The Silver Tsunami, Mentorship, and Global Collaboration with Josh Hirten

Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick! 

On today’s episode, we talk with Josh Hirten, Environmental Discipline Leader at CDM Smith about The Silver Tsunami, Mentorship, and Global Collaboration.   Read his full bio below.

Help us continue to create great content! If you’d like to sponsor a future episode hit the support podcast button or visit www.environmentalprofessionalsradio.com/sponsor-form 

Showtimes: 
1:39 - Diving Adventures with Nic & Laura
8:30 - Interview with Josh Hirten Starts
13:34- Sampling through cavern diving 
22:04 - Impact of professional organization 
29:05 - Field Notes with Josh!

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This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org.

Connect with Joshua Hirten at https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-hirten-pg-22940/

Guest  Bio:
Joshua Hirten, PG is an Environmental Discipline Leader at CDM Smith with over 28 years of experience. He holds an MS in Geology from the University of Florida, BA in Geology from the State University of New York, Buffalo, and is registered Professional Geologist in Florida.

Josh is part of the Sky Wave at CDM Smith Team that combines data acquisition and machine learning to obtain detailed results to drive data to decisions. Josh is the Program Manager for the Waste Cleanup Program at the FDEP. In addition to environmental projects, Josh developed and conducted Project Management training at over 20 locations globally.

Josh is actively involved in professional activities, serving as Board Member for National Association of Environmental Professionals and Vice President for Florida Association of Environmental Professionals.

Music Credits
Intro: Givin Me Eyes by Grace Mesa
Outro: Never Ending Soul Groove by Mattijs Muller

Transcript

Hello and welcome to EPR with your favorite environmental nerds, Nic and Laura. 

On today's episode, Nic and I talk about diving. We interviewed Josh Hirten about the silver tsunami, mentorship and global collaboration. And finally, in light of Dame Jane Goodall's passing at age 91, here's some interesting facts about the life she lived. Goodall made a discovery in 1960 at the age of 26 that would come to be considered one of the greatest achievements in the 20th century scholarship that chimpanzees make and use tools. She had received no formal scientific training, having no preconceived notions of what animal research should be. It allowed her to devise unique methods of research which led to her many breakthroughs. Goodall entered Cambridge University as a PhD candidate in 1962, despite not having a bachelor's degree. She was only the 8th person to be accepted to do a PhD at the university without having an undergrad degree. Her legacy lives on in countless lives she inspired and institutions she founded and the work that continues in her name. We will miss you 

Hit that music. 

NAEP is now accepting abstracts to showcase your work to an audience of national and Alaskan environmental professionals at our 2026 annual conference and training symposium, happening May 11th through the 14th, 2026 in Anchorage, Alaska. Abstracts can be submitted for oral presentations, posters, workshops, and special sessions on national and Alaskan issues. Abstracts are due November 1st. Please check out www.NAEP.org for details.

Let's get to our segment. 

So have you been cavern diving or cave diving? No, no, I'm not doing that. Are you, are you dive certified? Uh yeah, I am dive certified, but I, I mean, I have never had a really had a partner to dive with, so like, I just, I've done it and I've done it in like a quarry, like 40 degrees, and it was like the worst experience of all time, and it was great. I had a fantastic time. I couldn't feel my face, didn't matter. Like I was like, I think I'm still breathing because I haven't drowned yet, but I can't feel the respirator on my face. That's my diving experience. Like, so I've never really done it in like wonderful areas. I've snorkeled in beautiful places, but I've never do. So like I don't have a fear of diving per se. And honestly, I'm not afraid of a lot of things, but I do not love the idea of squeezing myself through a cave as is. No, I don't want to do that above water. That's what I'm saying. Yeah, I'll be like, well, I, I maybe I can get in there. I don't want that to be the thing, you know, maybe I'll get in there. No, I don't want that to be my life. And it's like, well, he didn't, he didn't make it, you know. Yes, well, I used to work in a dive shop, fun fact. Did you really? Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Florida. I did. Yes, Florida. You're working in, are you a person? Would you do cave diving? I have done cavern diving and I found it to be as the two of them. What is it? I it fine? So cave diving, people are typically need special equipment, special mentalities, and they're going to go through tight spaces and there might be high volume or high flow of water, so it's very risky. I found cavern diving to have its different set of challenges. And in Florida, when you go cavern diving, so I came to this episode late, um, and I'd only caught half of Josh's story, so I don't know where he was cave diving or cavern diving, but for me in Florida they will, you can pay. So when I worked at the dive shop, I went on all kinds of dives because I could get them for discount rate. So me and my best friend, who I now own the publishing company with, so she's my dive partner and my business partner, but we went on a cavern dive in Devil's Den in Florida, and it's just basically a sinkhole full of saltwater. 

