The Wandering Naturalist

Quantina Beck-Jones joins us about her personal experiences in nature, from the time she was a kid to today. Nature has been important to her since she was a child and she shares what it means to her, why seagulls helped her connect with birds in Minnesota, and her work with Urban Bird Collective to help people overcome barriers to getting into parks.  

Join us as Joel Brown, a professional historic interpreter, talks to us about the legacy of George Bonga and the rest of his family. One of the first African American's born in what became Minnesota, George Bonga's involvement in the fur trade and participation in several treaties helped create the Minnesota we live in today.

In January and the rest of our long winter, many of our Minnesota birds are not here...where do they go and what are they doing?  To give us some perspective on our missing birds of the winter season, Leonal Chavez, a coffee farmer in Honduras, talks with Angela and Brandon about dedicating his land to bird conservation.

Dr. Sushma Reddy, Bell Museum's Breckenridge Chair of Ornithology, discusses what it is like managing the Bell Museum's 46,000+ bird specimens, new advances in science that has allowed the relationships between bird species to be better understood, and why the dinosaurs are not actually extinct.

Zack Mohlis from the Three Rivers History Team joins us to talk about the history of birding in Minnesota, why a state geologist led the research on birds in the 1800's, how dead birds in the mail helped science, and his favorite lines of poetry, we mean scientific writing, from the state birds report.

Kick off Season 4 as Brandon and Angela discuss what birding means to them, talk to Kim Nowicki of Eastman Nature Center and John Moriarty, Senior Manager of Wildlife, about Three Rivers Park District's Big Year of the Bird, and they discuss why birds are a good gateway to the outdoors. 

Nadia Abuisnaineh is a NASA Solar System Ambassador. She joins us to talk about what a Solar System Ambassador is, why the night sky is so important, and a Citizen Science Project you can do to help scientists determine the impacts of light pollution using constellations.

We often think of Greek constellations when we look at the sky, but every culture had their own constellations and stories. James Knutson-Kolodzne and Jessica Heim of Native Skywatchers join us to share Indigenous star and earth knowledge, explain what Native Skywatchers is, and give resources so you can learn more about Dakota and Ojibwe constellations and stories.

Jessica Heim has a Master's in the field of Cultural Astronomy. She joins us to discuss her Master's Thesis on light pollution, what causes it, and how we can work together to reduce it.

Join Angela and Brandon as they explore how the final frontier, space, impacts the animals in Three Rivers Parks. From moths orbiting the light outside your house, to dung beetles setting course with the Milky Way, open your hailing frequencies, set your course for the second star on the right, and engage the podcast as we explore the night sky.

Raul Velaquez joins us to share his immigration story. Originally from Colombia, he came to Minnesota to study engineering. He now works for the Minnesota Department of Transportation to design better roads. Hear how his connections to the land influenced his choices. A special thank you to Green Card Voices for connecting us with Dr. Raul Velaquez.

Professor Dalma Martinovic immigrated to Minnesota from Croatia in 1996. Join us as she shares why she moved to Minnesota, her experiences here, and how our parks differ from parks back in Croatia. A special thank you to Green Card Voices for connecting us with Professor Martinovic.

Join us as Jayne Becker, from our history interpretation team, starts our conversation on neighbors by telling us about immigrants from Switzerland who settled in the area that is now Elm Creek Park Reserve. Their immigration story started in the 1850s, after Native Americans were forced from the land and the U.S. Government made it available for purchase. Jayne shares details on who these Swiss i...

Grant Armour- Recreation Program Specialist from our Outdoor Recreation School talks to us about how the greatest threat in nature is ourselves. Grant discusses the importance of knowing your boundaries and recognizing when you are in a growth state or panic state when trying recreational activities. He gives tips on how to evaluate activities in nature to make sure you are safe and prepared.

John Moriarty, Senior Wildlife Manager, talks to us about whether we have anything to fear in our parks. We discuss what, if any animals pose threats to us in Three River's Parks; how perceived lack of control makes humans pretty bad at judging potential threats, and steps you can take in our parks to remain safe.

Bill Walker, Historical Programs Supervisor, joins us to give a European historical perspective on fear of nature. Why did early American settlers fear the wilderness? Was Thoreau talking about wilderness at Walden's Pond, or something else? How did Manifest Destiny play into American's fear of nature?

Dr. Rachel Putnam joins us to talk about current research on climate change's impacts on forests in North America. She then talks about her own research on how different sugar maple tree populations may adapt to climate change.

We are joined by Shawn Howard, Nursery Operations Supervisor, and Paul Kortebein, Senior Manager of Horticulture and Forestry to discuss how the park district raises and plants several thousand native trees and shrubs a year and the challenges of starting a native nursery back in 1970 that is still helping to restore forests in all of our parks.

Join Angela  and Brandon as they discover that trees do more than just sleep during the winter. They discuss what causes fall colors, how the colors are made by the tree, what trees actually do in the winter, and what trees have to do before they can grow in the spring.

Liz Gilles from the Minnesota Zoo discusses the zoo's "Show Us Your Mussels Challenge", the work the zoo is doing to educate people about mussels, and research being done at the zoo to figure out how to reintroduce mussels.

Mike Davis (MN DNR) and Olivia Poelmann (Graduate Student at Clemson SC) join us to talk about how the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are studying mussels, the impacts humans currently have on them, and some of the successes they have had restoring species, including endangered ones.

Alan Holzer from Mississippi Gateway Regional Park joins us to talk about what is a mussel, their unique life story (including interesting techniques they use to get fish to host their young), and how human's history with them has resulted in mussels becoming one of the most endangered groups of animals.

Jerry Jennissen's farmland includes the ditch that is the official start of the Crow River. Any action he takes on his farm has a direct impact on the entire Crow River. He talks about his experience with the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program, why farming sustainably is important to him, and Angela gets to discuss how Jerry's farm makes award winning cheese.

Brad Redlin, Manager of the Minnesota Agriculture Water Quality Certification Program from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture talks about how it is a team effort between his department and farmers to improve water quality around Minnesota. Brad Redlin explains how the Water Quality Certification works and how it is helping farmers navigate challenges to farming and result in a more sustainabl...