(lively music) We are surrounded today by some of the most beautiful wildlife in Virginia.

It's here, paradise Creek Park in Portsmouth.

Have you ever wondered how the natural world works around us?

Or how we, as humans, impact it?

We're gonna explore that today on "Spotlight Earth".

(lively music continues) Hi, I am Ellen.

And I'm Jarrell.

We're two of your "Spotlight Earth" guides.

We'll be taking you through this series all about environmental science here in the state of Virginia and around the globe.

Today, we will define the study of environmental science and its importance to us.

(punchy music) It's amazing what we can see when we stop for a minute, to take the time to appreciate the world around us.

The study of environmental science is just that.

The study of how the natural world works, how the environment affects humans and how we affect the environment.

The environment around us includes all of the living and non-living components, like the heron standing in the marsh here in Paradise Creek Park, the butterflies pollinating the local native plants and even the clouds floating by in the sky.

The ability to study the environment takes the expertise of many different science disciplines, making environmental science interdisciplinary.

There're so many different professions working together to make up environmental science.

For example, biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, just to name a few.

An environmental scientist at Paradise Creek Park will have to have knowledge in biology to study the relationship between organisms, like the bees pollinating the plants, and in earth science to study the tides and in climate to ensure a healthy environment.

Let's switch gears for a moment and pose a question.

Why did we all of a sudden start studying environmental science?

Well, it hasn't exactly been all of a sudden.

Throughout human history, there are records of people using the environment around them to improve their health and wellbeing and implementing ways to protect the spaces they lived in.

However, it wasn't until the 1960s when Rachel Carson introduced her book, "Silent Spring" and kicked off the study of environmental science as we know it today.

After doing field work and extensive research, Rachel Carson shed light on the dangers of the industrial and agricultural practices and their effects on the environment.

She documented the fact that harmful chemicals can move up the food chain and kill species at the top, specifically our national symbol, the Bald Eagles.

The title of her book, "Silent Spring", is a warning of springtime with no birds.

Her work marked one of the first times that this information was shared with the public.

Carson's ideas were taken seriously by the government and following the publication of her book an environmental movement ignited.

The US Environmental Protection Agency was established and laws protecting the environment and human health were passed.

The interest in protecting and restoring the environment is as important now as it was then.

Scientists in all disciplines around the world are working together to better study the environment, to protect the resources we currently have, and to develop ways to restore resources that were once prevalent.

Paradise Creek Park provides a great example of something that was once considered dead, then was restored and has now been turned into a beautiful oasis.

Just look around.

This place is stunning.

(punchy music fades) And we are joined now by an environmental scientist who gets to spend all of her time here, in this paradise.

Yolima Carr is joining us, a conservation curator.

Thank you so much for joining us, Yolima.

Thank you.

Thank you for being here.

Absolutely.

So Yolima, can you tell us a little bit more about Paradise Creek Park and the mission of the park?

Sure.

So, Paradise Creek Nature Park is a 40 acres nature park in a very urban industrial area.

Out of the 40 acres, we have 11 beautiful restored wetlands, and we are here right next to the creek.

This is called Paradise Creek, and this creek connect to the Elizabeth River.

So, the mission of the Elizabeth River Project is to restore the Elizabeth River.

And we do that through partnership, collaboration, different organizations and the community.

So Yolima, I heard the word restore in your explanation.

Can you talk a little bit about what restoration means and its mission with the Elizabeth River Project?

So, thank you.

Restoration mean to bring back to the natural form.

So for example, here at Paradise Creek Nature Park, this park was really like a dump site for a lot of construction sites, long time ago.

And we restored this park to what it used to be.

So, in here where we stand right now, we restore 11 acres of wetlands.

11 Acres?

11 Acres of wetland.

Wow.

So yeah, it is beautiful.

Now you can see this look like it's been here forever, but it's only like 10 years old.

Fish are jumping.

Yes.

It's wild.

And the main goal of the Elizabeth River Project is to restore the Elizabeth River through collaboration and partnership with different business, with the community, with the schools.

And we especially purchased this land again because we are in such an industrial area, next to the Naval Shipyard and different companies, we want a green science here.

And so that's what we did, to try to restore this.

Can you tell us what a typical day-to-day is like as an environmental scientist?

Sure.

So one of the goals is the removal of invasive plants and then really enhancing the native vegetation.

So, that is a balance in here.

Right now we are about 70-30 into the good ones, so we are trying to be 50-50.

And the goal will be to imitate Mother Nature.

During summer, and this is our fifth year, we have a program called Youth Conservation Interns.

So this year we are so lucky to have five students from local high school and we invite them to come.

First of all, they have to apply for this job through Next Gen.

It's a workforce.

And they work for us for about seven or eight weeks.

They're here Wednesday to Saturday.

They learn all about horticulture, native plants.

They earn a certification on the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Associates.

Today just, we was helping our restoration team from the Elizabeth River installing a new living shoreline, so they get really hands-on on their projects.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Yolima.

It gives us a great idea as to why we should be studying environmental science.

Thank you for having me.

And please come back and visit Paradise Creek Nature Park.

Thank you.

Absolutely.

I'm bringing my kids next time.

I'll see you soon.

(punchy music) Paradise Creek is one of the many environments in our area that has been impacted by humans.

And thanks to the Elizabeth River Project, it's being restored.

As we take a look around us and see a healthy ecosystem, it's easy to see how studying environmental science can be interdisciplinary and requiring the expertise in a lot of different fields.

Every living thing here is surrounded by additional organisms, forces, and even molecules within the air, requiring knowledge about many different fields in order to understand all that is in play in the environment.

The work that has been done here at Paradise Creek Park is impressive, but it shouldn't stop here.

With more people around the world gaining a better insight of environmental science, we can hope for a way to live peacefully together on Planet Earth.

We rely on the resources our world provides us.

It is our job to begin replenishing what we can and to always be kind to the environment around us.

Together we can make a difference.

Thanks for watching "Spotlight Earth".

See you next time.

(punchy music fades)