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.
- Update frequency
- every 11 days
- Average duration
- 41 minutes
- Episodes
- 79
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
Charles Parker (Charlie's P.L.A.C.E.) - History of Recreation in Kalamazoo
Don’t miss Charles Parker (Charlie’s P.L.A.C.E., Youth Basketball League, and more) storytelling about the history of recreation and play in Kalamazoo over the last 50 years. Mr. Parker recalls his y…
Ben Brown: Kalamazoo's Most Sustainable Resident?
Ben Brown has made many significant choices to Ben's home and lifestyle to make Ben's footprint more sustainable. Between electric cars, misting showers, and rainwater collection, Ben has identified …
Reforest Vine: Cultivating an Urban Forest
Hope for Creation: Mobilizing all faith-based communities to care for the environment
How can religious or spiritual communities come together to address climate change? This is the question that the founders of Hope for Creation were asking when they planned the first set of meetings…
KC Earth Changers: Youth and Environmental Advocacy
In this episode, our hosts, David Benac and Emily Demorest, dive deep into the conversations with a dynamic group of high school environmental activists who are concerned with how to make a positive …
Tom Small - We are all the Wild Ones
Tom Small is an octogenarian who has been encouraging the creation and conversation of native ecosystems for decades. He started the local chapter of Wild Ones, an organization dedicated to promoting…
Jessica Thompson - Bee Joyful: Shopping Sustainably for Home and Personal Care
Jessica Thompson created Michigan's first Zero Waste Shop & Refillery in downtown Kalamazoo. Our hosts, Patrick Hershberger and Sharon Dever, sat down with Jessica, who may need to add storyteller to…
Arielle King - Black Girl Environmentalist
Arielle King and Bionca Stewart discuss environmental justice and creating opportunities for black people to lead in the environmental movement. They both will illuminate an exciting and intersection…
Ryan Smith - Homeless, Unhoused, and the Environment
A New School of Conservation - Mitch Lettow, Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
In this episode our guest, Mitch Lettow, dives deep into the concepts and practices of conservation. If you've ever been interested in habitat restoration and ecology, that is the daily work that Mit…
Earth Day Festival Recap
This is a very special episode using footage from the Earth Day Festival! Almost every exhibitor is a part of this episode, as well as behind-the-scenes stories and commentary from David Benac, Patri…
Erin Middleton - Combining Science and Advocacy in the Business of Natural Resources
Luis Peña - Saving old houses to protect communities and the planet
If you could live in a home that was built in 1890 or one that was built in 1980, which would you choose? If you chose the house that was built in 1980, Luis Pena, Historic Preservation Coordinator f…
Oh Won't You Be My Neighbor
Steve Walsh and Ellen Nelson talk about the Vine way to celebrate Earth Day - with concerts and music. Self-declared as the Artistic Neighborhood, the energy in Vine speaks to a willingness to reach …
Earth Day Festival Musicians
There are so many fantastic musicians in Kalamazoo, but only some who will be performing at the 2023 Earth Day Festival! These musicians are thoughtful in their community engagement and activism. No …
Native Plants Save the Day… and Tomorrow Too.
How can one person make a lasting and meaningful difference? Chris Bartley has lived in the Oakwood-Winchell neighborhood for a long time. At one time, Woods lake was so overgrown, it didn’t look li…
Everything Edison
The Edison Neighborhood has some awesome projects that are resident-led initiatives that improve the quality of life for those living in the Edison Neighborhood. These projects also have positive imp…
Why Earth Day Matters
Bet you don’t know the story of the first Earth Day. In this episode of Connecting Communities, David Benac tells the story of the first national Earth Day, and the ways that it changed this country.…
Earth Day and eARTh
Patrick Hershberger and Ellen Nelson are professional artists in Kalamazoo. If you have walked, driven, or taken the bus anywhere is Kalamazoo, you have probably glimpsed a mural they were a part of.…