Appalachian Science Communicators

The Appalachian Science Communicators is a dynamic group of science communicators in the Appalachian region. Founded in early 2019, AppSciComm seeks to provide science communication support and camaraderie in a traditionally underserved part of the country. We welcome science communicators of every ilk – practicing journalists, institutional writers, freelancers, talkative scientists, students, podcasters and everyone in between.

A social and professional network, AppSciComm hosts regular meet-ups and events centered around the communication and understanding of science.

Facebook group

Twitter: @AppSciWri

The Mon Water Project

Our Watershed: The hidden creek beneath us…

Water is constantly involved in any single stage of the Water Cycle. Be it rain, condensation, snow, or a flowing river, water is on the move. When it is moving, water always flows downhill.

In the beginning it may only be the trickle of a spring, coming up from the Groundwater. As you follow the flow of that crick over hollows and hills, that basin ridge outline is called a Watershed. Watersheds are the collection points for all the water as it flows off the land in a river system.

In an urban and developed city like Pittsburgh, those watersheds are still here, however they now are hidden below our feet, in pipes. We call them sewersheds, and they connect us, from the highest hill to the point of our three rivers. Sewersheds follow all the same rules as watersheds.

The Mon Water Project will focus on the watershed basin, flowing through a sewershed, along the Monongahela River.

Our Basin: The geography of our watershed…

The Mon Water Project is home to 4 Mile Run (4MR), a watershed/sewershed located four miles from the point in Pittsburgh on the Monongahela river. Both sewers and cricks in the Oakland, Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, Schenley Park, and Hazelwood neighborhoods flow through this pipe system. This pipe system is hidden beneath our feet, under roads, houses and sidewalks.

On dry days, the water in these pipes flows down under Greenfield Avenue, making its way through larger and larger pipes ,deep underground, to the Allegheny County Sewer Authority (ALCOSAN). That is our regional WasteWater Treatment facility. There it is treated and released in the Ohio River.

On Wet days, the entire system’s contents flow out into the Monongahela River through the M-29 outfall, a big discharge pipe, under Hazelwood Green. Similar, smaller unnamed streams and pipes are under and throughout Hazelwood. They discharge on wet days to individual outfalls counting up to M-40, near Glen Hazel. Combined, these systems make up the Monongahela peninsula of Pittsburgh and the Basin for the Mon Water Project.

Our Spring Water: The trickle of an Idea…

The MWP creates connections across governments, agencies, non-profits, businesses, and residents to direct resources to develop and implement integrated water resource plans based on One Water principles in 4MR and neighboring watersheds.

Our Groundwater: The foundation to build from…

MWP will use principles based on a philosophy known as One Water. One Water is the focus on all aspects of water, with equal value and importance, seeing the water cycle as continuous, and water systems as overlapping. This approach removes traditional water permitting “silos” and allows a community to address many issues at once.

Our Tributaries: Working together as a community…

Our work centers environmental justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion as we build community power for the management of our watersheds.

Our Floodwater: The challenges of urban restoration are substantial…

Over five years ago, Pittsburgh Water Sewer Authority was looking to address flooding, manage stormwater, rehabilitate old infrastructure, and decrease water pollution to the Monongahela river. They began the design, modeling, and implementation of the 4 Mile Stormwater Project. The project is hoping to improve the quality of life, protect property, and change the hydrology of a watershed affecting the lower half of the neighborhood in Greenfield, known as the micro-neighborhood “In the Run.” The Run historically floods with only a half inch of rainfall. It isn’t just any flooding, its manhole popping raw sewage that flows directly into homeowner basements, central streets, and neighborhood cornerstone businesses. Residents in The Run neighborhood have had to silently endure the issues for years. When the PWSA 4MR Stormwater Project was being developed, the residents of The Run worked hard to advocate for their community needs. With a unified voice they asked for real and last solutions.

Our Water. Our Work.

The Mon Water Project will build on the current ‘swell’ of resident and organizational movements that grew from the 4MR Stormwater Project. MWP will work to develop a unified strategy for ALL our water resources, partner to implement projects that protect the residents of our most vulnerable communities, and build an educated coalition of neighbors that advocate for science based solutions in our cricks and hollows.

