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Due South's tree hour: 'Leave the leaves' campaigns; a history of the longleaf pine and bald cypress

leaves
Damien Wright
/
Pexels

If you have a yard, you may spend a lot of time each fall raking or blowing leaves. But many experts recommend residents just “leave the leaves”—it’s part of a widespread effort to reduce waste, promote more ecological diversity, and save energy.

Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with Dr. Ken Bridle of the NC Native Plant Society, as well as Greensboro's Chief Sustainability Officer, Dr. Shree Dorestant, and Masey DeMoss, Recycling and Waste Reduction Educator with the city.

Guests

Masey DeMoss, Recycling and Waste Reduction Educator, City of Greensboro

Dr. Ken Bridle, President, North Carolina Native Plant Society

Dr. Shree Dorestant, Chief Sustainability Officer, City of Greensboro

This conversation originally aired in November 2024.

Daniel Lewis’s love of trees is deep rooted. He’s an environmental historian who knows not just about tree biology, but the ways in which trees have been inextricably bound to human history—and are essential to our future. He joins co-host Leoneda Inge to talk about two trees native to North Carolina—the longleaf pine and the bald cypress—and how these trees have helped shape the South.

Guest

Daniel Lewis, Ph.D., Dibner Senior Curator for the History of Science and Technology at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in Southern California; author of Twelve Trees: The Deep Roots of Our Future

Jeff Tiberii is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Jeff joined WUNC in 2011. During his 20 years in public radio, he was Morning Edition Host at WFDD and WUNC’s Greensboro Bureau Chief and later, the Capitol Bureau Chief. Jeff has covered state and federal politics, produced the radio documentary “Right Turn,” launched a podcast, and was named North Carolina Radio Reporter of the Year four times.
Leoneda Inge is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at WUNC as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda’s work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.
Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at WUNC as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.