And you can't even say it's pretty, it's a giant wall. And so you go down a hole and it opens up to a cave. So that's where It's a cavern. It's just this big space. And maybe you could find a fossil, but there's been 10,000 other people there before you, so not likely. So what I found was that it was a giant space full of amateur divers and fins and flippers and flashlights. Yeah. My friend and I literally went down for like 10 seconds. Looked at each other and both said thumbs upwards like let's go back and we left, we left and went tubing. That's funny. That is funny. It's like, I don't know, it's, I think my favorite thing about like diving in general is like there's some of the safety things like you, they teach you like this means danger, and it's just forward means danger, and I'm like, you know what means danger? Whoa, whoa, that's danger, you know, like what are you kidding me? I'm not gonna be like, look calmly, there's a giant great white shark in front of us. If you can see it right there where my fist is pointing. No. The other issue is finding an appropriate dive partner because my ex at the time, not an appropriate dive partner. No one should go out drinking that much the night before and then think they're gonna get on a boat and go diving. Yeah that's not a good idea. That's not a recipe for success. No, and then you have the other ones who are perfectly fine, but they go down with you and then you're like, where are you going? And they're just wandering off. And you're like, I'm supposed to be responsible for you and I don't want to wander off. And then you're like, I much air you have, but I'm running low and I'm a slow breather. So are you paying attention? 

And so having the right partners. Everything. Yeah, I mean, cause like, honestly, like even you reminded me of a story like where I basically when you get on like a, I had like a cruise that I went on for like an afternoon, huge mistake, didn't really, not my vibe at all, but it was just like a thing to do and there's a snorkel part and that's actually why we went. And so there's like, OK, don't go past the pole, right? Like that's in the water, sticking up out of the water, the buoy basically, and we're like, cool. So we just went out to the buoy and hung out. And then we're just having a good time at the buoy and they're like, what are you doing? You're so far away, we have to go. We've been calling your name for like 20 minutes and I'm like, What? And that's without the diving part of it. I was just like having my own time. there's a snake or you know, whatever, um, or an eel, that's what I meant to say. That's the part about diving. I would forget my air for sure, would not check that. Yeah, and that's the thing, like it's easy to get in a trance or kind of lost, especially when you are diving somewhere cool because it's just like, oh, that's neat. And then, and then even if you see something and you want to follow it, you don't realize the fish is going to move a lot quicker than you. So you're like, I'll just go over here too. And then you're like, oh, I'm 100 yards from the boat. Yeah. And downstream. Like the distance like is so wonky underwater, and you're like, oh, I'm like right above there, and you look at your like your dive thing and you're like 60 ft down or 100 ft down, and it does not look that far. No, especially the more clear the water is, you're like, yeah, right there. It's just right there. It's just like two kicks. No, it's like 30, it's gonna take you an hour, like whatever, you know. That's crazy. So I mean, I don't know, do you have like a best dive experience and then we'll end, I promise we'll. Yes, yes, best dive experience, probably a shipwreck. I find the shipwrecks to be really interesting. Yeah, OK, so like what, where, off the coast of Florida, I don't know where Blackbeard's pirate ship, I don't know, something like that. 

