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Playlist: Jennifer Jerrett's Portfolio

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Featured

Tiny Forests in the Utah Desert

From Jennifer Jerrett | 05:49

Like trees in a forest, biological soil crusts play a key role in the ecosystems in which they are found. Damages to these tiny organisms can have greater consequences than you think.

Tinyforests_small

From Arches National Park, we get a close-up view of a living ground cover called "biological soil crust." This ground cover, made up of tiny organisms like mosses, lichens and cyanobacteria, helps to stabilize the soil surface; "holding the place in place." It is extremely resilient to wind and water, but particularly sensitive to compressive forces like stepping or driving on the crust. Once disturbed by these kinds of compressive forces, the soil -- the place -- can start to blow away. This kind of destruction is not unlike deforestation; just...smaller. Listen as Dr. Sasha Reed, a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, explains why seemingly localized impacts to Utah's crust communities have much greater implications for the western U.S. Reed was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2011.

Small Town Pride

From Jennifer Jerrett | 05:07

Red state, rural America isn't exactly the first place that pops into your mind when you think about pioneering LGBTQ pride movements.

8739513831_e847a858d0_n_small Moab, Utah, a little town in the southeast corner of the state, isn't the likeliest of places for a burgeoning LGBTQ pride movement. But the Moab Pride Festival, established in 2011, calls itself "...the nation's second largest small town Pride Festival." In these places, where everyone knows everyone, it can be hard to stand up for something you believe in -- something that makes you different -- but maybe it's exactly these hometowns that have the best shot at pioneering a community-driven atmosphere of tolerance and understanding.

Beetbox Revival

From Jennifer Jerrett | 04:43

There's a band on Cape Cod, Massachusetts reviving a music style that might surprise you.

Polkadan900_small When we think about preserving traditional music, several genres might come to mind: bluegrass…folk…maybe even celtic or cajun. But an unconventional band on Cape Cod would like us to add one more style to that list. Produced as part of the Transom Story Workshop. This story won a 2014 PRNDI Award for best use of sound and aired on WCAI’s Creative Life.

Winter Wolves

From Jennifer Jerrett | 02:12

Some of the best howling of the season at Yellowstone National Park

Ndh-rickmcintyre-3339_small Wolf mating season coincides with peak howling season in Yellowstone National Park. Biological Technician Rick McIntyre puts this magnificent, winter sound into perspective; within the complex history of the park.

This Lake Can Sing!

From Jennifer Jerrett | 01:52

The ethereal sounds of a rare, wintertime mystery in Yellowstone National Park

Yell_lake_winter_small Maintenance Supervisor Bruce Sefton walks us down to the shore of Yellowstone Lake to hear the ethereal sounds of a rare, wintertime mystery in Yellowstone National Park.

Snipe Hunt

From Jennifer Jerrett | 02:41

A mysterious sound sends us on a snipe hunt in Yellowstone National Park.

Snipe-6818_small In the Spring, when many of Yellowstone’s grassy meadows are flooded and marshy, a peculiar sound rises out of the gathering dark of nightfall. What makes this sound is surprising enough, but how it makes it is extraordinary. Katy Duffy, Interpretive Planner and birding aficionado, reveals the mystery. This audio postcard was produced for Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. It aired on PRI’s Living on Earth.

Snipe Hunt

From Jennifer Jerrett | 02:41

A mysterious sound sends us on a snipe hunt in Yellowstone National Park.

Snipe-6818_small In the Spring, when many of Yellowstone’s grassy meadows are flooded and marshy, a peculiar sound rises out of the gathering dark of nightfall. What makes this sound is surprising enough, but how it makes it is extraordinary. Katy Duffy, Interpretive Planner and birding aficionado, reveals the mystery. This audio postcard was produced for Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. It aired on PRI’s Living on Earth.