within different communities. Kittner has also worked with the Data-Driven EnviroLab to think about ways to help emerging sustainability-related tec...

This is the first of our four summer bonus episodes. In this episode we hear from experts at the Center on Financial Risk in Environmental Systems (CoFiRES) and the Environmental Finance Center (EFC). With two different lenses, they talk about infrastructure, the environment and affordability of public services.

Most of us don’t think about everything that has to happen before we flip on a light switch to turn on a light, ...

John Richardson isn't sure his career path existed when he was in college. Inspired by his parents, who coupled environmental stewardship with municipal service in their careers,  Richardson earned a master's degree in urban and regional planning. Since 2007, he's been the Town of Chapel Hill's go-to person for sustainability. In the 16 years since he's been with the town, he's nurtured a robust relati...

In 2022, UNC Institute for the Environment and UNC School of Law's Center for Climate, Energy, Environment & Economics (CE3) launched the Energy Transition Initiative (ETI). After just a few short months working for the ETI, Alex Hopkins became interim director. Mike Piehler guest hosts this episode of the Sustainable Carolina Podcast, in which Alex talks about strategies for engaging with policymakers and the University c...

When Melanie Elliott graduated from Carolina, she had no idea she'd be playing a big role in one of the University's greatest challenges: achieving carbon neutrality by 2040. In this episode, she talks about tracking campus emissions, understanding the latest trends in the energy transition, and working with students to pass on knowledge (and excitement) about sustainability.

Launched in fall 2020, Sustainable Carolin...

Green roofs enhance sustainability by slowing rainwater runoff, reducing energy consumption, and more. The Carolina Drone Lab (CARDNL), housed within the UNC Institute for the Environment, is taking a closer look at Carolina's green roofs through its Islands in the Sky project. The project, made possible through the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)/Lenovo Instructional Innovation Grants program, will reveal how well campus ...