We know that green spaces are good for you. They provide benefits to air quality, biodiversity, and even your mental health... but why?

Returning guest Joeri Morpurgo, a postdoctoral fellow at Universiteit Leiden in the Netherlands, set out with his team to answer this question. They found an important distinction: not all green spaces are created equal.

The team also investigated the various benefits of green space, and found natural variables to attribute them to: lower air temperatures were directly related to tree heights, soil quality promotes water storage, and so on. Every green space has unique characteristics that give it unique, nuanced benefits. In this episode, Joeri joins hosts Alysha and Todd to talk about why distinction between outdoor spaces is so important.

Joeri's Haiku:
Lush green fill the streets
Yet life and function diverge
Features shape what they give

Links:
Joeri's Bio: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/joeri-morpurgo#tab-1
Joeri's Publications: https://scholar.google.nl/citations?user=PHxx0pIAAAAJ&hl=nl

Pre-print of Joeri's newest pub: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5841194/v1

The Mississippi River Basin covers over a million square miles across the southeast and midwest US. Despite growing up far away in the northeast US, Boyce Upholt thinks about the nation's largest waterway more than most: he's the author of "The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi." The book began nearly eight years earlier with a paddling trip, a sunken steamboat, and love-at-first-sight for the iconic southern river.

Upholt speaks to our hosts Alysha and Todd about his intertwining passions for history and nature, and why this work centers on "the Great River." The book covers how humans have thought about, related to, and altered the region over centuries, and how the river changes to meet us in new ways.

"We know it's out there, this sort of heart beating in the middle of America, but most Americans don't know what it looks like."

Boyce's Haiku (The Edgelands Wander Haiku):
Shopping cart half-sunk
Into the crust-dried batture mud
Nothing lasts too long

Links:
Check out the book: https://www.boyceupholt.com/
Southlands Magazine, a new project by Boyce Upholt, is launching later this year: https://www.boyceupholt.com/southlands

Emmanuel Stone was raised to love good food: his mother, a restaurant owner, inspired him to teach culinary arts, learn about agriculture, and emphasize the importance of whole foods. This led him to Athens Land Trust: an organization that simultaneously encourages conservation and community in Athens, GA where UGA is located.

Stone serves as the Strategic Partnerships Director for ALT. From his office at Williams Farm, a space where ALT houses their offices as well as a community garden, sustainable farming classes for both youth and adults, and counseling for homebuyers, he explained the model ALT uses to simultaneously provide affordable housing, educational resources, and whole foods to the Athens community.

"We see these things all as connected," he said. "The Trust tries to do many things, but the main thread connecting all these areas of work is that we see how community development takes many shapes."

Whether you're interested in sustainable communities, agriculture, buying a house, or just hearing us chat about food- this episode is for you!


Links:

Learn more about Athens Land Trust here: https://athenslandtrust.org/
Emmanuel Stone Bio: https://athenslandtrust.org/staff_member/emmanuel-stone/
ALT Workshops and Classes: https://athenslandtrust.org/classes-events/
Upcountry Oyster Roast: https://athenslandtrust.org/classes-events/oyster-roast/