This is Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League's (BREDL) Podcast where we discuss environmental issues that are right in our backyards. Topics include coal plants, fracking, pipelines, and much more. This podcast takes a deep dive into these topics and talks with people who are on the ground fighting for the health and safety of their communities as well as protection the planet.
44. Mindfulness in Action: Caring for Ourselves, Our Communities, and the Planet
Today, we’re talking about mindfulness, but not just meditation or sitting quietly.
Our guest is Knellee Bisram who is the founder of AHAM, the Art of Happiness and Mindfulness and the Academy of the Heart and Mind, an organization connecting mindfulness, education, nature, youth, and community resilience.
We’ll explore how mindfulness can help us care for ourselves, our communities, and even the planet and what we can learn when we step outside the classroom and into nature and community.
Contact or connect: https://www.ahameducation.org/ (https://www.ahameducation.org/)
Today, we’re diving into the health of Charleston’s waterways and the work being done to protect them.
I talked with Riley Egger, the Advocacy and Policy Director at Charleston Waterkeeper. Charleston is a community deeply connected to its rivers, creeks, marshes, and harbor, but those waterways face a growing number of challenges, from pollution and development to flooding, population growth, and the impacts of a changing climate.
In this episode, Riley helps us better understand what makes Charleston’s waterways so unique, the threats they face, and the work Charleston Waterkeeper is doing on the ground through water quality monitoring, habitat restoration, and advocacy.
We’ll also talk about how scientific data can shape policy, how monitoring can lead to real-world change, and what the latest water quality trends are telling us about the future of Charleston’s waterways.
Contact and connect: https://charlestonwaterkeeper.org/ (https://charlestonwaterkeeper.org/)
4 Sept 2026
42. Eyes in the Sky: Conservation From Above
Our guest is Laura Early, Communications and Development Director at SouthWings, a nonprofit that connects volunteer pilots with conservation groups and journalists to document environmental issues from the air.
We’ll talk about how aerial storytelling can reveal things that aren’t always visible from the ground, who these volunteer pilots are, and what inspires them to take to the skies. We’ll also explore some of the environmental challenges SouthWings is documenting and how those images can influence conservation, journalism, and policy.
Email: (https://www.southwings.org/passengers/request-a-flight) info@southwings.org (mailto:info@southwings.org)
https://skytruth.org/case-studies/the-colossal-oil-spill-big-energy-tried-to-hide-for-14-years (https://skytruth.org/case-studies/the-colossal-oil-spill-big-energy-tried-to-hide-for-14-years)https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/19/climate/xai-musk-memphis-turbines-pollution (https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/19/climate/xai-musk-memphis-turbines-pollution)https://www.selc.org/news/inside-memphis-fight-against-xai/ (https://www.selc.org/news/inside-memphis-fight-against-xai/)https://www.southwings.org/passengers/request-a-flight (https://www.southwings.org/passengers/request-a-flight)
Who has been a guest on In Our Backyard Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Dr Rania Masri
Henry Jacobs
Sylvia Vincent
Debbie Davis
Alfred Kwasikpui
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.9 / 5
16 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 37 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
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