The Fall 2023 episode of Shenandoah Valley Ever Green is focused on the Shenandoah River and measures that are ongoing throughout the Valley to keep water clean and plentiful. JMU professor Tom Benzing explains the geography of the Shenandoah Valley and the ways that water interacts with the landscape. We’ll hear from Staunton’s public works director and a state environmental quality monitor who make sure our local water is clean. UVA astronomer Dr. Kelsey Johnson discusses upcoming early-morning and late-night astronomical phenomena, as well as Autumn meteor activity in our sky. Dr. Carole Nash discusses what the archaeological record tells us about Indigenous peoples’ interaction with the Shenandoah River. And a mystery from Frederick County, VA, will be solved regarding wetlands and watersheds in a schoolyard.
Shenandoah Valley Ever Green receives financial support through The Madison Trust. Our benefactors include Blayne Adams; George and Alison Wheeler; and the Circle of Dreams Foundation: Founder/Trustee Alumni, Jeanne Jambor and Trustee Dreamweaver Spielman.
Special thanks to the Virginia Foundation of the Humanities and Sarah McConnell who shared their recording facilities in Charlottesville for this episode.
Reporters: Sam Game, Nicole Parks, Sidney Roth, Michael Russo & Carolynn Unger
Executive Producers: Ryan Alessi, Tim Thomas
Sound: JMU Libraries Media Production Services
Editing by Ryan Alessi
All music for the program is performed by the group “Many Nights Ahead” with recording by Gene Bowlen at Cross Keys Studios.
Graphic Artist: Annie McGowan
WEB EXTRAS
The Shenandoah River – Past & Present
Through their reporting, Sidney Roth, Michael Russo, and Nicole Parks uncover details about how we manage the river today, and how it has been the lifeblood of the Shenandoah Valley over time.
> The insects that are present in the river water are bioindicators that can tell about the health of a river. You can learn more from the group, All You Need is Biology.
https://allyouneedisbiology.wordpress.com/2015/05/10/insects-health-rivers/
> The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is responsible for providing care and information about the health of our natural environment. They have a collection of resources about our water here:
https://www.deq.virginia.gov/our-programs/water
> Learn more about the City of Staunton Public Works Department online.
https://www.ci.staunton.va.us/departments/public-works
An October Eclipse
UVA astronomer Kelsey Johnson discusses the Oct. 14 2023 partial solar eclipse:
A Wetland Mystery in Winchester
Millbrook High School in Frederick County, Virginia, uses its landscape as a teaching tool, illuminating the topics of wetlands and watersheds for its students.
> You can check out the latest newsletters from Millbrook HS online. As Carolynn Unger discussed in her story, Millbrook provides wetland education information in each edition of its newsletter.
https://www.frederickcountyschoolsva.net/domain/701
> The National Park Service offers insights about why wetlands are so important to the well-being of our landscapes: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/wetlands/why.htm
> This information from PennState Extension tells about the type of wetland landscape that exists around the school grounds of Millbrook HS. Check out “Multifunctional Riparian Forest Buffers: More Than Just Trees.”
https://extension.psu.edu/multifunctional-riparian-forest-buffers-more-than-just-trees
> Learn the details about the watershed where you live at the EPA’s site, “How’s My Waterway?”
> Interested in planting your landscape with native species that will also protect local waters? You can find recommendations here for our region from Plant NOVA Natives: