The Wandering Naturalist

Join us as Nick Beaufeaux, Maintenance Chief for Elm Creek Park Reserve and Mississippi Gateway Regional Park, discusses why Three  Rivers  Park District operates a dam and how t is being used to stop invasive species. National Park Service ranger Sharon Stiteler talks to us about why the portion of the Mississippi  River  through Minneapolis is a National  River  and Recreation Area and why it is...

Matt Cassidy, Program Specialist with Minnesota Historical Society joins us to discuss how the geology of the Mississippi  River  has shaped the way humans have used the  river  for the past 10,000 years.

Join us as we discuss one of the  rivers  Three  Rivers  Park District is named after, the Mississippi  River ! Ashley Smith, Interpretive naturalist at Mississippi Gateway Regional Park, teaches us how to read the story of the Mississippi's past. Learn how volcanoes, earthquakes, glaciers, and even a tropical vacation all helped to shape the Mississippi  River .

Explore how humans interact with ice as we talk with park volunteer and Ice Harvest historian Tim Graff about how and why people harvested ice in the 1800's and how you can experience ice harvesting today. Learn how to ice fish when we talk to Brent Hennen from our Outdoor Recreation School and learn some tips for how to add as little stress to our winter fish as possible.

How do invasive species impact life under the ice? What do they do to the oxygen? Can you do anything to help? Find out as we talk about Aquatic Invasive Species with Amy Timm,  Three Rivers' Natural Resources Supervisor for Water Quality.

Join us for the start of season two as Brandon and Angela dive into to a listener requested topic: Life Under the Ice. Explore the murky depths of a lake in the winter and learn what creatures stay active all winter, and which go dormant. Find out if its better, down where its wetter, under the ice!

Join us as John Moriarty shares new research Three Rivers has participated in to find out what turtles do in the winter. It turns out it is a lot more complicated than just sleeping in the mud. Heather Gordon from the Outdoor School of Recreation joins us with tips on how to Adapt to the winter and dress to be outside so we can enjoy winter activities.

Did you know that Minnesota birds have 5 types of migration habits? Join us as we discuss this with Ron Refsneider, a retired biologist for the MN DNR and a Master Bird Bander. He shares with us what his Bird banding data indicates about Minnesota birds' winter habits, and gives his opinion on how our perspective on bird migration is backwards.

Wander with us as we explore how animals survive the winter. Angela and Brandon investigate three strategies that animals use to survive the winter, Migrating, Adapting, and going Dormant. Learn how these strategies work as we dig into the winter habits of Beavers, Coyotes, Birds, Butterflies, and Ground Squirrels.

Ryan Barth, Outdoor Education Supervisor at Baker Near Wilderness Settlement, and Bill Vollbrecht, Golf Maintenance Supervisor at Eagle Lake Golf Course, discuss how they are mentoring children to help them learn how to hunt for deer. We discuss why it is important, the ethics of hunting when human population continues to grow and encroach on animal habitat, and how this helps promote a new genera...

Special guests Steven Hogg from our Natural Resource Management Department, and  Shawn Howard from our Tree Nursery join us to discuss what steps the park takes to manage the health of our parks with a large deer population. They discuss the benefits and challenges of techniques used such as hunting, exclusion fences, and smells. Wander with us as we discover why the park district manages deer and...

Join us as we explore the history of deer management, why it was needed, and Disney's impact on deer populations. We discuss deer habits and why we believe controlled hunts in our parks are important.

Zach Mohlis from, The Landing – Minnesota River Heritage Park, will provide a historical perspective on where the idea of human  zombies  has come from.  What is our cultural fascination with apocalyptic scenarios

Our guests students Evie and AJ and Three Rivers Forestry Supervisor Dan Comerford, join us to investigate other real life  zombies .  Evie and AJ talk to us about their award winning project with Zombees. Dan shares his knowledge with how plants can become  zombies .   Come wander with us as we journey through the strange world of  zombies .

Zombies  are real.   Zombies  are everywhere, near places you would never expect.  In fact, some of you may have even encountered  zombies  in your life, right in nature.  Join Angela and Brandon to explore the very real, and awesomely creepy world of  zombies  including horse hair worms, fungi, and cat parasites.

Three Rivers has worked to make our parks home for surrounding communities and wildlife over these past 50 plus years.  Building a foundation on educating others for a chance to nurture the interest about natural happenings in the outdoor world led to many greater things such as prairie restoration.  Kirk Mona, Interpretive Naturalist, joins to discuss the present and future of Three River's missi...

Listen in as Brandon and Angela journey to 1969 to explore Crow-Hassan Park Reserve and the first planting of restored prairie.  Joined by Senior Wildlife Manager, John Moriarty, they dig deeper to discover the challenges faced that have now seeded the way for large scale restoration with what is now the largest, first restored prairie of the metro area.  Now home to unique wildlife and a high div...

The first nature center was built in 1969, Lowry Nature Center.  Tag along as hosts Brandon and Angela interview Tom McDowell, retired park employee of 40 years, to explore the story of how outdoor education molded our mission of promoting environmental stewardship through recreation and education in a natural-resource based park system for the past 50 years. 

To celebrate the past 50 years, Brandon and Angela are talking to special guest Bill Walker, Cultural Resources Manager of Three Rivers Park District, to discuss the how and why Three Rivers was created.  2019 marks the 50 th  Anniversary of Minnesota's first public nature center, the Lowry Nature Center at Carver Park Reserve.  It also marks the 50 th  Anniversary of the first planted prairie at...

Britt Forsberg from the University of Minnesota Native Bee Atlas shares with us how the university is discovering what native bees live in Minnesota. She also gives advice on how to provide a home for native bees around your home, and Angela and Brandon give some tips on planting for natives.

Tim Reese, Director of Gale Woods Farm, talks with us about his experience raising bees, how bee keeping has changed over the past 9 years, and how Gale Woods Farm manages to be a working farm while still using bee friendly practices.

Wander with us as Angela and Brandon investigate the differences between two different kinds of bees, bumblebees and honeybees. Though different, they both face many of the same challenges, and they both are important pollinators for our food.

With over 149 dragonfly and damselfly species in Minnesota there is much to learn and observe.  Dragonfly scientist Ami Thompson joins on this episode to talk about her study subject, the Common Green Darner, as she works towards a PhD in Conservation Biology at the University of Minnesota.  Listen to learn more about this fascinating dragonfly that migrates. 

Dragonflies are usually found around or near water such as lakes, ponds, streams, and wetlands because their larvae, known as "nymphs", are aquatic.  Join us as we talk with Mitch Haag, a Wildlife Operations Specialist at Three Rivers Park District and founding board member of Minnesota Dragonfly Society to learn more on the importance of aquatic habitats and where you can find these beauties on t...

Summer is here and with it you likely have spent time near water, a local lake, pond, or river, which means you have also undoubtedly watched the aerial antics of dragonflies.  But did you know that dragonflies live dual lives, their young are aquatic and then transform into a colorful, flying adult.  Wander with us and discover this unique life cycle that spans across both land and water.