Woods & Wilds: The Podcast

Lockie Hunter holds an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College in Boston and has taught creative writing at Warren Wilson College. She serves as curator of the long-running Juniper Bends Reading Series Reading series and co-producer of the poetry and prose radio program Wordplay on 103.3 FM in Asheville. Her words have appeared in publications including The North Carolina Review, The Baltimore Review, Quarter After Eight, Hiram Poetry Review, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Slipstream, Brevity, Gulf Stream Literary Magazine, Arts & Opinion, New Plains Review and others. Lockie has received scholarships/grants from The North Carolina Arts Council and the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Her essays have been nominated for Best of the Net Awards and the John Burroughs Nature Essay Award.

Puerto Rico born. Northeast raised. Mari is a fiercely independent free spirit. She strives to inspire that same level of self-determination for others. Especially women of color. Mari has a BA in Environmental Studies & Education from Prescott College in Arizona. That prepared her for a life of social and environmental impact. It also prepared her to be an educator, inside and outside the classroom. Mari is on a personal journey to decolonize her mind. To heal from the internalized harm that systems of oppression have conditioned her to take on. She’s leaning deeper into her imperfections. She's finding compassion for herself and others. Mari immerses herself in the natural world, when possible. There she finds nurturing, grounding, and a deep sense of purpose.

Sha'Air Hawkins, artistically known as ShadowWRK, is an accomplished music producer, songwriter, and performer hailing from North Carolina with deep-rooted Jamaican heritage. With an unwavering passion for infusing joy into her compositions, Sha'Air uses the power of melody and narrative to craft musical experiences that resonate with diverse audiences. Her artistry not only reflects her own cultural journey but also serves as an inspiring call for others to harness their creative potential. Through her music, Sha'Air Hawkins weaves a tapestry of emotions, cultures, and stories, inviting listeners to embark on a transformative and uplifting musical voyage.

Tiffany Flunory-DE’Bellott has a passion for education advocacy, climate justice, and community organizing. She has a BA in Psychology. Tiffany’s focus has been on diversity, equity, and inclusion work: facilitating racial equity circles and other grassroots movements. She’s a board member of the Human Relations Commission of Asheville, YMI Cultural Center, COTHINK, and LEAF Global. She says, “It is my goal to ensure a better future for our children and families, through holding accountable and challenging systems of oppression, racism, and the false narrative of white supremacy.” Tiffany is proud that her two daughters, Sapphire and Pearl, are also committed to civic engagement and community service.

Leaves You Hopeful is a short podcast series by 2023 Dogwood Alliance Fellow Aanahita Ervin. It highlights stories about large institutions - government, private foundations, corporations - misusing forests against the wishes of the local community members. While misuse of forest land is often legal, it is not ethical. These offending institutions are large and powerful. Oftentimes people assume they can’t ask questions. Sometimes, they don’t have the resources to do so.

THIS EPISODE:

L’eau Est La Vie Camp is a group of Native American water protectors that formed in 2018. L’eau Est La Vie, along with a diverse coalition of organizations, worked together to resist the construction of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline. It goes through the Atchafalaya basin, the largest river swamp in the United States. 

Louisiana is an industry heavy state and faces severe pollution. This pipeline risks the health of already vulnerable people, the local economy, and the environment. This story shows how state militarization, intimidation, and laws are weaponized to suppress the rights of protestors. This episode follows the strong and strategic resistance the coalition staged against Energy Transfer. 

Special thanks to Karen Savage for the insight into the events described in this episode. Her work speaks truth at a time of dying local news and increasing disinformation.

Leaves You Hopeful is a short podcast series produced by 2023 Dogwood Alliance Fellow Aanahita Ervin. It highlights stories about large institutions - government, private foundations, corporations - misusing forests against the wishes of the local community members. While misuse of forest land is often legal, it is not ethical. These offending institutions are large and powerful. Oftentimes people assume they can’t ask questions. Sometimes, they don’t have the resources to do so.

THIS EPISODE:

Land Between the Lakes (LBL) national recreation area has a history of government mismanagement. The story begins with the 1958 removal of families by the Tennessee Valley Authority to create LBL. It then fast forwards to the perceived mismanagement of lands by the forest service in 2014. A broad coalition of people came together to stop what they thought was a misuse of their forest. They believed a public good was being destroyed in favor of timber companies and an unfamiliar landscape. This episode explores how the history of a land and people can play a pivotal role in events 55 years later.

In this episode, we are joined by Youth Activist Demon Thomas. Demon talks about education justice as liberation justice and having faith in yourself. 

Demon Thomas is the former president of UNC Asheville’s Student Government Association and the student representative on the Board of Trustees. He was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, and received his degree in mass communication, sociology, and Africana studies. Demon is a fashion model and plans to further his education to become a film producer. Demon strives to become a TV entertainer who uses his platform to promote social justice. As a public figure, he aims to be a voice for the unheard and to ignite black pride amongst the youth. In addition to having served as class president at West Charlotte High, he also founded the organization UNCA Umoja (brother of unity), which is a club for men of color. He currently volunteers at Youth Transformed for Life (YTL). And he interned with the S.T.E.M. Fun-Packs initiative during the summer of 2021. To create tool kits for Black and Brown children in Asheville.

This week our hosts Erniko Brown and Kimala Luna from Dogwood Alliance and Elizabeth Lashay from SlayTheMic talk with Tiffany Fant about Black leadership, health over hustle, and showing up authentically.

In Episode 4, we interviewed Dogwood’s own Marketing Director, Amanda Rodriguez. Amanda also happens to be a published author and the director of the award-winning documentary Stories Happen in Forests. Join us as we explore her creative inspirations, the power of story and forests, and the many moving and inspirational interviews she captured for the documentary. 

In this episode of Woods  & Wilds: The Podcast, writer, Ali McGhee shares the story of her forest. Join us for this tale of imagination, creativity, loss, and whimsy all woven together.