- This month on The SPARK, our theme is "Focused on Sustainability".

We'll learn more about the Mid-South's Agricultural Hub that also specializes in education, agri-business, and research, an organization focused on protecting, conserving and preserving the Memphis Sand Aquifer, and a local company turning rice hulls into filters to create clean water.

We'll also share a special moment from our SPARK Awards 2021.

- From our very beginnings in 1954, Lipscomb and Pitts Insurance has been built on the values of customer service, leading with integrity, and supporting our community.

We believe in promoting the positives, encouraging engagement, and leading by example to power the good.

Lipscomb and Pitts Insurance is honored to be a presenting sponsor of The SPARK.

- (male announcer) Additional funding for The SPARK is provided by EcOp, the Memphis Zoo, My Town Movers, My Town Roofing, My Town Miracles, and by Meritan.

- Ever been excited by a new idea, inspired by watching someone lead by example?

When we talk about creating change, we start by sharing the stories of everyday heroes who are making a difference in their own way so we can learn and do the same.

I'm Jeremy Park and this is The SPARK.

[upbeat music] They're helping the Mid-South earn the distinction as the AgTech capital of the world.

We're here with the President and CEO of Agricenter International, John Butler, and John, let's start.

Give us some context, some background for Agricenter International.

- Yeah, well thank you for havin' us first.

I think I would start back at the beginning.

So, we got our start in 1979 between a public private partnership between Shelby County Government and the State of Tennessee and a nonprofit to be named later, which was Agricenter International.

So, our footprint's a 1,000-acre campus, part of the Shelby Farms area, total in-between both nonprofits, about 4,500 acres, so really amazing opportunity to showcase what, you know, an urban farm and research center can look like to a major metropolitan city.

So, what an incredible asset and we're just, you know, thrilled to have the opportunity to work with both the State of Tennessee and Shelby County Government, to have the history we have operating in Memphis, but also the support for the regional efforts that are happening around agriculture and food space.

- A big part of your efforts are around conservation and education, and so go ahead and describe some of the outreach efforts, especially with youth and the conservation efforts.

- Yeah, so, really, when you look at, you know, where do we stand and how do we kind of promote our activities to the rest of the community, it can really be under three different buckets: research, education, and outreach, and so, our research program, we operate a commercial research organization, which means we contract with businesses all around the world, and they fly into Memphis and they do research here on the campus.

A couple of months ago, we had 250 PhDs here for a conference all around soil science, agronomics, technology, all the things that are impacting the industry.

From the education side, it's really cool.

We have a youth program and then an adult program for beginning and new farmers and all of our educational efforts are launched with our partnership with the University of Tennessee an d Tennessee State University.

So, it's a really incredible opportunity to work with, you know, world class leaders in the education field with both land grant universities and that's our overall engagement.

We'll bring about 10,000 kids to the campus every year and we'll host about 1.5 million people annually, so we're very busy, for sure.

- What does it mean, when you talk about being the AgTech capital of the world and, like you're saying, the technology infused with agriculture, but what does that mean to our farmers and for our food source for the Mid-South and beyond?

- Yeah, so that's a great question and I'll approach it a little bit in the reverse order.

So, let's just look at the availability, availability of food and fiber for consumers all around the world, because that's really what we do in the Ag space.

So, it's a global economy and an example of that would be, you know, soybeans that are harvested, you know, this fall, here in the Mid-South, would end up in China and literally about a third of all the beans that are harvested in the United States are exported.

So, we're truly a global marketplace.

The challenge is how do you feed, you know, a hungry world, especially as it's continuing to grow?

So, by 2050, you know, most economists are saying the world's population will be somewhere between 9.5 and 9.7 billion people, and so you have to feed them and produce a fiber for those guys and gals, but you also have to do it on less space.

So, here in the US, we're losing about 5% of our arable soil to urban sprawl, which means our cities are getting bigger and so we have to adjust accordingly.

So, all of the nutrient, all the produce, all the crops, the commodities, the protein, the animals that we care for and that we raise every year, we have to accept the premise that we're not gonna be able to do it like we have done it in the past and so, that change, that interface with both innovation and entrepreneurship is really the catalyst for what we're seeing in the industry and it's completely, you know, it's turning it on, it's on its ears, so to speak.

So, it's brand new and so, technology, you know, is also adding to the disruption and giving us incredible opportunities that we never even thought of maybe three or five years ago.

- Talk about how we can help Agricenter International.

You do have a ton of events and opportunities for the public to enjoy, but also to give back and support your efforts, and then, obviously, where do we go to learn more?

So, websites, social media, where do we go?

So, how do we help and where do we go?

- Absolutely.

So, it's easy to find us.

