FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

PBS NORTH CAROLINA TO DEBUT NEW INSTALLMENT OF EMMY® AWARD-WINNING SERIES ‘STATE OF CHANGE’

Premiering on April 19, ‘State of Change: Natural Solutions’ focuses on innovative nature-based approaches to climate change.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC, 4/12/2023 — PBS North Carolina announces State of Change: Natural Solutions, a new installment of its Emmy® Award-winning series State of Change. The new half-hour special showcases North Carolinians who have developed simple, yet innovative, nature-based strategies that help mitigate the impacts of climate change.

State of Change: Natural Solutions premieres Wednesday, April 19, at 7:30 PM, on PBS NC, as well as on PBS North Carolina’s website and the PBS App. PBS North Carolina will also host a free screening and discussion on Thursday, April 20, as part of the North Carolina Science Festival (more details at this link and below).

This series was supported by the Pulitzer Center and is part of its nationwide Connected Coastlines reporting initiative.

Excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is changing our planet’s climate. State of Change: Natural Solutions introduces viewers to North Carolinians who are “thinking outside of the box” to help pull carbon out of the atmosphere and into the ground.

“Nature-based solutions that tap into and support what natural systems already do are being used internationally in the fight to slow the changes in our climate, and so many of these solutions can be applied here in North Carolina,” says the film’s producer/director Michelle Lotker of PBS North Carolina. “It’s inspiring to see how much is possible and how much is already being done in our unique ecosystems and habitats, from pocosin peatlands to Piedmont prairies. Now is the time to take these steps to support nature so that we can have a real impact.”

Stories include efforts to plant native grassland species in the Piedmont to store carbon deep underground; a family farm in Reidsville that has seen positive results from no-till agriculture; how coastal farmers in Hyde County keep their land productive in the face of saltwater intrusion; and the potential of restoring pocosin peatlands in North Carolina’s Inner Banks.

“We’re proud to support PBS North Carolina’s talented Sci NC team as they continue their insightful and engaging reporting on the scientific aspects of climate change and its effects on North Carolina residents,” says Steve Sapienza, Senior Strategist, News Partnerships, at the Pulitzer Center. “With local newspapers disappearing at an alarming rate, we appreciate the opportunity to support PBS North Carolina, with its impressive statewide—and regionwide—audiences, for reporting on this timely and urgent topic.”

Earlier this year, the first installment of State of Change, which premiered April 2022, received an Emmy® Award for best topical documentary at the 37th Midsouth Regional Emmys. Watch the film online. >

Digital Shorts & Blog Articles

In addition to the broadcast special State of Change: Natural Solutions on PBS NC, digital shorts and in-depth blog articles by the film’s producer/director, Michelle Lotker, will be shared on PBS North Carolina’s website and digital platforms.

Planting Grasslands Fights Climate Change
Grasslands are a surprising part of the North Carolina Piedmont’s ecological history. Learn how planting native grassland species like asters, coneflowers and goldenrod in our yards and other open areas mimics historical landscapes while improving the soil and fighting our changing climate.
Watch on YouTube.>
Read the article. >

Thinking Outside the Box with No-Till Farming
Tilling soil has long been thought of as a necessary step in agricultural production. A long-term study by researchers at NC State, however, bolsters what farmers like Beverly Blackwell Bowen of Blackwell’s Farm in Reidsville are experiencing: no-till farming allows for more resilient plants with higher yields than traditional tillage practices. When you look at the soil, you can see why.
Watch on YouTube.>
Read the article. >

Fighting Saltwater Intrusion in the Blacklands
The Blacklands of NC’s Hyde County are home to some of the most productive farmland in the state. But because of their coastal proximity, farmers experience saltwater intrusion as sea levels rise and push salt water into drainage ditches. Local farmers like Dawson Pugh are collaborating with researchers and Agriculture Extension Agents to determine how to keep farming, for now and the future.
Watch on YouTube.>
Read the article. >

The Potential of Pocosin Peatlands’ Carbon Storage
The Pocosin peatlands of North Carolina’s coast can store a huge amount of carbon in their spongey, highly organic soils. But when peatlands are ditched and drained, that carbon storage potential is lost and they’re vulnerable to fire. Learn how returning water to these ecosystems could have a huge impact on the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
Watch on YouTube.>
Read the article. >

Free Screening on Thursday, April 20

A free screening of the special will be offered as a virtual and in-person event at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh on Thursday, April 20, at 7 PM, as part of the North Carolina Science Festival. After the screening, Sci NC host Frank Graff will moderate a panel discussion with scientists and journalists from around the state who will provide an up-close look at climate change issues and answer questions from the community.

Panelists include Mark Hibbs, editor, Coastal Review, a news service of NC Coastal Federation; Melody Hunter-Pillion, journalist, historian and doctoral student at UNC Chapel Hill focusing on oral histories as a tool of resilience; Lauren Pharr, science writer, avian ecologist, Ph.D. student and Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center Global Change Fellow; and Adam Wagner, climate and environmental issues reporter, The News & Observer.

Earth Day Programs on Saturday, April 22

In celebration of Earth Day, PBS NC will also air a block of programs about the environment:

State of Change: Natural Solutions
11–11:30 AM on PBS NC
See how natural solutions are being used across North Carolina to help pull excess carbon out of the air and store it underground.

EcoSense for Living: “Planet of Pollinators”
11:30 AM–noon on PBS NC
Explore three creatures who work their magic on our flowering plants and crops: bees, monarch butterflies and hummingbirds.

Managing Risk in a Changing Climate
Noon–12:30 PM on PBS NC
Scientists, decision makers and citizen stakeholders come together in Louisiana to fight catastrophic climate impacts from rising seas and violent storms.

Rewilding a Mountain
12:30–1 PM on PBS NC
A team of researchers work to explain the amazing transformation at the Hart Mountain wildlife refuge in Oregon.
Check pbsnc.org/schedule for the most current information.

About the Pulitzer Center’s Connected Coastlines Initiative

Connected Coastlines is a nationwide climate reporting initiative in the U.S. coastal states. The initiative is building a consortium of newsrooms and independent journalists across America to report on the local effects of erratic weather patterns on coastal populations using the latest climate science. The Pulitzer Center has supported dozens of journalists covering climate change issues on every coastline in the mainland U.S.—the East Coast, Great Lakes, Gulf Coast and West Coast—along with Hawaii and Alaska. Learn more about the Pulitzer Center at pulitzercenter.org.

About PBS North Carolina 

As North Carolina’s statewide PBS network serving the country’s third largest public media market, PBS North Carolina educates, informs, entertains and inspires its audience on air, online and in person. Through its unique partnership of public investment and private support, the network includes in-person engagement, digital-first social and online content delivery and four over-the-air channels: PBS NC, the North Carolina Channel, Rootle 24/7 PBS KIDS channel and the Explorer Channel. Its transformational events and content spark curiosity and wonder for all North Carolinians. Additionally, PBS North Carolina serves as the backbone for North Carolina’s state emergency services. To learn more about PBS North Carolina, visit pbsnc.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

-PBS NC- 

Media Contact 
Laura Kieler, PBS North Carolina
press@pbsnc.org