The path forward is clear (unlike the muddy waters of the Monongahela) and with the support of New Sun Rising as a fiscal sponsor, starting in October 2022, The Mon Water Project is ready to officially launch. Follow us, join us, and support us as we flow towards a future that is truly sustainably alongside the Monongahela River.

Will you join us?

Boom & Bust

Watch as seven residents of western PA travel to the Gulf Coast region to explore what it looks like to live alongside a petrochemical plant. Take a journey along with them as they ask the hard questions and wrestle with the complex history of our past and issues facing Beaver County’s future.

Boom & Bust is produced by RiverWise, in association with New Sun Rising and the Genesis Collective, and created by filmmaker Christopher Padgett of Human City Creative. The project is completely self-organized and self-funded.

Many local community and environmental organizations play an important role in helping residents become more informed and inspired about the public health impacts of industry. While these efforts are very important, the Boom & Bust film was not conceived primarily as a public health, environmental science, or activist project. The goal of the film was to travel to Louisiana, witness what people were experiencing, and to share reflections on what we learned. During the screening events we will capture audience feedback in order to strengthen community connections and mobilize citizen action.

Watch the Trailer

Read the FAQs

Share Community Feedback

Screening Schedule

~~Thursday, July 28th, 2022 at 7 pm~~

~~Iron Horse Theater, 348 Maplewood Ave, Ambridge, PA 15003~~

Monday, August 8th, 2022 at 7 pm

Virtual Screening via Zoom, Register for the August 8th event

A conversation will be held after this screening for those who wish to participate.

Wednesday, August 10th, 2022 at 7 pm

The Tull Family Theater, 418 Walnut St., Sewickley, PA 15143, Register for the August 10th event

Concessions will be available for purchase from the Tull Theater during the screening.

Drinks and conversation are scheduled at the conclusion of this screening for those who wish to participate.

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022 at 7 pm

Phipps Conservatory – Botany Hall, 1 Schenley Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, Register for the August 23rd event

Drinks and a conversation are scheduled at the conclusion of this screening for those who wish to participate.

This project is inspired by

strengthening community movement by challenging prevailing narratives

Anthropology of Motherhood

Since 2016, Anthropology of Motherhood has provided ongoing curation of artwork and design that engages in the complex visual, material, emotional, corporeal and lived experiences of motherhood, care-giving, parenting, nurturing and maternal labor. As an annual hybrid amenity/exhibit at the Three Rivers Arts Festival, our message and aesthetic of the Culture of Care has reached thousands of viewers, instilling the value of caregivers and the importance of prioritizing compassion and care in our daily lives. Our exhibits have traveled to McDonough Museum of Art, Sleeth Gallery and will be exhibiting at Dyers Art Center in Rochester, NY in 2023. With support from the Opportunity Fund (Pittsburgh) and in collaboration with the City of Asylum, we recently concluded our speaker series, Culture of Care inviting artist-caregivers from around the world to share where caregiving and receiving intersects with their practice.

We are excited to announce a partnership with Amherst College Press to develop a full color edited volume of Anthropology of Motherhood with an expected publish date of Fall 2026, in time for our 10th year anniversary.Your generous support will allow us to continue our work through exhibits, programs, and our upcoming book.

Thank you.

Donate Here

Gallery Closed Season 2

Gallery Closed is a unique public-facing experimental art space in Troy Hill, Pittsburgh, run by artists Phillip Andrew Lewis and Lenka Clayton. Conceived during the pandemic, the gallery is designed to be permanently “closed”, yet at the same time continuously open.

All exhibited work can only be viewed through two street-facing windows, the door always remains closed. At night the gallery is brightly lit, so that artwork is visible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Gallery Closed is for everyone and specifically embraces its accidental audience of neighborhood passers-by.

Gallery Closed’s first season featured the work of 27 internationally renowned artists including Philip Glass, widely regarded as one of the most influential living musical composers, photographer and MacArthur fellow Deborah Willis, and Pulitzer Prize winning artist Raven Chacon.

We are now fundraising to commission site-specific solo exhibitions by four artists/artist teams for Gallery Closed Season Two.

Donate Here

Birth Your Way

Birth Your Way exists to connect expecting parents to community resources to support and educate expecting parents of their options to having a healthy and successful pregnancy and delivery.