Don't ask me questions, Nic. Come on, yeah. I mean, what about it was cool. I really just, I like to, it was a deep dive, for one thing, so it was far down there. I think we saw some barracuda and a sea turtle. Nice. And I like just, you know, wreckage. It's interesting. I've seen how it falls apart and goes back together. It's, it's interesting. It becomes a new thing, right? That's my favorite part about it, it becomes a new thing. It's wrecked, but it's also life for fish, that's pretty cool. Right, exactly. So it's kind of that whole theme of, well, when the humans are gone, the earth will take back, so it's cool for sure. I can't think of a better way to end that. 

Let's get to our interview. Hello and welcome back to EPR. 

Today we have Josh Hirten with us. Josh is the client service leader and environmental discipline leader at CDM Smith. He's also a great all-around guy. Welcome, Josh. I'm really happy to have you here. Thank you so much for having me on today. Very excited to be here. Yeah, we've been talking about it for a little while. Um, yeah, it's really fun to see you here. And you know, I was trying to even think where to start with you, but I mean, you know, you've been working in the field for like almost 30 years. So like I, I don't know what even, what drew you to the work? Why environmental? Why geology? Yeah, I always hate when we have to like add time frame to our time and time because it just, but, uh, yeah, I mean, honestly, I got engaged in the Earth science as a whole like at a very early age, just always fascinated with maps and rocks and, you know, and, you know, with earthquakes and volcanoes, you know, like kind of like the classic, you know, middle school of just pure chaos and enjoying, enjoying all that. But really what got me hooked into geology was PBS had a show and they redid it recently, but it was in the 1980s called Making of a Continent. So shout out to, you know, public broadcasting, but It was just, yeah, it was awesome with just the graphics and the movie plates and just the stories of just like what Earth was like, you know, millions of years ago and what it could be in the future. I mean, that just completely hooked me as a kid. I mean, that's funny you say that. Like I was very much into paleontology, like that was my thing as a kid. I mean, it's a lot of kids' things, right? But dinosaurs, come on, right? I mean, that's, you know. Yeah, but I mean like, play tectonics is all part of it, you know, it's like, oh they are hanging out like, what's up? And then they start moving away from each other and they start and I thought that was fascinating from the jump. 

So it's just kind of fun to see, you know, that happens in lots of different ways. We probably watched the same thing and I, you know, and um. But I don't know, like that joy that it brought you and like, you know, over the course of your career, like, we talk a lot about on the show, like trying to find things that make you happy, but like, how did you like navigate your career with your passion, like what you actually liked? How did that work for you? Yeah, I mean, that's what I truly enjoy about our field, right? It's just like there's not a linear path that any of us take. I mean, most of us have, you know, some type of science background. I'm sure you've come across. Folks that are like sociology majors, you know, that are in our field. So it's, you know, very open to everybody. And when I started my bachelor's in geology, I really enjoyed every single class and I was like, what am I going to do when I graduate? You know, it's like I enjoy really all the different facets of it, and took a hydrogeology and a contaminant hydrogeology class, and I got really hooked on kind of that aspect of, you know, we understand the Environmental fields and the issues that we have with contamination and the like, so that really resonated with me with the ability to be a geologist, to do the science, and, you know, give back to the community and kind of rectify some of the wrongs that have been created over the past. So that kind of led me along the path, you know, with hydrogeology there. It's an interesting thing, right? It's almost like the consulting world is different than it would be like if we're in academia or other places. So like, I mean, how is your experience working for firms been and how has that kind of shaped your thoughts on the science itself? Yeah, I did my bachelor's in geology, wasn't ready to enter the workforce. So I said, you know what, I, I'm going to get my master's and landed at the University of Florida was a great opportunity where, you know, they gave me a great teaching stipend and a tuition waiver to come and be at the school and associated with that, I was able to get a grant. 

