S6 - E11: Small and Expansive Wonders with Lauren Hines-Acosta of the Chesapeake Bay Journal, Part I

The Chesapeake Bay watershed is a national treasure with many small and expansive wonders. Lauren Hines-Acosta is a scientific journalist and staff writer with the Chesapeake Bay Journal's Virginia office. Lauren took a keen interest in science at a young age and was particularly intrigued by physics and astronomy. As a science writer covering Virginia's portion of the Bay watershed, Lauren is able to share through her writing about the small and expansive wonders she discovers in her research. Lauren talks with Jeff, Mary, and Eric how the Chesapeake Bay impacts and engages people and communities on many levels, especially those people who live near and depend on the water. Lauren's inquisitiveness has led to writing recent articles about "forever chemicals", menhaden, solar, and other topics related to the care of soil and the overall health of the Bay.      If you are interested in Lauren's recent articles about declining water levels in Virginia's Potomac River aquifer and "forever chemicals", or Karl Blankenship's Agriculture and the Bay series, please visit the Chesapeake Bay Journal website at https://www.bayjournal.com/ Tune in, like, and subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts or 4thesoil.org/podcast (https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3...) As always, we encourage you to cooperate with other farmers, graziers, and gardeners for peer-to-peer learning. We can all be 4 The Soil, for the future! Here is how with four principles:  1) Keep the soil covered -- Cover crops are our friends; 2) Minimize soil disturbance -- Be gentle, take it easy; 3) Maximize living roots year-round -- Keep roots growing; and 4) Energize with diversity -- Thrive with diversity. If you are interested in art and framing the 4 The Soil posters for your office or home, the 16” by 20” posters are available for purchase and printing as single (https://www.postersforthepeople.com/s...) posters or a set (https://www.postersforthepeople.com/s...) of five posters. Additional, 4 The Soil gear and swag is available for purchase at https://4-the-soil.printify.me/ If you have questions about soil and water conservation practices, soil health principles, and starting your journey to restore the life in your soil, call or visit a USDA Service Center (https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/loca...) , a Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and...) office, or your local Virginia Cooperative Extension (https://ext.vt.edu/) office.   4 the Soil: A Conversation is made possible with funding support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and The Agua Fund. Other partners include the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Virginia Cooperative Extension; Virginia State University; Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; and partners of the Virginia Soil Health Coalition. Disclaimer: Views expressed on this podcast are those of each individual guest. To download a copy of this, or any other show, visit the website 4thesoil.org (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.ou...) . Music used during today’s program is courtesy of the Flip Charts. All rights reserved. 4 the Soil: A Conversation is produced by On the Farm Radio in collaboration with Virginia Tech. The host and co-hosts are Jeff Ishee, Mary Sketch Bryant, and Eric Bendfeldt.