Episode 28 | Jordan King: A 23-Year-Old Jamaican Scientist With a Master’s in Biology Doing Climate Research in the Everglades While Rockin’ a Nature Grill

Jordan King steps into Compost, Cotton & Cornrows as proof that climate science does not have to be sterile, inaccessible or stripped of culture to be credible. Jamaican-born and trained in Marine Environmental Sciences and Biology, Jordan reframes the Everglades not as a distant wetland, but as a living system under siege by climate change, unchecked development, and disrupted freshwater flow. From flocculent organic matter to the importance and impact of carbon, Jordan translates complex ecological processes into truth you can feel, making it painfully clear how one shift in the system sets off a chain reaction that touches everything downstream including us.But this conversation is not just about science. It is about who gets to be a scientist. This 23 year old with a beautiful nature inspired grill weaves rap, fashion, art and cultural expression into research, rejecting the idea that brilliance must look buttoned-up to be valid. We talk about free graduate education, fieldwork waist-deep in Everglades water and why Gen Zers are hungry to engage with climate work when they can finally see themselves reflected in it. This episode is about advocating for ecosystems, telling the truth about climate systems and using every tool available to reach people where they are. Compost, Cotton & Cornrows: the space where Black & Afro-Indigenous Vanguards are redefining sustainability through storytelling!@Compost_Cotton_Cornrows