TALATERRA

Hello and welcome to February. How is your year going?  Has it been nonstop busy since the holidays?  For me this year, January went the same way it went last year — busy, busy, busy — but lots of good things are happening, so no complaints. The events of the past month made me think about our fast-moving world and how it really isn’t a surprise that people don’t notice their surroundings. I then...

This week’s episode is about the launch of Talaterra Cowork, a coworking space for freelance environmental educators. What’s it all about? Let’s find out.   LINKS Talaterra Cowork ( cowork.talaterra.com ) Transcript: Ep42 Talaterra Cowork _______________ CREDITS: Producer : Tania Marien Music : So Far So Close by Jahzzar is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike License; SOLO ACOUSTIC GUITAR by J...

Margaret Best is an award-winning contemporary botanical artist and a respected teacher. Her work can be viewed in books, catalogs, magazines, public and private collections, and on coins distributed by the Royal Canadian Mint. How did Margaret stumble into this genre? What life experience prepared Margaret for the specialty she’s become known for? How does botanical art differ from flower paintin...

Marijke Hecht is a doctoral candidate in Learning Sciences and Policy at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research is focused on how people learn about nature outside of the classroom. I shared her paper, “Becoming a Naturalist,” this past summer (see Episode 21). What has Marijke learned about how a naturalist identity develops? How can guest educators contribute to an outdoor program? What driv...

Hello and Happy New Year.  Almost one year ago, in January 2019, I launched this podcast. Launching this podcast was both exhilarating and nerve-wracking. I wanted so much to move my project forward, but at the same time was very unsure about hearing my own voice out in the world. When I published the trailer for this show, it was the first time that I spoke my intention out loud outside of my gro...

Mark and Crystal Mandica founded the Amphibian Foundation in 2016. The Foundation focuses on the conservation of amphibians in the southeastern region of the United States. Mark and Crystal also lead educational initiatives that facilitate conversations addressing the global amphibian extinction crisis. How did Mark and Crystal build The Amphibian Foundation to what it is today? What is their phil...

Steve Heatherington is an alpaca shepherd and co-owner of Welsh Valley Alpacas in Wales. Steve manages a large herd of alpacas and offers support services to alpaca owners, as well as workshops for individuals interested in owning alpacas. Steve welcomes the public to his farm and provides immersive learning experiences for visitors. Steve also provides learning opportunities through his podcast....

Susan Chung is an experienced co-design artist and a science educator. Her specialty areas are environmental education and intergenerational mentorship. Her work promoting architecture as ecological education that helps youth respond creatively to ecological challenges has been recognized by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Susan teaches youth about sustainable design and has organized...

The Freelance Condition and Lifelong Learning in Communities project experienced a lot of growth this year. Week by week, the number of episode downloads has increased. The number of newsletter subscribers has too, and while these metrics matter to some, the metric that matters the most to me is the number of face-to-face conversations I get to have with educators.  Click on "Transcripts" to view...

Today my guests are the author and illustrator of the award-winning book "Foraging & Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook." Dina Falconi is a clinical herbalist, author, and teacher. Her focus is on food activism and nutritional healing. Wendy Hollender is a botanical artist, illustrator, author, and instructor. Together Dina and Wendy own Botanical Arts Press, a publishing company forme...

John Muir Laws is a scientist, educator, and author whose books and workshops help people forge personal connections with nature. A trained wildlife biologist, John has inspired nature journalers across the globe. What generous act launched John's freelance career? What's the key reason why people don't keep a nature journal? What is John's next book about? Let's find out.   LINKS John Muir Laws’...

Alasdair Plambeck is a retreat leader, coach, and founder of RippleOut Retreats (now Wild Within). He and his team lead transformational travel experiences enriching people’s connection to nature and place. Why did Alasdair leave the California startup scene to travel the world? Why did he create RippleOut Retreats? How does he facilitate connections between people and nature? Let’s find out.   LI...

