ASPN's New Carolina Coast Podcast, Up Close on a Whale Rescue & A Chesapeake Bay Check In

October 4, 2020

Whale rescue, a new ASPN podcast & Chesapeake Bay Foundation

On this packed episode, Peter Ravella and Tyler Buckingham first check in with Steve and Annie (Dorrie) Mercer to preview their new father/daughter show on ASPN, the Carolina Coast Podcast. This is a show all about getting to know the interesting personalities and characters who live and work on the Carolina Coast. Then, we check in with Captain Paul Aramal, owner of Towboat US Ventura, a marine assist and rescue company based in Ventura, CA. Earlier this month, Paul led a volunteer effort to free an entangled humpback whale off the Channel Islands. His account of how the rescue was carried out is a must-hear story. We conclude the show with a fascinating discussion with Karen Mullin and AJ Metcalf, both of The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, to learn about how CBF has adapted its education programming in the face of stay home orders and social distancing. Its a packed show to kick off another busy week on the American Shoreline!

Show Transcription
This transcription was generated by a computer. Please excuse any errors.
Peter Ravella & Tyler Buckingham

Peter and Tyler joined forces in 2015 and from the first meeting began discussing a project that would become Coastal News Today and the American Shoreline Podcast Network. At the time, Peter and Tyler were coastal consultants for Pete’s firm, PAR Consulting, LLC. In that role, they worked with coastal communities in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina, engaged in grant writing, coastal project development, shoreline erosion and land use planning, permitting, and financial planning for communities undertaking big beach restoration projects. Between and among their consulting tasks, they kept talking and kept building the idea of CNT & ASPN. In almost every arena they worked, public engagement played a central role. They spent thousands of hours talking with coastal stakeholders, like business owners, hotel operators, condo managers, watermen, property owners, enviros, surfers, and fishermen. They dived deep into the value, meaning, and responsibility for the American shoreline, segment-by-segment. Common threads emerged, themes were revealed, differences uncovered. There was a big conversation going on along the American shoreline! But, no place to have it. That's where CNT and ASPN were born.