Episode Details

Disclaimer: This episode was produced when the laboratory operated as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The laboratory is now the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR).

In this episode, our hosts explore the unofficial mascots of NREL’s campuses in Colorado and Alaska. This interactive episode covers: 

• A fun guessing game (listeners are encouraged to join in) connecting clips of animal calls to their sources—the unofficial mascots of each campus. The game highlights how the local wildlife at each campus symbolizes the lab’s key research areas: solar, wind, or sustainable buildings.  
• NREL's efforts to coexist with the wildlife at each campus, respecting them while sharing the land. It’s common for the wildlife to cross paths with both people and research on campus, and part of  NREL’s research is finding ways to ensure animals and their ecosystems are unharmed. 

This podcast is hosted by Jackson Fletcher, Kerrin Jeromin, Taylor Mankle, and Nataleah Small and written and produced by Hannah Halusker, Allison Montroy, and Kaitlyn Stottler. Editors are Joe DelNero, Brittany Falch, and Taylor Mankle. Graphics by Brittnee Gayet. Music by Ted Vaca and Chuck Kurnik, Jim Riley, and Mark Sanseverino of Drift BC. Peaks to Power is created by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratory of the Rockies in Golden, Colorado. Email us at podcast@nlr.gov. Follow NLR on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, and Facebook.