Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel
Today, April 22, 2022, is Earth Day! And what better way to celebrate Earth Day than to explore the realm of one of the earth’s most interesting group of species: Seaweed.
Seaweed has seen a surge in interest in Maine in the last few years, with a growing number of people paying attention to seaweed – from consumers to nutrition experts, from harvesters to farmers, from restoration ecologists to beauticians. And Maine finds itself at the center of it all.
This week, just in time for Earth Day, Maine is celebrating Maine Seaweed Week – multiple days full of activities and opportunities to taste and learn about this incredible seafood. Maine Seaweed Week was founded four years ago by one of our interviewees on today’s show, Josh Rogers of Heritage Seaweed and Cup of Sea teas. Our second interviewee, Jaclyn Robidoux of Maine Sea Grant, has also been very involved with organizing this week’s special seaweed events. We turn to both of them to learn about the various seaweeds found on the Maine coast, how it can be used, and how you, our listeners, can join in on the seaweed celebrations happening up and down our shores through May 1st 2022.
-Earth Day
-Maine Seaweed Week 2022
-Maine seaweed species and products
Jaclyn Robidoux, marine extension associate at Maine Sea Grant
Josh Rogers, Founder of Heritage Seaweed, Cup of Sea teas, and Maine Seaweed Week
Other credits: Thanks to Ellie White, our radio production assistant for this show, for all of her production help, her interviews with our guests and her vision for how we could celebrate Earth Day today by taking a deep dive into seaweed. Ellie is a senior at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor where she has been studying storytelling, audio production and human ecology. Thanks also to Galen Koch of The First Coast, who helps train our radio production assistants.
About the host:
Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.
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