Dr. Stephanie Dole is a scientist, educator, researcher and the founder of Beetlelady. Through programs taught at schools, libraries, birthday parties, and corporate events, Stephanie introduces the public to insects and the field of entomology. Stephanie has extensive field experience collecting and studying insects and brings her expertise to her public programs. What kind of research has Stepha...

The Talaterra podcast goes to the Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour to introduce festival-goers to the work of freelance environmental educators.  While at the festival, I had the opportunity to interview three people in-between my conversations with the public. What did I learn from the people I interviewed during the event? What did this experience teach me about community building? Let's find...

Mindy Lighthipe is a nature artist and the author and illustrator of The Art of Botanical and Bird Illustration and Mother Monarch , a children’s book about the life cycle of the monarch butterfly. Her work is featured in the book Today’s Botanical Artists , a book about North American botanical artists and on a set of oracle cards about nature’s wisdom. Mindy is also an award-winning artist. In 2...

Anne Armstrong is an author, an educator, and a Ph. D. student in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University. She is also the mother of a three-year-old daughter who inspires her investigation into how environmental educators communicate climate change. Anne stopped by to discuss her new book, Communicating Climate Change: A Guide for Educators . What kind of field experiences inspi...

The article A Learning Pathway to an Integrated Approach Involving Natural, Applied and Social Science, Humanities and Arts to Face Climate Change by Stephano Alessandri was written for non-scientists, scholars, students, and scientists whose fields do not involve the study of climate.  Alessandri, Stefano. (2019). A learning pathway to an integrated approach involving natural, applied and social...

Kellie Cox is a landscape designer, botanical muralist, and teacher who encourages an interest in horticulture, gardening, and native plants through public art. How does Kellie get her projects? What type of community partnerships has she formed? Where can you see Kellie's art in person? Let's find out. Related Links KellieCox.com Ithaca Murals Mt. Cuba Native Plant Program Hatchfund.org - Crowdfu...

The problem most students seem to have is that they see nature as “Other.” Nature is a tourist destination, a place on the map, something saved by buying and selling crunchy candy. They rarely understand that they themselves might actually be a part of it. — Christian McEwen and Mark Statman The Alphabet of the Trees: A Guide to Nature Writing is a collection of essays written by nature writers, p...

Anna Laurent is an award-winning photographer, author, and teacher. Through her projects, Anna introduces new audiences to the wonders of the botanical world. Anna has worked as a columnist for Garden Design magazine and Print magazine. Her first book, published in 2016, examines the art and science of plant biology in 19th-century wall charts. Anna’s interest in plants began in college. Years lat...

To download the card sorting activity and instructor guide, visit the show notes for this episode.  This week, we return to our conversation with Dr. Rupu Gupta, conservation psychologist at New Knowledge Organization, whose research focuses on inclusion and equity in the environmental field.  Last week, Dr. Gupta talked about community building. Part of our conversation centered around the paper...

Dr. Rupu Gupta is a conservation psychologist at the New Knowledge Organization, whose research focuses on inclusion and equity in the environmental field. Her interests are in what motivates or hinders people to care for nature and the environment. In this episode, we revisit Dr. Gupta’s paper about the diversity of the environmental field. We also talk about collaboration and bringing attention...

How do you cultivate a naturalist? I landed on this question because while walking past the window of my independent bookstore, I saw the book The Not-So Great Outdoors by author and illustrator Madeline Kloepper. It is a story about a young girl who is dreading her family’s upcoming camping trip. She wants nothing to do with nature and thinks nature is dirty and that there is nothing to do out th...

Karena de Souza is a strategist who helps Generation Z (those born between 1996-2010) navigate the future of work. While Karena speaks with students, her messaging is directed towards parents as well. I invited Karena to be a guest because she doesn’t talk only about career-building. She talks about environmental awareness too. What is Karena’s message to parents? Why does she take an environmenta...

It is one thing to research ways to connect people with the natural world and quite another to figure out how to make time to apply the ideas you've learned. Has something inside you been telling you to slow down and focus so you can create more meaningful work? Consider reading "World Enough & Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down" by Christian McEwen. Related Links Christian McEwen'...