Everyday Environment Podcast

Join the Everyday Environment Hosts as we chat with Doug Tallamy , founder of the Homegrown National Park Movement, and discuss a nature-based solution to the biodiversity crisis. We talk about changing the culture of a home landscape to think beyond the idea that nature should live in a formal park or designated "nature space", and instead focus on how we can address nature at our homes on the ve...

This week the Everyday Environment team recorded a live episode at the Master Naturalist Conference in Springfield! Abigail, Amy, Erin, and Emily discussed beavers as they talked about "Eager: The Surprising Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter" by Ben Goldfarb. Whether you've read the book or not, listen in to this lively discussion about beavers and then hear beaver everyday observations f...

During this week's episode we take a step back from our home landscapes and look at our rural communities through the lens of tourism. We explore how parks can be nature-based solutions to not only attracting outsiders to visit our communities, but at the same time to support and engage local residents. Community and economic specialist Dr. Katie Dudley with Illinois Extension chats with us about...

Stabilization of streambanks is an important aspect of watershed management in Illinois. Across the state, we are experiencing increased rainfall and increasing storm intensity as the effects of climate change continue to ramp up. These changes create additional strain on Illinois streambanks, leading to a variety of impacts, from increased erosion or changes in streamflow capacity to the loss of...

New uses for old docks?  Tiny, microscopic biofilm on the roots of wetland plant communities?  Susan McIntyre , a plant ecologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey , joins us to talk about how dock frames were used to construct floating wetlands in a lake ecosystem.  We talk about water quality issues that floating wetlands can address, plant choices for floating wetlands, and the interesti...

Is your yard compliant?  Don't be fooled by the title - we have a fun time chatting about municipal codes and our native plant gardens during this episode with Brodie Dunn , Illinois Extension Wildlife & Pollinator Outreach Associate.  Find out where to find the rules that may cover your native garden, learn best practices to apply within your own yard, and we even chat about some good and bad...

Many of us invite birds to our landscapes - sometimes there is joy and sometimes there is frustration when birds begin to nest near our homes in the spring. Join us during this episode as we talk to Illinois Extension horticulture educator, Kim Rohling , about what to do in the fall to prepare our homes and landscapes for spring nesting birds. Learn more Merlin bird ID app eBird bird recordkeeping...

Before central heating and cooling became a standard feature of many homes, there was a greater emphasis on designing homes and their yards to provide natural climate control. This was accomplished by taking advantage of the heating effects of solar radiation during the winter along with the cooling effects of shade and natural air flows during the summer. As we see more extreme cold and heat even...

EO Wilson famously called insects the "little things that run the world." Dr. Ken Johnson , Illinois Extension horticulture educator, joins us this week to solve our insect challenges.  Insects perform numerous services within our ecosystems, but how do we respond when insects start to "bug" us? Mosquitos on your patio, wasps by your door, and ticks in your yard - all these topics are discussed ar...

Today we chat with Chris Enroth , horticulture educator for Illinois Extension, about how we can approach our lawn care with fewer inputs. We chat about why we even have lawns, top tips for a healthy lawn with fewer inputs, demystifying seed mixes, and how to shrink your lawn to support pollinators and other wildlife. We get in the weeds this episode and have a fun discussion with lots of examples...

When we talk nature-based solutions, trees can be the answer to many problems! Trees planted in our landscapes can deal with a lot of problems though. This week we chat with Horticulture Educator Sarah Vogel about the complexities of the question "what's wrong with my tree?" and what we can do to help set our trees up for success in the long term. Learn more For more tips on tree care, use resourc...

We're kicking off our nature-based solution season with guest Amy Powers, who is a garden coach and social media influencer in the Chicago region. We had a blast chatting with Amy about how we can work with nature rather than against in our home gardens. We talk about native plants, fall garden care, and the importance of paying attention to how we communicate when talking with others about incorp...

