New Restoration Standards Reveal
treehugger podcast
The Society for Ecological Restoration has released the Third Edition of the International Principles and Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration, and this episode is less of a book review than a reflection on what these new Standards reveal about our profession. I explore how ecological restoration has evolved over the past two decades through the lenses of justice, human health and livelihoods, climate readiness, accountability, and communities of practice. I also share why I think the first four principles form the philosophical heart of the new edition, where I'm still...
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Ecosystems of The Mandalorian and Grogu
treehugger podcast
*Spoilers throughout. You've been warned. Michael went to see The Mandalorian and Grogu as a lifelong Star Wars nerd and Pedro Pascal fan. He left thinking about wetland tipping points, cryosphere feedbacks, and sacrifice zones - which, for this show, tracks. This episode tours four planets as ecological field sites: a remote ice world doing load-bearing planetary work, a deliberately degraded Hutt swamp holding medicine in its margins, a neon urban underworld where ecology persists in the cracks, and a volcanic home in slow, hopeful succession. Along the way we meet characters, like Gatori,...
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Default Prescriptions with Timothy Pape & Sam Woodrich
treehugger podcast
A couple years after our first conversation on artificial intelligence and ecological restoration, I sat back down with Timothy Pape and Sam Woodrich to ask: what’s actually happening now? Their new research looks at how mainstream AI chatbots generate restoration plans across North American ecosystems. The results are familiar; almost too familiar. Plant native species. Remove invasive plants. Repeat. A longer show title might be - Default Prescriptions: AI, Ecology, and the Stories We Repeat. In this follow-up conversation, I reconnect with Timothy Pape and Sam Woodrich to explore...
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Scapegoat with Clare Follmann
treehugger podcast
In this episode, Michael talks with environmental writer Clare Follmann about her new book Scapegoat: What the Invasive Species Story Gets Wrong (AK Press) - and yes, we are talking about invasive species again, but this time with sharper teeth. Together they question the fantasy of eradication, unpack “plastic words” like management and health, and examine how invasive species rhetoric can distract from capitalism, climate disruption, and the systems actually reshaping our landscapes. From novel ecosystems to the ethics of killing in conservation, this conversation asks restoration...
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grove & grit restoration brief on foraging & food sovereignty
treehugger podcast
Let's explore foraging as a living, contested relationship between ecology, culture, law, and survival. Beginning with za’atar - a resilient wild thyme central to Palestinian foodways - we examine how conservation policy can criminalize cultural harvest. From there, we move briefly through international access models (UK personal-use law, Nordic everyman’s rights, regulated European mushroom harvest), and closer to home: US National Parks, Washington State Parks, Seattle, and Tacoma. We unpack how language like management, stewardship, and resource protection can obscure power, and...
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grove & grit restoration brief January 18, 2026
treehugger podcast
grove & grit launches with local restoration in Hilltop, Dublin Bay oyster recovery, UN World Restoration Flagships, and an ecological reckoning on war, climate, and accountability — plus two essential upcoming reads from Emma Marris and Clare Follmann. This episode is released during the week of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday, grounding restoration work in a shared ethic of collective liberation. Local Action (Tacoma) Tacoma Tree Foundation - Green Blocks: Hilltop A neighborhood-based urban forestry program supporting residents with tree selection, permits, delivery, and...
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Forest History with Jennifer Ott
treehugger podcast
What happens when we trace the history of our forests? Not just through trees, but through people, policy, and place? In this episode, I talk with Jennifer Ott, Executive Director of , Washington’s free online encyclopedia of history. Jennifer is an environmental historian, author of Olmsted in Seattle: Creating a Park System for a Modern City, and co-author of Waterway: The Story of Seattle’s Locks and Ship Canal. She brings a deep knowledge of Seattle’s reshaped landscapes; it's filled tidelands, leveled hills, and rechanneled rivers, and a lifelong commitment to accessible public...
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Urban Evolution with Liz Carlen
treehugger podcast
In this episode, Michael talks with evolutionary biologist and urban ecologist Dr. Elizabeth Carlen about how cities - shaped by war, politics, religion, and everything in between - are evolving alongside the wildlife that calls them home. Liz is an urban evolutionary biologist whose research explores how human social structures, from redlining to sacred groves, shape the genetics, behavior, and survival of city-dwelling creatures like squirrels and pigeons. We dive into the often-overlooked ways that social histories leave their mark not just on human communities, but on the DNA of the...
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My Head for a Tree with Martin Goodman
treehugger podcast
In this special episode, we welcome author and storyteller Martin Goodman to explore the extraordinary living story of the Bishnoi people—a community in the Western Thar Desert of India who have made protecting life, in all its forms, their deepest devotion. Three centuries ago, 363 Bishnoi villagers led by Amrita Devi gave their lives to defend the sacred khejri trees from destruction, speaking the words still taught to Bishnoi children today: “My head for a tree is a cheap price to pay.” But the Bishnoi are not just a story of sacrifice from the past—they are still here, still...
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Giants on New Ground with Philip Stielstra
treehugger podcast
We are joined by Philip Stielstra, founder of, to explore the fascinating world of coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) and giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum). Philip shares his inspiring journey from Seattle Tree Ambassador to becoming a leader in assisted migration, helping these ancient giants find a new future in the Pacific Northwest. We dive into: The unique traits that make coast redwoods and giant sequoias candidates for assisted migration, including their fire resistance, drought tolerance, and pest resistance. Challenges such as slow seed...
info_outlineDr. Robert Michael Pyle is a biologist and writer who has worked in conservation biology around the world. While the Xerces Blue butterfly disappeared in the early 1940s, in its honor Bob founded the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Contrary to the popular conservation cliché, extinction may not always have to be forever. In the year 2000, Bob published an article he called “Resurrection Ecology” suggesting the Xerces rise again. This proposal is not entirely fictional if we endeavor to rewild ourselves and address some important implications for ethics and justice in the process.
The Native American Ethnobotany Database http://herb.umd.umich.edu
“Resurrection Ecology” in Butler, Tom, ed., Wild Earth 10, no. 3 (Fall 2000). Republished by the Environment & Society Portal, Multimedia Library. http://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/key_docs/rcc_00097010_3_1.pdf
Culturally competent approaches in conservation biology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dzSglgAeq4
Pacific madrone: sacred, emergent, adaptive
*Hosted by Tacoma Tree Foundation January 28, 2021 @12 PM PST
Join me to hear about the interspecies love story we share with qʷiqʷəł (Pacific madrone). We will celebrate this sacred and iconic tree to build a shared understanding about its cultural significance. I will explore the complex interactions and patterns that arise in madrone forests that harbor biodiversity belowground and in the canopy. Importantly, I also want to highlight the adaptive capacity and resiliency of the species amidst climate disruption.
*Find links to the meetup on Facebook https://fb.me/e/1T0GmN420 and people can register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xIzmsJCdSrGON9DRrzIWxw
Visit the episode details at the treehugger website
Music on this episode was Butterfly Launches from Spar Pole
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