To further support Black and Minority maternal health, Birth Your Way is fundraising to provide scholarships for Black midwives in Pittsburgh. The scholarship covers tuition fees for Black women to attend Commonsense Childbirth School of Midwifery, a Black midwife college designed to enable students to gain the knowledge and skills needed to become highly competent midwives. We are asking community members, partners, and leaders to invest in the future of Black birth and make this dream a reality.

The 2019 Pittsburgh Gender Equality Report revealed that Black women’s maternal mortality rate is higher in Pittsburgh than in 97% of similar cities. Black birthing women are dying from complications that are 60% preventative compared to white counterparts. Unfortunately, in a city with merits for being medically advanced with superior health care systems, Black birthing women are not reaping the benefit of being residents in the most livable city. Pittsburgh is rated as one of the worst cities for Black women to give birth.

Racism, blatant, passive-aggressive, microaggressions, and complicit biases directly correlate between Black women and infants dying or surviving. Since the Gender Equality release, many organizations have attempted to combat these statistics with new doula community programs, town hall meetings, and other services created to address this national health crisis.

The Birthing Hut Poster editedKW 9.8.23

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#TOYZSTEAM Dah-Varsity Scholars

#TOYZSTEAM Dah-Varsity Scholars is a fiscally sponsored program focused on increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) creator industry.

We also foster entrepreneurship, and improve economic mobility in disadvantaged populations, by empowering people to be the superhero version of themselves, through training and multi-generational mentorship.

We have created a virtual adult workforce training course with the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), providing students with laptops, internet access, and hardware, along with books and materials.

These students use our Dah-Varsity app, our anti-bullying song created with the music department at Carnegie Mellon University, “Stop The Bullying,” along with our teaching materials, to deliver STEAM programming to middle school and high school students, in an after-school setting.

Our program uses digital storytelling, 3D modeling, game design, coding, audio production, music, and entrepreneurship to teach students how to create, sell, and tell their stories through designing and manufacturing superhero toys.

Donate Here

StoriED (Today & One Day)

StoriED is an organization formed for the purposes of The advancement of education through listening to the humanistic stories of teachers and students working to reimagine education and eliminate prejudice. This project connects our educators of today, our pre-service educators of tomorrow and our students in the city of Pittsburgh through stories. Stories of diverse educators today inspire our future educators of tomorrow who, in turn, empower diverse students and their stories via literacy support, identity, criticality and joy. Three stories. One belief. Literacy heals the landscape.

For our educators of Today …

StoriED began with our teacher storytelling platform in 2020. It continues to share powerful stories of diverse Pittsburgh educators to inspire future generations, lift up the profession and build bridges of empathy. This project transcends across school districts and grade levels, opening new windows into the field. We hope to continue to recognize diverse educators who are working to insert humanity back into education, and transform the field in regards to diversity, equity and inclusion. Educators are continuing to leave the field at an alarming rate, and this organization wishes to recognize the stories that often go unnoticed and encourage future educators into the field.

For our educators of One Day…

StoriED hopes to begin collecting pre-service educator stories from The University of Pittsburgh and surrounding universities, as we work together to provide culturally responsive literacy lessons and literacy tutoring services to students residing in the city of Pittsburgh. Utilizing a mirror (identity), window (perspectives of others) and bridge (action) framework, students will work to create culturally affirming environments, inclusive literacy lessons grounded in the science of reading and Saturday programming focusing on diverse, authentic literature and Gholdy Muhammad’s five literacy pillars-identity, joy, criticality, skills and intellect.

For our students and future global change makers…

Students are our future change makers and global leaders. With this knowledge, we understand that literacy is a right. Giving our students the power to read and write empowers identity, culture and voice. We use stories to accomplish our goals. We use stories to improve our futures. Our students deserve to find joy in reading and use their own stories to advocate for social change.

Donate Here

Tabitha’s Daughters

the project

“If you empower women, you can change the world.” Tabitha’s Daughters believes this assertion.

