A Natural History of Empty Lots with Christopher Brown
treehugger podcast
treehugger podcast is 5 years old this month! In this episode, we sit down with Christopher Brown, author of A Natural History of Empty Lots, to uncover the stories hidden in the overlooked spaces of our cities. Christopher shares his unique perspective on urban landscapes—vacant lots, overgrown alleys, and forgotten corners—revealing the vibrant ecosystems and cultural narratives thriving within them. Drawing on his experience as a speculative fiction writer, he challenges us to rethink the value of these unintentional landscapes and their role in shaping our connection to the wider...
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Ecosystem Monitoring with Dylan Mendenhall
treehugger podcast
In this podcast episode, the discussion dives into the complexities and nuances of ecosystem monitoring, led by the Dylan Mendenhall's deep experience and passion for the field. He emphasizes the importance of well-defined questions to drive high-quality monitoring efforts, contrasting effective monitoring with what they term “zombie monitoring”—data collection that continues without purpose due to sunk cost fallacies or lack of clear objectives. The conversation spans from traditional techniques like plot-based sampling and transect surveys to advanced molecular methods like eDNA, which...
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medicinal weeds: rethinking integrated pest management
treehugger podcast
We explore a fresh perspective on non-native and introduced species. Traditionally viewed as pests or threats to ecosystems, some of these species offer hidden benefits that are often overlooked in conventional pest management frameworks. We dive into the complexities of integrated pest management (IPM), discussing the importance of balancing ecological restoration with justice, health, and livelihoods. This episode was adapted from a talk originally given to an audience focused on integrated pest management. It encourages listeners to rethink the language we use around non-native species,...
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Seed Banks and Ecological Memory
treehugger podcast
Underground seed banks, passive restoration, and ecological memory - these elements are crucial in understanding and facilitating natural recovery processes in ecosystems. We'll explore how leveraging underground seed banks, which contain dormant seeds waiting for the right conditions to germinate, can support native plant regeneration. This approach is relational, often less expensive, and informs a long-range view. It also relies on the ecological memory, which refers to an ecosystem's ability to retain information about past states and disturbances, aiding its recovery and resilience....
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Artificial Intelligence and Ecological Restoration with Sam Woodrich and Timothy Pape
treehugger podcast
This episode delves into the integration of artificial intelligence within the field of ecological restoration. Covering a broad spectrum from the practical to the philosophical, the conversation explores the potential for AI to reshape restoration practices, the ethical considerations at play, and the importance of balancing technological advancement with traditional ecological knowledge. Through personal anecdotes, professional experiences, and a look towards the future, the guests offer a comprehensive exploration of how AI is shaping the landscape of ecological restoration and what that...
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Ecological Forestry with Seth Zuckerman and Kirk Hanson
treehugger podcast
In this episode, we're joined by two extraordinary guests, Seth Zuckerman and Kirk Hansen, who bring decades of experience and insight to the practice of ecological forestry. Their recent book, "," serves as a comprehensive guide for forest stewards in Oregon and Washington, covering essential skills like evaluating land, sustainable management, wildfire risk reduction, and climate change adaptation. Seth and Kirk address the diverse needs of family forest owners, community forests, municipalities, and Indigenous tribes, offering insights on sustainable wood harvest, wildlife habitat...
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Restoration & Herbalism United with Natalie Hammerquist
treehugger podcast
In this episode, we delve into the world of plant medicines. Our guest, Natalie Hammerquist, a herbalist based in Washington state, shares her extensive knowledge and experience in herbalism and foraging local wild plants. Natalie's journey, rooted in a degree from The Evergreen State College, led her to explore herbalism, plant taxonomy, and food science. Under the guidance of renowned herbalists like Cascade Anderson Geller and Matthew Wood, Natalie integrated aspects of Chinese medicine and Western herbalism into her practice. What's particularly intriguing about our conversation is...
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Ivyland with Toby Query
treehugger podcast
This treehugger episode meanders through Ivyland and investigates the extensive properties and uses of ivy, Hedera helix. Ivies (Araliaceae) are a diverse genus of evergreen plants native to regions spanning Europe, across central-southern Asia, and N Africa. Its botanical name is rooted in Latin; Hedera is related to its traditional medicinal uses. Known for its climbing or ground-creeping nature, ivy offers various ecological benefits such as habitat and shelter for wildlife, acts as a late-season food source for pollinators, offers berries for birds, controls soil erosion, regulates...
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Climate Resilience with Kylie Flanagan
treehugger podcast
Kyle Flanagan asks us how we can truly address the roots of the climate crisis, and how we can keep each other safe in the years to come—while making sure that no one gets left behind. She wrote Climate Resilience, robust with short essays edited from interviews with 39 individuals who have been cultivating resilience for decades. There is a chapter dedicated to ecological restoration and issues related to river restoration, shifting the framing of environmental injustices, soil health, community composting and good fire. Intersecting with restoration, Kylie and the cohort of climate...
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Renaming a Natural History Museum with Grace Maria Eberhardt
treehugger podcast
In the early 2020s, many conservation-related organizations seem to have accelerated their promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion as well as reckoning with their racist origins. The University of Puget Sound recently made the decision to remove the name “Slater'' and give back the original name of their natural history museum. Furthermore called Puget Sound Museum of Natural History, the institution calls this out as “an important step in acknowledging the often problematic figures intertwined in natural history museums and ensuring our museum is an inclusive space for all.” My...
info_outlineDr. Laura Smith is a geographer at the University of Exeter, U.K. She works across cultural geography and the environmental humanities, with research interests in ecological restoration and rewilding, the history and conservation of U.S. public lands, national parks, American literature, and environmental protest and activism.
Exeter University Profile and Twitter
Her first book, Ecological Restoration and the U.S. Nature and Environmental Writing Tradition: A Rewilding of American Letters, was published earlier this year, on the American environmental writers Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and Edward Abbey, looking at how the connections between writers and places, and the texts produced, have helped shape ecological restoration programs. Palgrave Macmillan Amazon.com Barnes & Noble
Dr Smith takes us on an exploration of the entanglements between these famed writers and the places they focused they’re writing on presented in her own storying—restorying—restoring framework on early American environmental literature. From her unique perspective, Dr. Smith lays out an intricate human geography that she says lead to and continues to impart “literary interventions in restoration politics.” She shows us how these early writings have been used and recycled far and wide by conservationists, activities, policymakers to defend U.S. public lands and ideas about wilderness, restoration and rewilding. The takeaway is that we should pay attention to environmental writing, because it has a powerful role in guiding references for restoration, practice on the ground or contributing to policy debates. These are the legends baked into our origin stories, ethical intentions, organizational missions and politics.
This discussion is an opportunity to crack those letters open again to ponder where we came from collectively and reinvigorate our imaginations about what exactly we are conserving and with whom we are comrades in restoration.
Walden Woods Project: https://www.walden.org
Restore Hetch Hetchy: https://hetchhetchy.org
Aldo Leopold Foundation: https://www.aldoleopold.org
Friends of the Everglades: https://www.everglades.org
Glen Canyon Institute: https://www.glencanyon.org
Penguin Green Ideas book series: https://www.penguin.co.uk/series/grnidea/green-ideas.html
Eden Project: https://www.edenproject.com
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Music on the show was from Cheel Stayloose and DJ Freedem, and DJ Williams.
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