We're on the web, agricenter.org, and you can find us also on social media, Facebook, Twitter, or you can just, you know, call or send an email, and so we're happy to, for guests, for folks in the region to reach out to us.

We haven't talked about the farmer's market.

We haven't talked about the equestrian campus that we also manage, and so there's just a ton of things going on.

We encourage everybody in the Mid-South to look us up.

Just last week, we hosted folks fr om Arkansas and Missouri that we're wanting to have a tour of the campus and so we do a lot of that and we love our research park we haven't talked a lot about.

We have a physical presence where we can recruit businesses.

We just got a 90-acre expansion under our research park and so there'll be a ton of stuff growing on the campus over the next couple of years, if you pardon the pun.

- Absolutely.

Well, John, greatly appreciate all you and your amazing team do.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- It's my pleasure.

Thank you very much.

[upbeat music] - They're an organization focused on protecting, conserving, and preserving the Memphis Sand Aquifer.

We're here with the executive director for Protect Our Aquifer, Sarah Houston, and let's start out.

Give us a little bit of history for the organization.

- All right, Jeremy.

Well, thanks so much.

Protect Our Aquifer, we started late 2016 to really challenge a potential contamination threat to the aquifer system and when we got started, we realized there was really nobody taking charge on understanding what do all of these potential threats mean to the long-term sustainability of our drinking water.

And Memphis has some pride for its awesome aquifer and so, we've just kind of, like, you know, came to the call and just tried to step up where we can and now we're looking really at the long-term growth that we're seeing with Blue Oval City, the Ford megasite, and what does that mean for, you know, protecting this asset far, far into the future.

- You see a lot with water fights going on in places like California and so, we take it for granted here, but why is water so important, not only for our own personal livelihood, but for the growth and the sustainability of our community?

- The tricky thing with an aquifer is it is out of sight, out of mind.

You hear what's going on out west.

They can see like me, they can see the levels dropping.

We don't have that same benefit.

We can't really see what's going on and it's really expensive to understand what's going on with the aquifer.

You've gotta drill wells, do a lot of science to figure that out, and as we grow as a community, understanding how we maintain that water level and keep the water flowing and actually infiltrating back in is what we do to the land is how our water gets back into our water supply and so, that is absolutely critical to our long-term sustainability and when we see these water crises happening around the country and around the world, it makes Memphis and Mid-South look pretty good, you know?

People wanna come here 'cause we have this amazing resource.

So, right now, the question is how do we preserve it and protect it so that we can continue this level of growth and attract more, but do it in a way that's gonna protect human health and protect our aquifer in the long term.

- Talk about a research project with NASA.

- Oh my gosh!

We're working with NASA!

It's been a blast!

So, we actually have just entered into phase two of a really cool project where they are using these satellites that have been circling around the earth, shooting down different types of beams to understand how water and how the water cycle works, you know?

You hear about transpiration, evaporation, precipitation, back in third grade, right?

Well, now, there are satellite tools that actually help measure that from space and so we have been working with NASA to calculate that and really apply it specifically to West Tennessee and get a sense of are we in a sustainable place?

Is there enough water infiltrating in to match what we're pumping back out?

And so, this is another tool in our toolbox to really understand how do we make sure that we are developing, you know, in a really smart way?

And so this, for this phase two, we've joined forces with University of Memphis CAESAR and then also, TDEC is providing some technical experience and expertise on that too.

So, that study will be done at the end of the year, so in December, and we're gonna be taking that information and really running with it to think about protecting the recharge zone.

That's where the majority of our water infiltrates in to eventually flow 2,000 years to get underneath Shelby County, but when we're thinking about all this development and, you know, new schools, new houses, new hospitals, new parking lots, that's a lot of concrete and concrete does not let water get into the ground, and so this will help us understand where maybe there are areas that are critical recharge zones, critical areas that we could put certain types of developments on or have green infrastructure that allows that type of infiltration.

So, this is to help us get that baseline data and implement some really good rules that can help us make sure water is getting back in the aquifer.

- I'm a big fan.

I follow you on Instagram and so you do "Water Wednesdays" where you put out a ton of helpful information and tips and how we can all play a role.

So, share a couple of tips and talk about "Water Wednesdays."

- Yeah, water Wednesdays have been a lot of fun.

We launched that last year, we get guest speakers.

We go into different communities and just talk about anything water-related.

Again, water nerd is showing, you know, water touches all aspects of life, so it's so much more than just the aquifer.

So, it's been a lot of fun.

They're usually one or two minute little videos, so if you're not following us on Instagram, you should follow us at Protect Our Aquifer, but you know, there are things we can do every day.

