Advertise on podcast: Pennsylvania Legacies

Monarch butterflies are an iconic species that can be found throughout North America, but various factors are threatening the stability of their population. Brandywine Conservancy is helping boost monarch butterfly numbers by establishing Monarch Waystations throughout the Laurel Highlands. Learn more about this initiative and how you can create your own Monarch Waystation on this episode of Pennsylvania Legacies.

A replay of our 2021 interview with Franklin Kury, the former state lawmaker who authored and championed Pennsylvania's first-in-the-nation Environmental Rights Amendment. Mr. Kury passed away this month, leaving a legacy that touches the lives of every Pennsylvanian -- including those not yet born.

Last month the PA state House unanimously approved legislation requiring utilities to consider Advanced Transmission Technologies (ATTs) -- hardware and software innovations that make the electric grid smarter and more efficient -- in their infrastructure planning. As the Senate takes up HB 2223, we're republishing our 2025 interview with Jenny Netherton of the Pew Charitable Trusts and Chris D'Agostino of Advanced Energy United. Plus, PEC's John Walliser has an overview of pending energy legislation heading into the General Assembly's busiest season.

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) occur when nutrient-rich runoff enters lakes and ponds, creating favorable conditions for bacteria that produce potent cyanotoxins. In addition to the usual negative environmental impacts associated with too much algae in freshwater, HABs can seriously sicken people and animals. A new Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District project funded through PEC's Pocono Forests and Waters Conservation Landscape Mini-Grants program aims to educate northeastern Pennsylvanians on the dangers of HABs and how to prevent them from occurring.

Phoenix Contact USA's facility near Harrisburg is more than a green workplace -- it's a proving ground for the technologies driving Pennsylvania's transition to clean energy and electrification. Learn about the sustainability innovations that have won the company five Governor's Awards for Environmental Excellence.

Conversation with Meg Lemieur, Sierra Weir, and Spencer Verney -- the talented inaugural cohort of PEC's new artist residency program -- about their experiences learning about and depicting special places in the Susquehanna River Basin.

"Proudly Made: A Story of Reinvention in the Big Woods and Small Towns of the Pennsylvania Wilds" is a manual for postindustrial communities looking to leverage nature-based tourism for economic development. But it's much more than that -- it's also the story of author Ta Enos's journey from rural northwestern Pennsylvania to the world beyond, and the vision that brought her back home to help reinvent the region. We talk with the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship founder and director about her memoir, recently recognized with the Governor's Keystone Award.

Clean energy sources are available to meet fast-rising demand for electricity at a manageable cost -- but the grid isn't ready. Can advanced transmission technologies (ATTs) help Pennsylvania keep up?

In places like Pennsylvania, where ice and snow can create dangerous driving conditions, road salting is a necessity. But in the absence of statewide regulations, municipalities and property managers wary of legal liability often use far more salt than is necessary -- which doesn't make anyone safer. In fact, excess salt accumulating underground degrades water quality, harms ecosystems, and affects human health. We hear from two leaders of a new statewide working group that's advocating for better road salting practices, and supporting recently introduced legislation to that end.

The Higher Ground gravel ride will return to Johnstown on November 2. The Pennsylvania Environmental Council is partnering with race coordinators Dave Pryor and Michael Cook, with support from the Community Foundation of the Alleghenies. This year's event will take riders through some of the most scenic and historic parts of the Laurel Highlands, such as the Path of the Flood Trail (this year's Pennsylvania Trail of the Year), the Conemaugh Valley, and much more. Higher Ground is part of a growing gravel cycling scene in Pennsylvania, which is showcasing the value of public lands and activating rural economies. PEC believes that the more opportunities people have to connect with the outdoors, the more likely they are to protect and steward those places for generations to come.

PEC Program Manager Rachael Stark is on a mission: visit all 63 of America’s National Parks before her 30th birthday this July. With just a few weeks left, she’s off to Alaska to cross the last few parks off her list. Before heading out, Rachael spoke with PEC’s Derek Maiolo about the journey so far.

It's easy to generate excitement around building new miles of trail. More difficult, but arguably more important, is maintaining existing trails. To help under-resourced trail managers get a handle on the complex challenge of maintenance, PEC's Trails team developed an extensive guidebook and companion app for collecting and analyzing data, allocating resources, and planning for long-term sustainability. Brett Hollern and Zhenya Nalywayko, who helped create the still-unreleased toolkit, explain why it's already drawing national attention.

April is a big month for the environment. From Earth Day, first observed in the same year PEC was founded, to Arbor Day (April 25), to Celebrate Trails Day (April 26), to International Dark Sky Week (April 21-28), there's an occasion to celebrate almost every aspect of the work PEC and our partners do. As we wrap up our April donor campaign, we're sharing excerpts from past podcast episodes that relate to some of our favorite Earth Month holidays. To support PEC's mission and share your love for nature and the outdoors, please consider making a donation at pecpa.org/give.

You know what geothermal energy is. But did you know that Pennsylvania has enough to heat and cool our homes and businesses, power our industries, and meet our carbon-reduction goals in just a few years? The best part: PA's long history of oil and gas production means we already have much of the data, infrastructure, and knowhow needed to seize the opportunity AND keep skilled energy workers employed. The authors of a new report out of Penn State explain how.

When it comes to public awareness of invasive species in the northeastern U.S., spotted lanternfly is the undisputed media darling. But in PA, the big picture is both more complex and less visible -- calling for a collaborative and landscape-specific approach to management. Amy Jewitt, an expert with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and a member of the Governor's Invasive Species Council, explains why the PRISM (Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management) model is working in other states, and how Pennsylvania could replicate that success.