Through the USGS to study the hydrogenimex between the Swannee River and some of the springs and the agricultural properties around there. I mean, to me that was like fantastic. I mean, I got to do cave diving as part of my master's thesis and yeah, and grab, you know, do like dye testing and some uh additional hydrochemical testing and so that was like. Amazing. And I'm like, I want to work for the USGS, right? I was like, this is, this is where I want to be. These are the kind of projects I want to work on. And it was in 1995 when we had the, one of the former, you know, what we're in the midst of right now, government shutdown. And so it was a government freeze on federal hiring. Yeah. And so I was like, I gotta figure something else out, and so that was what led me to the environmental consulting path. Yeah. I mean, our stories are pretty similar, honestly, it's kind of fun. I mean, but like I just, I can't get off of cave diving. How on earth, OK, the first time someone's like, hey, Josh, you know how like there's caves and some of them are underwater. We need you to get into the, yeah, let's go inside them. Yeah, that's definitely what we want to do. What was your reaction to that? Were you nervous about it or were you like, all right, let's do it. Well, let's, I'll take a step back. I did cavern diving. I never did the formal cave diving. We had a few folks in the department that did full-on cave diving associated with their projects, and I thought it was like fantastic. I mean, like, you're going inside the karst environment, you know, you're, you're able to grab samples exactly where you want to go. Um, and so I was like, you know, the cave cave light, you know, with just caverns and kind of the spring areas, so still, I mean that, yeah, OK, so that's not as terrifying, but still, like if I can't, no. And I can't see the top of the water. I don't know. I'm not fond of that is all I'll say. Yeah, I'll do cavern. 

Yeah, I'm with you like I have some claustrophobia. So, yeah, going into those tight spaces where you take the tank off and you kind of push yourself forward, that's not. I mean, there's like claustrophobia and then like I think everyone would be nervous with that. I'm shocked that there's someone who isn't like, yeah, that's fine. I won't get stuck. I'm sure it's fine. I mean. Yeah, that always kind of scares me a little bit, but, um, so I don't know. I, one of the other things I want to talk to you about is, you know, like you, you've done a lot of training and mentoring as well, um, managers all over the world, and like I kind of wanna, you know, we try to, there's a lot of focus on the US of course, because that's where we sit, but there's also from all over the world on the show and so and then listen to the show. So like what are some of the common challenges you're seeing them facing? What's different about people in different countries that you've seen? Yeah, I was very fortunate when I was with a former consultant, and they decided to, they were going to roll out a new project management software within the firm and in the past, the training had been done by the risk team or the legal team. In this case, they really wanted to have it be the face of the project manager to develop the training and put out the training, and they pulled together 6 of us across the company. And I'm still great friends with all 6 of them, all 5 of them rather, I'm the 6th, but we had 2 from Australia, 2 from the UK and then 2 from the United States, and, you know, we keep in touch, we've got a group chat, I've been, you know, to 2 of their weddings. You know, anytime you have a, yeah, anytime you have a project like that, it's like intense. It's supposed to be for 1 year and a half. It lasted 3.5 years, but, you know, we got the chance to train and engage, you know, staff internationally, and it was interesting to see kind of the different cultural dynamics in each of the different geographies. And, you know, we did, we did some leading up to it, like what are the some of the cultural expectations within the, you know, certain geographies of what we could expect. But what was heartening was, you know, going into some of these offices, like, I'll never forget, was working in our Singapore office, and the lead there goes, you know, hey, we, you know, this is where you're going to work today. It was, you know, a typical cube station and kind of gives me the laydown of like, you know, that's the break room, this is where the coffee is, restrooms, all that kind of stuff, and then he starts going into kind of like the nuances of the office, like, hey, don't talk to that guy. He'll talk your ear off, you know, or like, oh yeah, she's really nice, but, you know, she's kind of like, in a mood today kind of thing. 

