River Talks Cumberland River Compact

Tucked in North Nashville on the campus of Tennessee State University sits one of the largest and most intact urban wetlands in Middle Tennessee. Referred to as the TSU wetland, this area drains a significant portion of North Nashville and filters harmful pollutants and sediments before the water enters the nearby Cumberland River. The wetland is a thriving ecosystem, providing a habitat for numerous aquatic frogs, turtles, and snakes, hunting grounds for bald eagles and blue herons, and a stopover for migrating neotropical birds. Nearby Tennessee State University students conduct research at the wetland and professors take their students outside for life-changing experiential education. Despite the many benefits of the TSU wetland for our community and environment, pressure to develop this remaining green space looms. 

Today on River Talks, we are joined by Tennessee State University faculty Dr. Tom Byl and Dr. Bill Sutton to share about the wetland and why it is crucial to ensure it remains intact. Dr. Bill Sutton is an Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Tennessee State University in the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Dr. Sutton also runs the Wildlife Ecology Lab at TSU. Dr. Tom Byl is a Research Scientist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and has been stationed at Tennessee State University for 27 years. Through a special partnership between TSU and the USGS, Dr. Byl serves as a professor conducting research and teaching students at the University.


---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thecompact/message

All across Nashville neighborhoods, new trees are popping up. As Spring approaches buds, flowers, and blossoms are visible on these new trees. Over 30,000 of these trees are thanks to partners of the Root Nashville campaign, led by the Cumberland River Compact. Root Nashville is a public-private partnership led by the Cumberland River Compact and Metro Nashville. We were able to reach this big planting milestone thanks to many partners, neighborhoods, and organizations across the city - and some very special Neighborhood Planting Captains.

In this episode of River Talks, we hear from Meg Morgan, Root Nashville Campaign Manager at the Cumberland River Compact, and two recent Neighborhood Planting Captains: Tranyce Parmer and Danylo Lazarenko. Tranyce and Danylo were both part of a cohort of Planting Captains supported by an Arbor Day Foundation environmental justice grant. Today we get to hear from both of these amazing Planting Captains about their experiences and how you can get involved!


---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thecompact/message

The implementation and growth of regenerative agriculture practices that heal the land and feed people rely on getting the land into the hands of people willing to implement these practices. Yet too often, land access is a barrier for many small and mid-sized farmers, and especially difficult for Black, Indigenous, and Farmers of Color. The issue of land access has only gotten more urgent as close to 4 million acres of land are about to change hands and land prices have skyrocketed. To address land access and to build and sustain the regenerative agriculture movement, it will take a radical reimagining and shift of thinking.

In today's River Talk, we sit down with Kristina Villa the Communications Director and Agrarian Commons Relationship and Strategy Specialist with Agrarian Trust. In our conversation, we discuss land access and how the Agrarian Commons model is pushing forward a new model of land ownership. Agrarian Trust is addressing the realities of farmland owner demographics, wealth disparities, farm viability, and all who are excluded and marginalized from land and food by holding farmland in community-centered commons and providing long-term, equitable land access for next generation farmers and ranchers.

Find more information on our blog: https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/2023/02/16/agrarian-commons-regenerative-agriculture/




---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thecompact/message

The Appalachian Mountains serve many roles: important habitat for incredible biodiversity, inspiration for artists, and a destination for tourists. But many lands in Appalachia have also been working lands, driving economic prosperity in the region through industries like forestry and mining. For many decades, coal miners in Appalachia contributed greatly to the American workforce and to the industrial might of our country. But today, fewer and fewer jobs remain, and thousands of acres of surface-mined land sit barren or have been converted to gravelly grassland. Through a specific reforestation process known as the Forestry Reclamation Approach, formerly mined sites can be improved. After reforestation, these sites have higher biodiversity, can help to naturally clean and filter rainwater entering into nearby streams, and provide long-term economic benefits to surrounding communities. The future of Appalachian ecosystems and communities lies in our ability to reckon with these legacies of the past.

In this River Talk, you will hear from Cliff Drouet, a Forester with the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative, about the legacy of the coal industry in this region and what the future holds.




---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thecompact/message

Join the Cumberland River Compact as we hear from Dr. Learotha Williams from Tennessee State University about the story of Hill’s Island.

Learn more about Hill's Island: https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/explore/hills-island/

Hill’s Island–a space originally occupied by Native Americans—bears the name of one of the most revered slave traders in the antebellum South. Although largely inaccessible to the general public, is an area of the city that has an odd and mildly frenzied history. It became home to an enslaved African whose appearance frightened one of Nashville’s founding families and also served as a Lazaretto or quarantine station for enslaved Blacks who had recently arrived in Middle Tennessee. As an antebellum historical site, it sits in the Cumberland as a monument to Nashville’s first “Big Business.”

A century later it would become a recreational space for the city’s well-to-do population, leased out as a space that could host summer camps, and under the auspices of the Seven Day Adventist Church, its history would be closely associated with education and religion in the Athens of the South. This period in its history marks Nashville’s transition into a major Southern city.

Today Hill’s island sits in the Cumberland as one of the few pristine, undeveloped sites in the city. There is still much to learn about its antebellum past and the lives of Native Americans and enslaved Blacks who lived there, its role as a recreational space, and its overall role in the history of the Music City. As we consider its history in the 21st century Nashville, we grapple with how to reanimate and share these histories with new audiences.

This project is funded in part by a grant from Humanities Tennessee, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Additional Acknowledgments: Jasmine Spears of Tennessee State University, Tennessee State Museum staff of Jeff Sellers and Miranda Fraley, Aaron Deter-Wolf of the Tennessee Division of Archaeology, Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope of WPLN, and Andrew Ostrowski of Pontoon Saloon (who helps bring us out the island!)

Previous episode about Hill's Island: https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/2021/06/16/tenngreen-land-conservancy-gifts-hills-island-to-cumberland-river-compact/


---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thecompact/message

Learn more about Dodd Galbreath and the resources mentioned in the podcast on our blog: https://cumberlandrivercompact.org/2022/10/24/dodd-galbreath-tennessee/

You would be hard-pressed to find someone who has had as much influence over Tennessee's environment and its people as Dodd Galbreath. Dodd has dedicated his life to building an inclusive, transparent, and influential environmental movement in our state. He spent decades in public service before turning his efforts towards training the sustainability workforce by developing Lipscomb University's Institute for Sustainable Practices.  In 2020, Dodd Galbreath was the recipient of the Robert Sparks Walker Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

In this River Talk, Dodd shares about his roles in local and state government, his mindset behind creating the Institute for Sustainable Practice, the role of creation care in the environmental movement, and how (and why!) we should all find our space in protecting Tennessee's environment.


---

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thecompact/message