River Talks

Cumberland River Compact

River Talks is an educational series presented by the Cumberland River Compact. River Talks features conversations with experts, artists, researchers, professionals, and characters from around the Cumberland River Basin and beyond. In each episode of River Talks we explore a new topic related to the health, enjoyment, and protection of the Cumberland River basin’s water, people, and special places. Join us as we explore the Cumberland River in each new episode.

  1. 25/04/2023

    Tennessee State University Wetland: An Urban Oasis in the Heart of Nashville (with Dr. Bill Sutton and Dr. Tom Byl TSU)

    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.

    48 phút
  2. 16/02/2023

    Agrarian Commons and the Importance of Land Access for Regenerative Agriculture (with Kristina Villa, The Agrarian Trust)

    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/

    37 phút
  3. 28/11/2022

    Hill's Island: An Exploration of the Past (with Dr. Learotha Williams Jr. Tennessee State University)

    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/

    44 phút
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River Talks is an educational series presented by the Cumberland River Compact. River Talks features conversations with experts, artists, researchers, professionals, and characters from around the Cumberland River Basin and beyond. In each episode of River Talks we explore a new topic related to the health, enjoyment, and protection of the Cumberland River basin’s water, people, and special places. Join us as we explore the Cumberland River in each new episode.