And, or, you know, like, he's the lead, so make sure, you know, you're really good to him. So it's like encouraging, like, being in an office halfway across the world and the dynamics and some of the, you know, comic humor is the same. Yeah, exact same, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's too funny. So like, when you're leading those trainings, like, what's your approach? How do you connect with people that may, it's nice to see you see you find these similarities, which is really cool. I think that's kind of what you, yeah, so like, but like, there's gotta be some differences too and some challenges to do that kind of thing. Yeah, I mean, our approach was, it was a fun training to put on because it was a mix of training and then, you know, actually working in the software. So it was a, here's what we want you to do, so it's hands on. So I really enjoyed that. But, you know, we really try to mix it up with just general project management training along the way, as well as mix it up with some TED Talks or some, you know, different icebreakers just to mix it up to the day because I mean, we all know like sitting through. Any kind of events, especially training for multiple, it was these were multiple day trainings, you know, you have to keep it entertaining and engaging. Yeah, which is, you know, it's easy for the Fred Wagners of the world, it's not easy for everybody. Yeah, Fred. Yeah. For our training, anytime that you're in a training environment, let alone a multi-day training, have to, you know, keep it interesting and so we're fortunate where this was a blend of training, but also getting into the software during aspects of it. And so we would also blend in TED Talks, icebreakers, you know, a variety of different exercises just to mix it up. So that was like critical to keeping people engaged. Do you have like a favorite icebreaker then? Is there something that's like there was always, you know, there was a litany of them, yeah, you know, it depends. We always did like what was your first car, uh, or what was your, you know, first album, which obviously is dating or CD, I mean, or, you know, Spotify download nowadays, I mean. Someone was downloaded the car, I think was a good one. It was like the first car you drove.

 I think that was a good one, you know, because it really gave people a chance to tell a story about like it was their parents' car or like they got it off a junkyard or like they restored it, you know, so oh my gosh, no, I'm sorry, I just, I had never considered that someone would. Not buy an album and their first experience with music would be they got on Spotify and so that's where my, I'm stuck on that. Oh my gosh, uh, that's how you date yourself. That is exactly right. Yeah, my first CD I remember exactly yeah oh my gosh, I remember my first tape sonick. Oh, I was all about the mixtapes. I mean, that's I did make those, but yeah, yes, we're big CD fans by then. Yeah. Also, well, we could talk about music all day. Let's move on to NAP and FAP. Yeah, one of our favorite topics, obviously. I think it's, I feel like it's been a while since we even had a rip on here from One of our organizations, so I'm excited to have this chat. So tell us a little bit about how long you've been involved and what roles you played. Oh my goodness, yeah, we don't have enough time. No, I mean, I've always been a member of the local chapter of Central Florida Association of Environmental Professionals, and I always remember the variety of speakers that they've had over the years and then probably about 5 or 6 years ago, I'm like, all right, the organization has given me a lot, it's time to give back. I'm a firm believer in, in volunteerism. I've volunteered through the Orange County Parks and Rec Advisory Board for a period of time. Both of my kids were involved in scouts, so I was an assistant scoutmaster. And then with CFAP I jumped in and, you know, had a variety of roles, vice president, I was, you know, I had the, the pleasure of being president during COVID, you know, so everyone knows, you know, the challenges there. It's like, hey, guess what, we're not having a lunch next week, uh, but, you know, but we're gonna have a webinar every month, so just. You know, challenge there and then I was really excited. I was the conference chair for the 2023 FAAP conference in Orlando, and that was a labor of love, but uh it was an absolute blast to, you know, pull the program together, work with everybody and see it come to fruition. And I've been on the NAP board for a little over a year and I'm dual-hatted with the remediation Brownfields working group lead. That's kind of my You know, technical background, and I'm glad to kind of help connect the dots with NAP. It's a little bit of an offshoot of what, you know, NAP typically does, but there's always, you know, there's always crossover opportunities with everything that we do in the environment. 

