Environmental Volunteering of Senior Citizens | All Swell?

December 30, 2021

Closing out 2022 on ASPN!

In an ageing society, Kyra is wondering why there are not more senior citizens involved in environmental volunteering. She is sitting down with three representatives from environmental organizations from where she lives on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Scott Babinowich from the National Park Service, Sara Hallas from the North Carolina Coastal Federation and Taylor McConnell with the Aquarium on Roanoke Island. She also talks to seniors at the senior center and uncovers a few reasons why people would or would not volunteer. Bottom line: everyone can volunteer, no matter their age or how much time they have on their hands - everything is beneficial: to you, society, environmental organizations and most importantly our planet.

Thank you for tuning in and supporting the All Swell? Podcast!

More information on the volunteering opportunities talked about on this episode here:

Cape Hatteras National Seashore (NPS): https://www.nps.gov/caha/index.htm

NC Coastal Federation: https://www.nccoast.org/get-involved/volunteer/

Aquarium on Roanoke Island (NC Aquariums): https://www.ncaquariums.com/roanoke-island-volunteer

If you are on the Outer Banks and need more inspiration with which organization you could volunteer with send me an email: haggek19@students.ecu.edu

Show Transcription
This transcription was generated by a computer. Please excuse any errors.
Genevieve “GG” Guerry, Kyra Hagge, Rory Kuczek, Kathryn Lienhard, and Nat Blackford

American Shoreline Podcast Network teamed up with graduate and professional students from student chapters of The Coastal Society to highlight voices in coastal science and management. Together they’ve created All Swell?, an innovative podcast that dives into current ocean and coastal issues, their potential solutions, and the people leading the way toward a more resilient future. The podcast creators and hosts this year are from East Carolina University and Duke University. Genevieve “GG” Guerry and Kyra Hagge are Ph.D. candidates at East Carolina. GG is interested in public health and aims to work on the public perception of forever chemicals such as PFAS in the Cape Fear watershed and climate migration. Kyra is integrating behavioral economics and social psychology with hydrogeology to tackle questions about pro-environmental behavior and adoption of green technology along the coast of North Carolina. Kathryn Lienhard, Nat Blackford, and Rory Kuczek are Master of Environmental Management students at Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment. Kathryn is interested in coastal resilience, ecosystem restoration, and community engagement. She is currently working at Duke’s Marine Lab in Beaufort, NC. Nat is interested in how we manage our coastal ecosystems - from coastal forests to marshes to seagrass meadows. These coastal environments are some of the most densely populated areas on the planet, have huge ecological and cultural significance, and sequester and store large amounts of carbon. Aurora Kuczek, is a master of Environmental Management student at Duke University studying Ecosystem Science and Conservation. She is interested in coastal restoration, particularly as it relates to wildlife conservation, and how local communities can get involved in restoration processes to make real change for their environments they are closely intertwined with and rely upon to survive.