Like I mentioned, the more we pump, the more water gets sucked down and contamination's coming with it and so, you know, if you're watering your lawn, think about watering it only once a week and making sure you're doing it in the coolest times of the day, so late in the evening, early in the morning when that evaporation, you come back into the water cycle, that evaporation doesn't speed up in the middle of the day.

So, you know, making sure that you're being a responsible, you know, lawn care owner, and then, it's really just about, like, paying attention to how you use water.

Brushing your teeth in the middle of the evening?

Turn off that tap when you're actually brushing.

That can save up to four gallons every day, every time you brush your teeth and that kind of stuff, that adds up when we're talking about 600,000 people in Memphis.

- We'll wrap up with website, social media.

Where can we go to follow your efforts and get involved?

- Yeah, so, like I said, Instagram is a good way to find us.

We're also on Twitter and Facebook, so, you know, you just look us up on protectouraquifer.org.

We also have on that webpage the Now button, so go to the Now page.

That usually has what's the latest issue, what are the petitions to sign, what are the emails to send, how can you get involved, and, you know, take action.

Head to our website and click on the Now button.

- Well, Sarah, greatly appreciate all you and your team are doing.

Thank you so much for coming on the show.

- Thank you, Jeremy.

Always a pleasure.

[upbeat music] - The Spark Awards annually recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the community.

The 2021 recipient of the Corporate Award for companies with 500 or more employees is Baptist Memorial Healthcare.

[slow, calm music] - Baptist Memorial Healthcare is comprised of 22 hospitals throughout the Mid-South region.

We serve in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi, providing healthcare and very large communities to some of the smallest communities around.

It's the threefold mission of Baptist Memorial Healthcare to really follow the mission of Christ, preaching, teaching, and healing, and to provide love for God to do the impossible is the way we like to say it.

It opens doors for people to come into our system and also for us to go out into the communities and provide care in non-traditional and very innovative ways.

Typically, healthcare services that you would find through a primary care doctor, such as mammograms and screening for women and also children's services at our children's hospital, are isolated to those who have health insurance and a relationship with other doctors, but Baptist goes out to do in novative things and we partner with many of those in the Mid-South to deliver those services right there where people need them the most.

Health at Home is another one of our initiatives that, during the COVID season, we found that people could not get to the hospital or, for some reason, did not want to come to the hospital, so we brought the hospital to their front door.

Our uncompensated care figures have been astronomical over the years.

Over $300 million in services to our community for those who are without healthcare, those who don't have any insurance at all, and those who really don't even have primary care access.

I'm grateful to be associated with such a high-level team of dedicated individuals who are really frontline healthcare heroes.

One of my personal favorite experiences with Baptist is Black Men in White Coats.

We partner with local area high schools and expose them to many of the healthcare careers, not just African-American males, bu t African-American females and others who would like to participate.

We allow them to have real mentors who follow them and help them to make the right decisions going into medical school.

Every three years, Baptist conducts what is called a Community Health Needs Assessment.

We go out and we find ways to serve our community by really getting to know our community.

We ask community stakeholders for their opinion and they give us their experiences and that's how we guide that mission into the future.

Health needs change over a period of time.

One year it may be one thing and one year it may be another, but Baptist is always on the cutting edge, making sure that we know what those needs are and delivering services where they're needed most.

We're proud to be a part of the Mid-South community.

[slow, calm music] - They're are transforming rice hulls into water filters for clean water.

We're here with the CEO of Glanris, Bryan Eagle, and Bryan, let's start, what does the name Glanris mean?

- Well, again, thanks for having me.

Glanris is Gaelic, glan-ris.

It means clean rice, which is basically an easy description for what we're doing.

We're taking rice husks and we're converting it into a water filtration media that can help clean up water in the world.

- Talk about why this is so important, especially for Arkansas and our Mid-South area.

- Yeah, so, rice hulls, about 20% of the harvest, rice harvest, is a huge waste problem, not just in Arkansas, but globally.

two hundred and twenty billion pounds of this are generated globally around the world.

Here, in the United States, it's about 2 billion pounds of rice hulls.

Most of that today is either burned, which creates carbon dioxide when it's burned, and, or it is left to rot, which creates methane.

Both of those are greenhouse gasses.

Both of those are bad and that's really what what we're trying to address with our Biochar product.

- So, talk about the magic of how this works.

- So, what we're doing is we're taking those hulls, we're cooking them at a high temperature in the absence of oxygen, and what that does is it doesn't burn them, it basically carbonizes them.

So, we don't release the same amount of carbon dioxide in the air that would normally happen if you burn them.

In fact, we take that and turn it into a stable carbon, which can be used for a number of different things.