Yeah, that's awesome. Well, thanks for all of your participation in these different roles. And I'm always talking to my career coaches about, you know, getting involved and, and from firsthand experience, how much better it is to, or more impactful it can be to actually join an organization. And not just as a member, but get more involved as a board member or at least a volunteer for a committee or something so that you're coming back and that the people that are involved can actually witness and see your reliability and your skills and have something to refer you for rather than just I saw your face at a networking event. Um, so, you know, over the years, what kind of impact has it had on your career and have you seen on others? Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, one of the challenges we see in just professional organizations is we always want younger, you know, newer folks in the industry to be active and participate, but we all know, like, early in our career, it's not like we're just sitting around the office and we're like, hey, what are you doing today? You want to grab, go to, you know, go to this luncheon, you know, it's, it's, hey, guess what, I'm in the field for the next 2 weeks, you know, that's, that's kind of the life I lead. So You know, I think people get a little upset about, you know, well, the younger generation isn't as active and it's like, well, it's cause, you know, they're in the field and they're, you know, they're doing the work and so you've got to kind of reach them where, where you can. But yeah, I mean, I just love the connectivity. Within the industry and just the ability to pick up the phone. I'm the vice president of FAP so I can pick up, you know, the phone to cast the characters and say, I got a question on this topic of like, who should I talk to? Who's the best person from a technical perspective. Yeah, along those lines, are you looking for more volunteers for the working group? Always. Yeah, you want to give that a plug? Yeah, anybody that is interested in joining or helping support the remediation Brownfields working group, please reach out to me. We'd love to have you participate. We've had some great conversations this year around the state of brownfields, especially with some of the changes in federal funding associated with what the Brownfields program looks like and the opportunities there, and then also talking about, you know, PFOS, which is, you know, still called an emerging contaminant, and I think it's emerged at this point. 

But, but, you know, just talking about the, you know, how it crosses over from a human health risk perspective because I feel that's, you know, how it impacts NAP professionals. So that is a joke. That's a good one. That's a good environmental joke. Uh awesome, and let's continue on the, the line of young people and mentorship, so. You're seeing that there's a lot of retirement in the rumor generation. Again, that's also something that has emerged. It is out there happening. Um so how are you seeing that shift affect the workforce and what's coming up for the, what are the challenges for the next wave of professionals? Yeah, I mean, it's, you know, the buzzword is uh the silver tsunami um or peak 65. I mean, that's, you know. Gosh, yeah. It's, you know, there's 10,000, I think 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day. Oh, I didn't expect you every day. I was like, total, not necessarily in our industry, but you know, across the board, you know, there are 10,000 that are retiring and, you know, it's not a one for one replacement, you know, we don't have the, the resources and We get a whole conversation of, you know, well, AI help bridge the gap there. I think it will in some respects, but I think it's critical for companies and just, you know, communities to be intentional about succession planning as well as mentoring. I'm fortunate where we've got a very strong mentor protege program at CDM Smith and, you know, really help connect the dots across the board and have the conversations with people about what opportunities exists within a firm or in the professional world and what's of interest to them is, you know, you both know that there's no limit to the amount of opportunities that are out there. 

It's really what fits best for you and where your passion lies. Yeah. Absolutely. I think there's a lot of mis misunderstanding, uh, just. Listening to your friends tell you that there are no opportunities. How are you ever going to get a job? There's nothing available right now. Um, but like you said, there's this thing called turnover and there's also a lot of new opportunities being created every day. So what are the things that you think CDM Smith will be tackling in the next couple of years? You know, one of the, you know, the big things that the industry is looking at is, and I feel like it's been going on for a long period of time, is the digital transformation, you know, what does that look like as we move from where we are, we stand now to the advancements with AI. We're doing a lot of interesting projects taking, well, Backing up. We're in the era of big data, right? So we've been able to collect and harness huge amounts of information for a period of time now. And until kind of the computer processing caught up, we really just, it just sat there in my opinion. But with machine learning and some of the AI advances in supercomputing, I think we can really harness some of that information and The example I'll give you is we're doing a lot of work with some of the, you know, natural resources agencies and looking at wetlands and invasive species and really using existing or, you know, information we can collect aerial imagery. To help determine where invasive species are even before going out into the field or we where wetlands are into the field, and people are like, well, that's gonna replace people and it's like, no, it's not gonna replace people, it's gonna arm those people with better decisions, you know, that's kind of like the mantra we tell people. It's like, you know, dated the decisions. So taking that information and making them more informed decisions. It's interesting cause to me, like, there are a lot of people who We'll find whatever technology and say that same thing, right? This is going to harm X, right? And we think about calculators, computers, etc. internet, whatever it is, it's always like, you know, I remember growing up they're like, Oh, you guys use calculators to do math. 