Join the Everyday Environment team for our fifth season chatting with experts, researchers, and professionals in the environmental field. Erin, Amy, and Abigail go over the theme for season five and the very exciting guests they have in store. Share your own Everyday Observation Was there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question o...

For our final episode of our invasive species season we have something a little different: we're sharing the recording of an invasive species livestream we hosted on Facebook with Chris Evans, answering your invasive species questions! Get the answers to your questions about managing different species, communicating about invasives, regulations, and more. Share your own Everyday Observation Was th...

After decades of draining the land for agriculture, restoring water to The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve helped recreate high quality wetland, lake, and marsh habitats that were once common along the Illinois River. Maintaining these high-quality habitats requires monitoring and effectively managing invasive species. This episode's discussion will focus primarily on our efforts to better u...

Abigail and Amy chat with Aishwarya Veerabahu, a mycologist and PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She enlightens us with the issues surrounding the golden oyster mushroom, a representative of the fungi kingdom , one kingdom we haven't discussed.   We explore the rapid spread of the golden oyster mushroom across eastern North America, what happens when an invasive fungus moves i...

Join Steve Butler , Biologist at the Kaskaskia Biological Field Station , as he discusses invasive carp (silver carp, bighead carp, grass carp, and black carp) and their reproducing populations throughout much of the Mississippi River basin. This set of fish have altered the structure and function of aquatic food webs, thereby impacting native fish assemblages.  Due to concerns about the impacts o...

Join us as we chat with Dr. Theresa Culley, a genetic researcher from the University of Cincinnati. We discuss the genetics of invasives and how genetics helps solve the puzzle of how different invasive species have escaped from managed spaces. Discover the stories of buckthorn, wintercreeper, Callery pear and much more. Listen to Erin and Abigail's minds be blown by the diversity of genetic optio...

During this episode of Everyday Environment, hosts Amy and Erin chat with Kelly Estes from the Illinois Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey. We learn about how the CAPS program works and surveys for invasive pests in our state. Resources IL CAPS program Pest Tracker Share your own Everyday Observation Was there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know!...

Everyday Environment talks with Tricia Bethke, Illinois’ Forest Pest Outreach Coordinator, about the growing threat of invasive pests. We explore how these pests are impacting our forests, what a “tree check” looks like, and which warning signs to watch for in your own yard and community. Learn More Invasive insects Spotted Lanternfly reporting via email: lanterfly@illinois.edu Elm zigzag sawfly S...

Listen in on our chat with Chris Enroth, fellow Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator and also co-host of the Good Growing podcast, about invasives in the home landscape. We discuss the challenge of plants that are not listed on regulation lists, how to tackle invasives without getting overwhelmed, replacement species, and Chris's favorite butterfly! Learn More Management of Invasive Plants and...

This week we welcome TJ Benson from the Illinois Natural History Survey to talk about the Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP), and how data collected can teach us how invasions have changed plant and animal communities in Illinois. Share your own Everyday Observation Was there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or shar...

This week on Everyday Environment we chat with Rebekah Wallace out of the University of Georgia. Rebekah is the coordinator for EDDMapS, a platform used by the general public and professionals alike for invasive, pest, and biocontrol species reporting and distribution monitoring. For 20 years, this platform has worked with partners across the US and Canada to develop tools to help aggregate distri...

Join us as we chat with Michelle about the invasive plant early detection efforts of the Midwest Invasive Plant Network. We take a special focus on the Public Gardens as Sentinels against Invasive Plants initiative, a program focused on sharing information and creating a network to detect potential invasive species. Resources:  MIPN Website Printed Resources from MIPN MIPN Webinars Early Detection...

In this episode of Everyday Environment , hosts Erin and Amy sit down with Chris Evans to break down how invasive species are regulated in Illinois—and why it matters to you. Illinois recently added nine species to the Illinois Exotic Weed Act, making it illegal to buy, sell, or transport them. From the Exotic Weed Act to the Noxious Weed Law, these regulations are designed to slow the spread of i...