Where women gather to transform an issue or challenge, you will find our stories of strength, resilience, and determination. We want to change Pittsburgh! In order to change our city – a city where women, and especially African-American women are living with health, educational, housing, and economic disparities that are ” the worst in the nation,” (based on the Gender Equity Commission Report of 2019), women must be a part of the solutions for change. In a city which claims to be the “most livable city in America,” women must force change in political, social, educational, and economic systems that impede our progress and keep us from participating in the growing prosperity of Pittsburgh.

Our project is a social justice initiative where women of all ages and ethnicities are invited to be a part of the transformational change that needs to happen in Pittsburgh. Using the Gender Equity Commission Report as the framework, we will gather to analyze and honestly discuss this report, choose an indicator to attack, and build an initiative that will improve, via one of the 5 indicators, the living standard of women in our city. This project will involve 3-4 mini symposiums where experts will assist us in being a part of what must change in our city.

the steps

Training the Trainers – Interactions that will employ techniques and strategies to train those who will lead the discussion group and build the strategies for affecting the negative indicators affecting women.

1st Mini – Symposium – Collaborating with experts on the Gender Equity Commisison Report that can lead the women who gather to understand and unpack the report.

2nd Mini- Symposium – Group “table talks” on what the report means to the women mentioned in the report (African-American, Latina, Asian, & Euro-American women)

3rd Mini- Symposium – Choosing one of the 6 indicators (health mortality, infant mortality, educational, housing, economic) to build a strategy of improvement and impact around. Building out an initiative that partners with collaborators to continue to work the program and promote change.

why we’re doing it

Tabitha’s Daughters believes the “future is female.” Women, who occupy more space on the globe than men, must be moved to leadership positions that allow us to be a part of our own solution. Our project, through the information provided in the Gender Equity Commission report, allows women to take ahold of our own future. This report gives us the problems and challenges; now, Tabitha’s Daughters wants to build out solutions to create equity within our city for women who live, work, worship, and support their families.

Our project will ultimately be a solution to the statistics housed in the Gender Equity Commission report through concerted action. Whether educational, health, housing, or economic disparities, we will work one of these indicators to viable solutions and affect change in the city. We believe that small groups can make a difference and this project is constructed to make that difference.

source: https://ioby.org/project/tabithas-daughters-framing-future

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Unshakeable Motherhood

Her Dreams is a powerful cinematic project and community campaign examining the deep-rooted maternal health disparities affecting Black women in Pittsburgh and across the United States. What began as a short film has evolved into a broader long-form cinematic film designed to spark dialogue, influence policy, and mobilize community-based solutions around maternal and infant health.

Through intimate storytelling, Her Dreams explores the intersection of culturally competent care, socioeconomic realities, and systemic barriers that shape the most vulnerable moments of pregnancy and childbirth. The film reveals how unequal access to care and implicit bias within healthcare systems continue to affect Black mothers and their babies—while also highlighting the resilience, advocacy, and community leadership that emerge in response.

At the center of the Her Dreams campaign is the long-form film, which expands on the stories introduced in the short film. The project follows a series of interconnected narratives that illuminate the lived experiences surrounding Black motherhood: a birth doula and her partner navigating the emotional and financial realities of sustaining their calling; a NICU mother fighting fiercely for her baby’s life; an expectant mother preparing to cross the threshold into parenthood; the birth worker holding space in systems that often overlook Black women; and a policymaker grappling with the responsibility of creating change within institutions that have historically failed Black families.

Together, these stories reveal the emotional, spiritual, and economic weight carried by Black women throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum recovery. Rather than simply documenting hardship, Her Dreams centers the voices, courage, and determination of the women and birth workers who refuse to give up on Black mothers and babies.

The film campaign is not only a storytelling project—it is a platform for advocacy and action. Community screenings, panel discussions, and educational workshops accompany the film to foster dialogue between families, healthcare providers, policymakers, and community leaders. These conversations aim to expand awareness, strengthen culturally responsive care models, and support grassroots maternal health initiatives.

Supporting this work is Unshakeable Motherhood, a community-centered initiative dedicated to strengthening support systems for mothers during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. Unshakeable Motherhood focuses on education, advocacy, and community-based resources that empower mothers to navigate healthcare systems while prioritizing rest, healing, and family stability. Through partnerships with doulas, community organizations, and public health programs, the initiative works to bridge gaps in care by connecting mothers to culturally affirming support, nutrition resources, and postpartum recovery services.