I'm like, if I could use a calculator, takes me 2 seconds instead of 1 minute, wouldn't I do that? Like it's kind of thing here, this informs what you're going to do. It helps you. It's right, and you have to field verify um calculator. Yeah, no, no, it just, yeah, it makes me laugh when you talk about the Nic but it's like the, I remember like the big calculator with the graph on it and it was like a cheat, it was like a cheat code like you type it in and it would be like a cheat code it would give you the graph and all that kind of stuff and you know it's the same thing, it's like. Yeah, I mean, everyone can talk about chat GPT, you know, co-pilot and the positive and negatives of that. But yeah, I mean, I think in our industry, it's gonna be exciting to see how we can make more informed decisions using the tools that are out there. Yeah, and you know, I think that will inform our field work and our field efforts. 

And speaking of being in the field, uh, we're burying the lead here, but we do have a segment called Field Notes, uh. It's the part of the show where we talk to our guests about memorable moments doing the work. I know Josh said at the beginning, before we even turned the mics on, that he was excited for this moment. But please do send us your funny, scary, awkward field story so that we can share them on a future episode. And you can do that at info@environmentalprofessionalsradio.com. So Josh, you have 2 for us. Yes, I've got 2, and, and I promise that I will promote field stories so that you have, you know, more and more field stories to share. I definitely feel that it's an interesting facet of our industry, um, and we all have them, right? And so I've enjoyed the field stories they shared, you know. So the first one is more entertaining, I guess. I'm based in Central Florida and I've had the pleasure of working at the different theme parks over the years. Um, and so this one is, we, you know, my past company had a contract with Islands of Adventure, uh, and Universal Studios, and they were, they were involved with the environmental compliance associated with the construction of the project. And so the job was basically, hey, when we're done with constructing analyst Adventure, there's no like environmental issues that were caused, you know, no spills and all that kind of good stuff. So it was towards the tail end of the construction. And they say, OK, it's a soft opening of the park, which is where, you know, they let people in, to test the rides, get some, you know, work out the kinks and that kind of stuff. And we, we show up, you know, with hand auger and our sample cooler because there were some minor spills in like a paint area they wanted to verify. And so we, we, you know, go in and introduce ourselves to the client and say, hey, we've got to get access to this area. Do you mind having an escort and all that kind of good stuff? He goes, fantastic. He goes, by the way, I want you to ride 2 rides before you leave today. Both me and, you know, co-workers like, yeah, thanks, thanks. 

We're not really dressed, you know, for riding a roller coaster today. And he's like, he's like, he was adamant. He was like, you will ride Julie Jurassic Park and you will tell me about those rides and I'll know if you didn't ride those rides. He's been, you know, he's been on them, so I'm gonna ask you some specific questions. So I was like, all right, so, you know, we collected our soil samples, you know, put them in a cooler, and, you know, put them away for a bit and then went and rode, uh, Dueling Dragons, which is now Hogsmead and, uh, the ride. So that was, you know, it was, that was definitely interesting, interesting field. Yeah, that's so fun. You say that's I'm picturing like you put the cooler down and while you're on the ride, they swap stuff out like. You must ride the ride. That's true. How did you like the rides? Oh, I love, I mean, are you kidding me? I got, I got, you know, as a consultant I got paid to ride a roller coaster that day, yeah. So the, so the second one is, and Laura made note of this property early on, I was doing a lot of phase one environmental site assessments, so going out and, you know, this was a property transaction, the property was getting sold. So Laura, I don't know if you're familiar with uh Silver Springs Park. Yep. So I was out there and at the time it was like part zoo, part, you know, entertainment area, and so I was out there walking around, you know, the property, riding the glass bottom boat. Taking notes, doing interviews and that kind of stuff, and I get back to, you know, the main area, the veterinary area, and I'm talking with the, the lead there and he goes, you know, we're almost done. And, you know, you're in the veterinary area, you, you know, it's where they got all the food and where they, they have all the animal extra stuff, and he turns to me and he goes, uh, so did they tell you about the monkeys? 

