Biophilic Solutions: Nature Has the Answers

Have you ever felt instantly calm upon arriving at the ocean or a rural lake? Or even felt the need to dip into a hot bath after a tough day? This week on Biophilic Solutions, we’re chatting with Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, scientist, activist, and author of Blue Mind , about why we are so innately drawn to water and the neuroscience behind water’s healing properties. We’ll dive (pun intended) into th...

This week, we’re chatting with urban designer and author Hannah S. Palmer about the second longest river in Georgia, the Flint River - a river that few Atlantans have even heard of because it’s headwaters run underneath Hartsfield Jackson, the world’s busiest airport. Hannah is the  Project Coordinator for Finding the Flint, a partnership between The Conservation Fund, American Rivers, and the Atl...

“Biophilia is the connection that human beings innately seek with the natural world.” - E.O. Wilson This week on Biophilic Solutions, Monica and Jennifer speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes about his latest work, Scientist: E.O. Wilson: A Life in Nature . Recorded in early December, a few weeks before Wilson passed away at the age of 92, this interview delves into Wilson’s extr...

Biophilic Solutions will be back on January 18th! Here, Monica and Jennifer check in about what they've learned over the past year and give our listeners a sneak peak of what to expect in Season 2.  Biophilic Solutions is available wherever you get podcasts. Please listen, follow, and give us a five-star review. Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn and learn more on our website .   #NatureHasT...

This week on Biophilic Solutions, we’re talking to Stacy Funderburke, Associate State Director for Georgia and Alabama and Regional Counsel for the Conservation Fund, an organization that strives to integrate environmental and economic outcomes via land conservation. Through his work on projects like the Working Farms Fund, Stacy walks us through the mechanics of how we might shift to a more ethic...

This week on Biophilic Solutions, we’re talking to Alden Blease, the founder and Chief Creative officer of R.E.D.D., a highly successful  (not to mention delicious) line of plant-based energy bars and elixirs. When he ran out of money on his college meal plan, Alden began making his own bars using bulk ingredients from his local health food store and the first iteration of R.E.D.D. was born. Since...

This week, Monica and Jennifer sit down with Nina-Marie Lister, Graduate Director and Professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Ryerson University, located in Toronto, Canada. Building off of her captivating presentation at last month’s Biophilic Leadership Summit, Nina-Marie lays out the little-known history of the front lawn’s hold on North American households, the barriers for a...

This week on Biophilic Solutions, we speak with John Judge, President and CEO of the Appalachian Mountain Club, the oldest conservation organization in the United States. The mission of the Appalachian Mountain Club is to foster protection, enjoyment, and understanding of the outdoors in order to create a world in which nature is fundamentally valued. AMC achieves this mission through education, o...

What do farmland loss and a rapidly changing climate mean for the future of food? How can we harness the power of agriculture, urban farming, and regenerative practices to protect next-generation farmers and the planet? In his presentation at the 2021 Biophilic Leadership Summit, President of American Farmland Trust John Piotti tackles all of these questions and more, illuminating AFT’s history as...

The Biophilic Leadership Summit brings together thought-leaders from fields like agriculture, urban planning, architecture, and climate science to learn about and discuss the most impactful biophilic projects, principles and research happening today. Hear from our Summit Coordinator Katrina Erni Cohen, about the speakers, topics, and themes that you can expect to learn more about at the 2021 Virtu...

From our good friends over at Serenbe Stories , hear Monica and Steve Nygren’s interview with retired marine Colonel Mark “Puck” Mykleby. In this episode, Mark explains why biophilic communities are an important aspect of national security, how sustainability drives economic growth, and why smart growth at home becomes smart power abroad. You will also learn about the origins of the Biophilic Inst...

This week on Biophilic Solutions, we chat with Indie Lee, founder of the wildly successful skincare line of the same name. Hear how Indie went from a CPA working with major companies, to an advocate for the slow food movement, to the CEO and founder of her own beauty brand, where she puts nature and ethics at the forefront. Indie's story of overcoming major health challenges, starting a busin...

