Celia Llopis-Jepsen
Reporter, Harvest Public MediaI'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 the Midwest and Great Plains, and to report on the farmers, ranchers, scientists and other engaged people working to make the region more resilient.
I previously covered environment and other beats for the Kansas News Service.
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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All summer long, we run mowers over our lawns to keep them the perfect height – and run sprinklers to keep them emerald green. Add fertilizer and weedkillers into the mix, and it’s a real resource drain. But there’s something else about lawns: They’re inhospitable to most wildlife. Celia joins Marielle Segarra on NPR’s Life Kit to explain how to push back against American lawn culture by killing a small patch of grass and turning it into a wildlife friendly garden. -
Some rivers are success stories where wildlife is bouncing back from heavy pollution. But environmental groups say progress hasn’t happened across the board and backsliding remains possible. -
Turning your grass into a garden isn't as complicated as you think, but it will take time and effort. Kansas City experts offer this step-by-step guide that breaks down the process, from killing your lawn to picking plants to grow. -
Ornate box turtles and their kin face steep challenges in today’s world, but people can help out by raising the deck height on their mowers, allowing turtles to cross the road and not taking them home as pets. -
Box turtles are cute and an absolute delight to spot while walking in the Midwest or Great Plains. But scientist Benjamin Reed wants us to know that these creatures are complex and widely misunderstood. Reed is a box turtle superspy, spending the last 13 years following the animals with radio equipment as they face daunting challenges like roads, lawnmowers, poachers and more. Reed has a laundry list of ways we can all help prairie turtles survive in a difficult world.
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Across the central U.S., nitrate from crop fertilizer and livestock facilities is seeping into water underground. Many family wells are no longer safe to drink from without pricey treatment. -
Climate change is altering the land we live on, and Indigenous communities are on the frontline. In this episode, we bring you to Alaska, where rapid permafrost thaw is threatening the Native village of Nunapitchuk. Then, we head to Louisiana, where the Pointe-Au-Chien Indian Tribe is watching their land disappear underwater due to sea level rise. These threats are forcing these tribes to make the difficult decision: to stay and adapt, or to leave their ancestral home. (This episode comes to us from the podcast Sea Change.)
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Places such as Minnesota and Austin, Texas, already use green infrastructure like rain gardens to absorb stormwater and keep pollution out of streams and lakes. Now communities across the Kansas City area could get on board. -
A Texas pecan farmer spent years rethinking whether he needed so many chemicals to grow food. He cut back on things like weedkillers, but when it came to ditching insecticides, crop pests posed a challenge. That’s what brought him together with a famous bat scientist — who helped him build an insect-eating army of bats.
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Restoring woodlands and protecting undeveloped areas near the Blue River and its creeks are a few of the steps that could mitigate pollution and flooding.