Rice hulls have some unique, both physical and chemical properties, that allow us to create some active sites on this that allow us to use it for water filtration where it can act like an activated carbon.

You've probably heard that term before for water filtration systems and we are, in fact, an activated carbon, but we also have some additional ch emistry that we're able to create in this process that allows us to not only remove organics, what activated carbon does, but also to remove dissolved metals like lead, chromium, mercury, all the bad heavy metals.

- Share a little bit of the vision for this in terms of municipalities, but also for individuals, for families, individual consumers, to use this in their home.

- So, today, most of the activated carbon that we're using for water filtration, for wastewater filtration, is coal-based and so, again, we're digging coal up out of the ground.

We're using it in this way and again, what we're trying to do is, you know, reverse that process.

Let's stop digging up the coal.

Instead, let's take this biomass, Ag waste material, and turn it into, in essence, this charcoal, that's what Biochar really is, that can fit that need.

- Talk about it from the home perspective.

- If you've ever had a pitcher-based system, that cartridge that's in the, that pitcher, that filter cartridge, is about 60% ion exchange resin bead, which is a petroleum-based micro-plastic.

Again, that's used to remove lead and other harmful heavy metals in the water.

The other 40% is activated carbon and that's really for taste and odors.

What we're working on with a couple of different companies now is replacing both the activated carbon and the ion exchange resin bead with our material.

So now, you have a green material, or greener material, certainly, that can replace both those two media, and then when you're done with that, you, unlike, you know, the ion exchange resin beads, you can't really throw that into your compost pile, but you could throw this into your compost pile.

- What does it mean for you to be based here in the Mid-South?

- Well, you know, the key for us is access to the hulls and we've partnered with the major rice producer in Arkansas to be able to use those hulls.

So, when you take a look at where rice is grown in the United States, about 80% of it has grown from southern Missouri, Arkansas, about 50% is actually from Arkansas itself, and then Louisiana, east Texas, little bit of Mississippi make up the rest of that 80%.

So, you know, for us here, what we're trying to do is be, you know, closer and closer to the mills themselves so that we can very quickly take those husks and then pyrolyze and turn 'em into this Biochar product, which we can use for water filtration, and I should also mention, you know, because at its core, Biochar is basically carbon and carbon is one of the three building blocks of pretty much everything on this planet, there are actually a number of different other applications for this from, you know, binders in the asphalt to replacing some parts of both cement and concrete as an aggregate.

There are 55 different applications that this Biochar, this carbon, can be converted into, and we're pursuing a couple of them, but it's really the silica content in the rice hulls that give us that little bit of extra chemistry that we needed to be able to turn these active sites on the Biochar to remove dissolved metals.

- We'll wrap up with where we can go to learn more and follow all the progress with Glanris, so website, social media.

Where do we go?

- Well, the best place to go is our website glanris.com, G-L-A-N-R-I-S.com, and you'll see everything you want to know about both the rice hulls, the chemistry, and some of the other applications we're looking at.

- Well, Bryan, thank you for all you and your amazing team do.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- Thank you for having me.

Appreciate it.

[upbeat music] - As we saw in this month's episode, natural resources play a critical role in our community's success.

With some of the country's richest soils and one of the purest and most plentiful water supplies in the world, the Mid-South has a distinct advantage with agriculture and industry and when you combine that with our history of entrepreneurship and innovation, you create the recipe for growth and development and become known as the AgTech capital of the world.

With these advantages and assets comes a responsibility to protect these natural resources and maintain an ecological balance.

That's why we're fortunate to have organizations focused on sustainability to protect the present and our future.

Organizations like Agricenter International are educating students about the agriculture, forestry, and natural resources so they understand the connection and importance of our environment while working on conservation and sustainable crop research.

Protect Our Aquifer is working to maintain the Memphis Sand Aquifer's superior quality and quantity to keep our region thriving for the benefit of the present and future generations, and companies like Glanris are using innovation to transform agricultural waste products, like rice hulls, into eco-friendly filters to create clean water.

When we're focused on sustainability, we're focused on creating a bright future for our community.

So, thank you for watching The SPARK.

To learn more about each of the guests, to watch past episodes, and to share your stories of others leading by example, visit wkno.org and click on the link for The SPARK.

We look forward to seeing you again next month.

We hope that you'll continue joining with us to create a spark for the Mid-South.

- From our very beginnings in 1954, Lipscomb and Pitts Insurance has been built on the values of customer service, leading with integrity, and supporting our community.

We believe in promoting the positives, encouraging engagement, and leading by example to power the good.

Lipscomb and Pitts Insurance is honored to be a presenting sponsor of The SPARK.

[upbeat music] [acoustic guitar chords]