Alabama Trails Magazine

Katie Exum, publisher and editor of Alabama Trails magazine is the guest on episode 33 of Birmingham Shines.

Episode 33 released February 25, 2016.

Rotary Trail in downtown Birmingham is the next trail set to open in Birmingham. Rotary Trail is part of a much larger trail system under development in the Magic City and surrounding areas.

We are so blessed to have amazing outdoor recreation opportunities all around us. Birmingham’s burgeoning trail system and city parks are one of the reasons that Birmingham is gaining so much attention from national media and tourism bloggers. Yes, we have amazing food. But we have so much more and outdoor recreation is a big part of that.

I wanted to have Katie on the show because she and her husband have created a relatively new magazine that focuses on outdoor recreation opportunities all across Alabama, including those here in the greater Birmingham area. I think it’s a great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about what to see and do all across Alabama, including right here in Birmingham.

If you’re a regular listener to Birmingham Shines, you might remember that Deon Gordon said he marks the turning point in Birmingham’s renaissance with the creation of Railroad Park. Others on the show have echoed that sentiment. Teresa Thorne, executive director of City Action Partnership, known as CAPS downtown, is one of those individuals. Another guest, David Weigel singled out the city parks and outdoor recreation opportunities surrounding the greater Birmingham area as one of the reasons Birmingham Shines. Scot Duncan, a professor at Birmingham Southern College talked about Alabama’s amazing biodiversity and why it matters for our city, region and state.

Full show notes here: https://birminghamshines.com

Alabama Summer Skies & Space Exploration with David Weigel (Bonus Episode)

David Weigel, Director fo Christenberry Planetarium at Samford University - Episode 8 of Birmingham Shines Podcast released June 15 2015

This is a bonus episode of Birmingham Shines, featuring David Weigel, a young educator and explorer who moved to Birmingham in 2014 to become the director of Christenberry Planetarium at Samford University.

David shares a bit about his love for space exploration what he likes about Birmingham (the outdoors and the city’s amenities), and some of the topics that will be covered during the Alabama Summer Skies program at Christenberry Planetarium this summer.

The free planetarium shows are interactive and open to the public, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis. The first show is set for June 16, 2015 and that’s why I wanted to release this episode as a bonus, while still adhering to my regular Thursday publication schedule.

In addition to astronomy 101, the shows include updates on current NASA missions like New Horizons and Dawn, and the European Space Agency Rosetta mission to the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

David talks about these missions in this episode of Birmingham Shines, as well as what you can see in the Alabama night sky this summer even if you can’t make it to one of the shows at Christenberry Planetarium.

For details about the Alabama Summer Skies shows visit the Christenberry Planetarium Facebook page. You’ll find a link to the page and the complete show notes at https://birminghamshines.com.

The regular episode of Birmingham Shines will be published, as scheduled, early Thursday morning.