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Celia Llopis-Jepsen
Reporter, Kansas News ServiceI'm the creator and host of the environmental podcast Up From Dust. I write about how the world is transforming around us, from topsoil loss and invasive species to climate change. My goal is to explain why these stories matter to Kansas, and to report on the farmers, ranchers, scientists and other engaged people working to make Kansas more resilient.
Before joining the Kansas News Service, I covered education and the Statehouse for the Topeka Capital-Journal.
I have a master's in journalism from Columbia University and a master’s in bilingualism studies from Stockholm University in Sweden. Before coming to Kansas, I spent a decade living and working in Sweden, Germany and Taiwan, including several cherished years working for the Taipei Times.
Email me at celia@kcur.org.
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Humans transport some non-native species on purpose. Others arrive by accident. The vast majority don't hijack landscapes. But those that do comes with high stakes.
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Scientists want to know how well bees are coping with habitat loss. But first, they need to be able to tell nearly identical species apart.
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Scientists want to know how well bees are coping with habitat loss. But first, they need to be able to tell nearly identical species apart.
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After Europeans colonized America, their descendants plowed their way across the continent, seeking prosperity through farming. But breaking up the soil – that had built up over many thousands of years – made it wash away. So some farmers are retiring their tilling equipment. Amble through Kansas prairies and cornfields as we learn how treasuring the ground beneath our feet can lead to farms that better withstand climate change, use less fertilizer and suck carbon out of the atmosphere.
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Most of Kansas was once covered by an ocean of grass and wildflowers. But that diverse prairie biome is collapsing, partly because of our obsession with trees. Humans have unleashed an aggressive “Green Glacier” that’s swallowing the Great Plains, and for these ranchers, saving the environment means being a tree killer — not a tree hugger. (This episode comes to us from the new KCUR Studios podcast Up From Dust, reported by Celia Llopis-Jepsen and David Condos.)
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Scientists are trying to figure out which insect species are struggling, what it means for ecosystems and, ultimately, how it will impact people.
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It’s easy to advocate for saving pandas and elephants, but bugs are a harder sell. Look closer, though, and you’ll find tiny superheroes propping up entire ecosystems as pollinators, decomposers, predators and prey. We’ll wander the prairie with bison ranchers, in search of the dung beetles that work quiet miracles in huge piles of poop. And we’ll meet people overcoming their insect fears to help scientists catch and release bees, before they disappear.
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As many as 100 million or 200 million birds will fly northward along the Central Flyway on Saturday night. Kansas, Missouri and neighboring states lie in the hottest of hotspots.
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We normally think of trees as being good for the environment. But in parts of the Midwest and Great Plains, they're heating up the earth as woodlands take over grasslands.
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Harvesting invasive species like autumn olives or carp is a great way to learn about the woods and rivers close to home, and to realize that our interaction with these local ecosystems matters. KCUR put together this introduction to edible invasive species in the Kansas City region.