Naturally Speaking

Fungi - the future of the food industry? From locally grown shiitake mushrooms to wild chicken of the woods and giant puffballs, St. Lawrence University student Aidan takes us on a journey of delicious proportions. Aidan begins by introducing us to local mushroom producer Bob Wagner, and giving the listener just the right information if you’re interested in growing your own mushrooms. From there w...

As a resident of the North Country it's hard to have not at least heard of the small, shiny green insects known as the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), or at the very least have seen the purple boxes used to survey for the pests hanging from trees. Join St. Lawrence University Forest Ecology student and Angello Johnson, St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Forestry Resource Program Technician and Mohawk basket maker a...

New York State maple weekends have passed, but sugar shacks across the North Country will be collecting and boiling sap until the temperatures rise and trees stop producing. In our most recent episode we learned about the life of a sugar maple, now Peter takes us through the sugaring process with local small business owner John Newman. They cover how John, of Newmanzone Maple, got started with sug...

Have you ever wondered what life is like for a sugar maple?  Wonder no more! For the first episode of our Forest Ecology series, Olivia takes us through how a sugar maple experiences the four seasons. This episode will make you want to find the closest sugar maple, give it a pat on the trunk, and say “good job,” because they sure lead an impressive life!

Naturally Speaking is back for Season 2, kicking off with a mini-series from St. Lawrence University Forest Ecology students! With this short overview we’ll introduce the five upcoming podcasts, where students explore a variety of different topics pertaining to North Country forests and trees. Maple sugaring, emerald ash borer, edible fungus, and tree communication are all on the table. This is a...

In this episode of Naturally Speaking, host Kayla Edmunds is joined by Mark Manske, ornithologist and owner of Adirondack Raptors. Together, they discuss a few things such as what exactly a raptor is and what Mark's business, Adirondack Raptors, does. Plus, learn how that big colorful bird Kevin from the movie Up relate to the study of raptors. Stay tuned! 

Did you know that New York is a continental hub and on the front lines in the fight against invasive species? Have you been wondering what exactly an invasive species is? In this episode, Kayla and Val speak with  Rob Williams and Megan Pistolese from the St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario Partnership for Invasive Species Management and Dr. Linda Auker, invasive species biologist and a profess...

Just in time for Halloween, Erika Barthelmess, Nature Up North project director, speaks with bat expert Carl Herzog, wildlife biologist with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. They discuss bat diversity and conservation here in New York, and bust common myths about bats. Ever wondered if bats are picky eaters? Do they really control mosquito populations? Do they drink blo...

Alyssa Watson, a Nature Up North naturalist intern, is joined by Dr. Aileen O’Donoghue, a St. Lawrence University professor of physics and lifelong astronomer. Aileen brings the sky to life through her passionate storytelling as she blends the lines between science and culture. Their conversation touches on the historical naming of stars, the night sky as the original clock and calendar, time in s...

Welcome to Naturally Speaking, a podcast from Nature Up North .  Nature Up North is an environmental education and outreach project based at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. In this first episode, host Kayla Edmunds, intern with Nature Up North, talks with Nature Up North director Dr. Erika Barthelmess and Nature Up North project manager Madison O'Shea about the Nature Up North pr...