This week, Monica and Jennifer sit down with Florence Williams, acclaimed author of "The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative." When it comes to understanding the science behind why time spent in nature is so beneficial for mental health, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who is more knowledgeable than Florence Williams. In this episode, we chat ab...

This week, Monica and Jennifer sit down with Jasmina Aganovic to talk about all things beauty and biotechnology. After earning a degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from MIT, Jasmina worked with well-known beauty brands like Fresh and Living Proof before founding her own line, Mother Dirt, a brand that uses the naturally occurring bacteria found on human skin to treat and cleanse without...

This week, we're speaking with Beth Sauerhaft, the Vice President of Programs at American Farmland Trust. If you've seen the 'No Farms, No Food' bumper stickers, you're familiar with AFT whether you know it or not. In her current role, Beth oversees all of the programming that helps American Farmland Trust achieve its mission of preserving farmland, protecting farmers, and...

On this episode of Biophilic Solutions, we talk to Jacqui Patterson, the Senior Director of the NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program, about why we cannot separate our fight for planetary health from the fight for racial justice. Why is race, even more so that socioeconomic status, the single biggest indicator for placement of toxic facilities in the United States? Why do we silo issue...

How do we build a biophilic movement? Halfway through our first season, Monica and Jennifer reflect on the lessons they have learned so far and bring it all back to our innate love of and need for nature. They’ll dive deeper into their own backstories and relationships with nature, discuss why biophilia is a useful way to reframe the environmental conversation, and explore the importance of consci...

We spoke with Dr. Drew Lanham, a distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Clemson University and the author of the Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature , to discuss the intersection of nature, humanity, and race. How have the natural sciences progressed since Dr. Lanham first began in his career and what work is there still to do? Why are conservation and activism i...

Fast fashion’s impact on the environment is well-known, but do you have to sacrifice style in order to protect the environment? Marci Zaroff , the founder and CEO of EcofashionCORP and a sustainable fashion pioneer, says absolutely not. Learn about the hidden impacts of the fashion industry, from the massive environmental and human toll to the microfibers that make their way into our food supply....

Through cutting-edge research, consumer education, and farmer training, Rodale Institute has been at the forefront of the organic movement for over 70 years, so we were thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down with their Chief Impact Officer, Jeff Tkach, to discuss all things agriculture. In this episode, we’ll dive into regenerative farming, the scalability of organic production, fostering a...

For this week’s episode, we sat down (in person!) with Sarah Milligan-Toffler, President and CEO of the Children and Nature Network, an organization that is dedicated to increasing equitable access to the outdoors so that both children and the environment can thrive. In this episode, we discuss nature’s impact on brain development in early childhood, ways that we might reimagine the traditional sc...

What does it mean for a city to be ethical? To explore this thought-provoking idea, we spoke with Tim Beatley , professor of sustainable communities at the University of Virginia and founder of the Biophilic Cities network. In a new book proposal, Tim argues that we need to move away from a view of cities as purely legal and political entities and expand our definition to include the city’s moral...

In this episode, we sat down with Bill Browning , co-founder of Terrapin Bright Green and one of the green building industry’s foremost thinkers, to talk about bringing nature into the built environment and the science behind why it so effectively enhances human wellbeing. Using the 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design as our guide, we explore the ways in which architects, designers, and individuals ca...

To answer this question, we spoke with Dr. Phill Tabb , Professor Emeritus of Architecture at Texas A&M and the author of multiple publications on topics such as solar energy, green architecture and sustainable urban design. His most recent work, Biophilic Urbanism: Designing Communities for the Future , explores the tools to create nature-based urban environments that are climate positive, su...

Biophilia is the innate connection that human beings seek with the natural world. Join the growing biophilic movement to understand, elevate, and amplify biophilic solutions across a broad range of industries. How can we take local and global actions that nurture the living, social, and economic systems that will sustain future generations? Nature has the answers. Every other week, hosts Monica Ol...