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Sustainable Introduces New Hosts Parker Romero and Chelsea Blanchard

Sustainable Idaho is a collaboration between the Portneuf Resource Council and the ISU Sustainability Club.

Welcome to Sustainable Idaho, where we discuss the economic, environmental, and societal elements of sustainability within Idaho. I'm Parker Romero. And I'm Chelsea Blanchard. And we are your new hosts, taking over for Jody Shwickt and Nathan Gregson. We will be producing weekly episodes covering a variety of locally relevant sustainability issues.

The show will continue to air at 7. 35 a. m. on Tuesday mornings and at 4. 20 p. m. on Thursday afternoons. Past episodes are available to stream online at KISU. org and you can also find Sustainable Idaho and all of its past episodes on Spotify. To introduce ourselves as hosts, we ask each other about our goals, our backgrounds, and our views on sustainability.

So, tell me a little bit about yourself, Parker. Well, I'm a sophomore here at ISU and I am majoring in biology with a concentration in ecology and conservation. I grew up in Boise, Idaho camping exploring what Idaho has to offer. My views on sustainability come from these experiences, and I believe everybody should have the same opportunities.

And what about you, Chelsea? I'm a junior majoring in communications with an emphasis in rhetoric, media, and social change. I grew up in Utah and moved to Pocatello in 2022. And my views on sustainability stem from my desire to be more aware of the impact our lives have on the environment we rely on for food, water, shelter, and for future generations quality of life.

So we spent the last couple of weeks learning how to host and produce a radio show, and now we're ready to dive into the content we want to cover. Parker, what are some of the topics for future shows you're looking forward to researching and covering? Yeah, I am super excited to research and cover more about the landscape that Pocatello has to offer, as well as some of the animals.

I'm excited to learn more about Sagebrush Steppe, as well as what animals live in there, and how that relates to the Pocatello ecosystem. What about you, Chelsea? What topics are you excited about researching and covering on future shows? I'm really interested in

covering how quagga and zebra mussels are affecting Idaho's waterways and the chronic wasting disease impacting Idaho's deer populations.

Parker, what part of the new school year has been the best for you? The best part for the new school year for me has been starting new classes that are very exciting to me, as well as being with my friends and hanging out after not seeing them most of the summer. What have you enjoyed about fall semester starting, Chelsea?

I'm gonna geek out for a second. I just enjoy being back in classes and having homework. Parker, as an ISU Bengal, what does sustainability mean to you and why do you feel it's important? As an ISU Bengal, sustainability to me is preserving our natural world and what is around us, not just here at ISU, but everywhere we go. And I feel that this is important because this is our home and this is where we live and I feel like we should preserve it to the best of our ability. With that said, Chelsea, what does sustainability look like to you and why is it significant? Sustainability to me is about educating ourselves on ways we can use our natural resources while simultaneously protecting them. I believe when we know better, we can do better, which is important for the health and welfare of future generations. How do you see learning about different aspects of sustainability impacting your studies?

I see that as I learn more about sustainability and all the different aspects that go into it affecting my studies by broadening my scope on what is happening around us. And not just numbers and calculations, but real world implications to how what we are learning is going to benefit us as a society, as well as all the organisms on earth and their quality of life.

Parker, I think that's a great view on education's tie into the world around us and the organisms affected, which is also closely aligned with what the Portentous Resource Council does.

It is, so I'd like to introduce the Portneuf Resource Council, a sponsor of this show, to all of our listeners. The Portneuf Resource Council, PRC, is a locally run, non partisan, grassroots organization dedicated to sustainability initiatives and advocacy in Southeast Idaho and operated out of Pocatello.

Locally, the Portneuf Resource Council has been a driving force behind groundwater protection and water set security with its Put Water First campaign. In 2019, the PRC helped 82 households in Pocatello install solar panels, and members have played an active role in the city's Clean Air and Energy Task Force.

Information about the Portneuf Resource Council can be found on Facebook and at portneufresourcecouncil. org. We will continue to update our listeners on PRC's work throughout the year. Thank you for tuning in to our first show. Chelsea and I are really excited to build on the work that previous hosts have done and to connect with our campus and local communities on sustainability issues.

We are happy to have the opportunity to introduce ourselves, our commitment to sustainability, and the Pornhub Resource Council. We look forward to bringing you more information about sustainability and how we can improve our quality of life. If you have any questions, suggestions for future episodes, or any concerns, please feel free to reach out to either myself or Parker.

You can find our email information on KISU's website at kisu. org slash programs. We appreciate the support from the ISU Office of Research for their funding of Sustainable Idaho through the Career Path Internship Program.

Tune in to next week's episode when Parker interviews PRC’s board of directors chair Mike Engle about the Pocatello Electric Vehicle Expo happening on September 28th. You've got Parker and Chelsea with Sustainable Idaho, and we'll catch you next week on our Pocatello Electric Vehicle Expo episode.

Funding for our Sustainable Idaho student hosts is provided in part by this radio station, the ISU Office for Research, and the Center for Ecological Research and Education through the ISU Career Path Internship Program. Direction, funding, and additional support is provided by the Portneuf Resource Council.

Chelsea Blanchard is an Idaho State University undergraduate student pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Communications, rhetoric, media, and social change. Her major is a foundation for her goal of attaining a PhD in political science and research. Chelsea is excited to learn more about sustainability issues from experts in various related fields and share this information with the community through co-hosting the Sustainable Idaho podcast. Combining her passion for civil discourse and government policies with the mission of the Portneuf Resource Council is an amazing opportunity she is thankful to have.
Parker Romero is a sophomore majoring in Biology with a concentration in Ecology and Conservation. He enjoys learning about conservation efforts in the local area and throughout the state of Idaho. He looks forward to sharing more about what he learns with KISU listeners!
EPISODES PRIOR TO JUNE 2021