Together, the Her Dreams film campaign and the Unshakeable Motherhood initiative create a powerful ecosystem of storytelling and service—one that amplifies the voices of Black mothers, highlights the role of community birth workers, and calls for a more just and compassionate maternal healthcare system.

At its heart, Her Dreams is both a love letter and a call to action—honoring the women who continue to advocate for Black mothers and babies while demanding a future where every mother is seen, heard, and supported.

Her Dreams 2026 Teaser & Cast Sneak Peek

https://galleries.vidflow.co/vojj6b3u

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Seasons Project- DEMASKUS Theater Collective

Note on Commercial Theater by Langston Hughes

You’ve taken my blues and gone

You sing ’em on Broadway

And you sing ’em in Hollywood Bowl,

And you mix them up with symphonies

And you fix ’em

So they don’t sound like me.

Yep, you done taken my blues and gone.

You also took spirituals and gone.

You put me in Macbeth and Carmen Jones

And all kinds of Swing Mikados

And in everything but what’s about me

But someday somebody’ll

Stand up and talk about me,

And write about me

Black and beautiful

And sing about me,

And put on plays about me!

I reckon it’ll be

Me myself!

Yes, it’ll be me.

DEMASKUS is a national service-oriented collective of artists and administrators seeking to make known the messages of the marginalized. We achieve this through the production and presentation of quality, compassionate, and inclusive artistic events. Everything around us is changing, but our purpose has not. Now more than ever, we must share profound truths from formally marginalized voices that refuse to go unheard and may even offer solutions and solace in a world in dire need of uncompromising reminders of what makes us most humane.

Most Christians will immediately associate DEMASKUS with Damascus–the Syrian capital that is home to the road where Saul of Tarsus had his transformative encounter with God. God struck Saul blind and confronted him about his past. High-born and scholarly, Saul was prone to violence toward early adopters of Christianity. The Collective’s name embodies the idea of revealing the truths that lie beneath the mask(s) of our own blind behavior and beliefs. Art, at its best, helps us to rethink and reimagine that which we think we know. Consciously removing a metaphorical mask certainly requires self-examination. (Based on an exchange with DTC member the Rev. Dr. Leah Lewis, J.D., alluding to Acts 9:1-8). Another source of inspiration for our work is the historic and notable poem, We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Whatever the masks you wear, we invite you to lay them down and join us on a journey filled with crossroads, but free from the expectations and oppressive standards of others. Our art is about us, made by us at times and is always for us. There is freedom here. Welcome home.

Images: You Wouldn’t Expect Production Photos © Martha Rial
Images: WINE IN THE WILDERNESS- Production Photos © Sager McDill

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Solar Workforce + Education Program

The Solar Workforce + Education Program is located at the Millvale Food + Energy Hub, and includes a variety of learning and training programs. The Hub’s 26 kwH solar system and Energy Discovery Zone, serves as a learning lab for a wide range of abilities, age ranges, and interests: from the casual to highly technical.

The facility offers opportunities for students, adults, and industry professionals to examine the emerging role of clean, renewable energy in promoting sustainability, career pathways, and reducing the damage caused to our environment and health by carbon-based energy generation.

The Solar Energy Workforce + Education Program consists of:

Solar Energy Workforce offers training, certification, and hands on experience with a professional solar installer to prepare small, local electrical contractors and others for entry into the growing clean energy industry
Interested in Becoming a Solar Installer? Submit an Interest Form
Teen Solar Fellowship introduces students to the technical skills, career experiences, and valuable connections that can help them to succeed in the installation industry or as a stepping stone to higher education.
Energy Discovery Zone provides educational opportunities through microgrid system demonstration, solar and electrical STEM learning tools for teens, adults, and industry professionals

The project is spearheaded by New Sun Rising and Moose MODE Inc, in partnership with the Triboro Ecodistrict and Millvale Ecodistrict Collaborative. System contractors include: EIS Solar, GRID Institute at University of Pittsburgh, AYA Instruments, and Steel City Energy Conservation.

Solar Installer Training Course Flyer - New Sun Rising
Status of PA's Solar Workforce(5)