And I'm just like, no, and so I'm, I'm instantly like thinking like he's gonna take me into like this extra room and it's like Planet of the Apes and you know, there's all these experiments going on, but I guess back in the 1950s, the park was used extensively for filming of like Tarzan. And Creatures Black Lagoon. Oh yeah, and so one of the guys, as part of the movie, the person thought it would be great to bring in rhesus monkeys into the park. And so they quickly realized, well, they put them on an island. Uh-huh. And thinking, oh, rhesus monkeys, they're great. There'll be a little exhibit. The monkeys will stay on the island within 24 hours, the monkeys got out. So now there's a troop of recess monkeys in the, you know, the Ocala National Forest area because of course, you know, being in Florida, everything is, you know, it's close to its natural habitat. So I think there's about 170 to 200 recessed monkeys still in the area. They're trying to capture them, but Yeah, that was an interesting story associated with that. There are still monkeys on, uh, I don't know if Monkey Island in Homasasa. we did not learn our lesson there. I'm like, I honestly, our entire profession is like, I'm sure it'll be fine. Oh yeah, you know what I mean? Like that's like the phrase, and then it's like then they call us, right? 

That's what happens, you know, best of intentions like, yeah, what could go wrong if we do this or we introduce this species here or, you know, yeah. Like, because, you know, like one person was like, what if the monkeys get out, like, I'll put them on an island. They won't, right, exactly. Problem solved. We got, we've got them on an island. Yeah, we thought about that, yeah, yeah, what do you think we're foolish here. Yeah, yeah, come on, yeah, it's a great spot to shout out Jane Goodall. Yeah, yeah, for letting us know these monkeys have brains and emotions talk. are quite, quite intelligent, yes. So like great segue. Yeah, well, those are great stories. Thank you. Yeah, no, it's like I said, I will make sure to Get more stories because I think it's a great way to end the podcast with. Yeah, and send us in so, you know, like we're just dying to hear other people's stories cause they're always like so funny or so like, whoa, what? And then, you know, some people, something terrible happened to them in the field, you feel better that something terrible happened to someone else, you know. Like they bang their head and they almost, you know, pass out kind of thing, you know. I don't know what you're talking about. I've never done that before, yeah, or like a dog, you know, who hasn't had a dog bite him on the butt. That's all I'm saying. That's all I'm saying. Um, right, I know we're getting close to the end, but I do, OK, so we're on the theme park thing here. I wanna, I have one, it's a very serious question. OK. So we've heard that you run Disney races and that you've done 25 years. Have you ever, this is a serious, very serious, ever dressed up in costume for any of those. 

Did you do the princess run? I have not dressed up, and I applaud the people that get dressed up and juggle and carry stuff through those races because it's like, you know, you're running, you're running a half marathon and a marathon. Like that's a challenge enough, right? In Florida in Florida, right, regardless of the time of year, and then you're gonna layer in, hey, I'm gonna like full on costume mode associated with it, but I, I do take pictures along the way. With the various characters, that's a must, must do along the path I've gotten, gotten harassed by family and friends in the past going, you know, you could have run the race a lot faster if you didn't stop for photos. I'm like, part of the reason of like running through Disney is to kind of, you know, catch a glimpse of the different characters. So. Yeah, it's fun. Like I say, it's great and you're in the, the place to do it, so you might as well. OK, so we are out of time, but is there anything else you'd like to talk about before we let you go? No, I appreciate you guys having me on and uh love the podcast that you guys put together every, every week. Yeah, thanks. I really appreciate it. 

And last, last, last but not least, where can people get in touch with you if they have a question? They can reach out to me on LinkedIn. I'm pretty active on LinkedIn and you know, with the different organizations, whether it be CFAP, FAP, or NAEP, I'm always, you know, looking to connect to people and, and promote the different environmental professional organizations and activities that we have going on out there. Very cool. Thanks, Josh. I really appreciated it. Thanks everybody. That's our show. Thank you, Josh, for joining us today. 

Please be sure to check us out each and every Friday. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review. See you, everybody. Bye.