The Wandering Naturalist

As our climate changes, the ways we manage parks have to change as well. Dr. Heidi Roop, Director of the University of Minnesota's Climate Adaptation Partnership and Joshua Booker, Zone Biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service join us to talk about the research they are doing to develop a climate change adaptation framework for National Wildlife Refuges in the Midwest.    

How is climate change affecting you? Brandon and Angela share stories of how the warmer winters are impacting their lives. Dr. Luigi Romolo, Minnesota State Climatologist, joins us to give specifics on how Minnesota's climate is changing, and some things you can do to help stop climate change.  

Nighttime can bring a lot of fears of the unknown, what we can't see but can hear.  Our imagination gets the best of us...but there is likely a reasonable explanation behind the various noises. One often overlooked nocturnal species is the Flying Squirrel. Michael Joyce, Wildlife Ecologist with Natural Resources Research Institute joins the podcast to put the spotlight on this nighttime creature....

Kyle Johnson, Minnesota Biological Survey entomologist, wanders with us to discuss how moths in Minnesota are surveyed. How many moths are in Minnesota, Kyle is trying to find out. Are there new to science species in Minnesota. You Betcha! Can you help moths in your backyard? Tune in to hear Kyle's advice. 

The nights are getting longer, the aeolians of the wind creepier…What was that? Join Angela and Brandon for a night time excursion as they explore the sounds you can hear, and not hear, at night. 

David Woods, Conservation Program Director for Urban Roots, joins us to discuss how Urban Roots in St. Paul works to encourage youth to enter careers in the outdoor field. Often Urban roots is the student's first job and Urban Roots teaches them the basics of having a job. A progressive employment model encourages the students to grow as their duties and responsibilities increase as the student's...

Birdability was created to help everybody bird. Virginia Rose, founder, and Michael Hurben, Birdability's local representative join us to discuss what Birdability is, why it is important to people with disabilities, and how Birdability provides resources for people with disabilities to bird.  

Asha Shoffner, founder of FIWYGIN (Fusion) Outdoors and BIPOC Outdoors Twin Cities joins us to discuss the importance of having groups people can identify with to get them outside. She talks about why she created two different groups in the Twin Cities and how they meet the needs of two different groups of people.  

Did Brandon meet his match on puns? Find out as  Dr. Solomon David, an aquatic biologist, assistant professor of biological sciences at Nicholls State University in Louisiana, one of the leading experts on gar, and punster extraordinaire joins us to discuss one of Minnesota's strangest fish, gar. From their strange shape, to studying their scales for use as body armor, to the behind the scenes of...

Tyler Winter, River Ecologist and Director of Native Fish for Tomorrow, joins us as we explore Minnesota's native fish. What are some things that make them special? Can you eat them? If, like Brandon you feel a little guilty fishing can you enjoy them in a non-extractive way? Wander with us as we find out the answers.

Dr. Andrew Rypel, Professor at the University of California Davis and the Peter B. Moyle and California Trout Endowed Chair explores the underwater world of Minnesota and explains what a rough fish is. We push our knowledge upstream as we explore the history of these fish, why they are important to our lakes and rivers, and what we can do to help these native fish.  

Barry Knisley, Professor Emeritus of Randolph-Macon College & Rodger Gwiazdowski, Adjunct Professor, Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst discuss what goes into protecting tiger beetles, why it is hard to put insects on the endangered species list, and Angela has some plans for the prairie.

David Pearson, Research Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University, joins us to talk about how tiger beetle species were named, why birds were integral to his interest in tiger beetles, and how to get involved in researching them.  

Wander with us as we burrow into the world of a creature that can run so fast it can't see where it is going, Tiger Beetles! Alex Harman, PhD student at Oklahoma State University joins us to discuss the unique strategies it has as both a larva and adult to catch prey and how you can help researchers study tiger beetles.   

Sarah Fultz, Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist with Xerces Society, talks with us about the insects that help maintain a healthy garden, how you can encourage them to live in your garden, and techniques for going pesticide free.  

Jared Dyer, an entomology educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County New York wanders with us to discuss what Integrated Pest Management is, how parasitoid wasps help control unwanted species, and his research on one of those parasitoid wasps, the Samurai Wasp.  

Did you know Disney World doesn't use pesticides? If they don't need them, your garden doesn't either. Hope Flanagan, member of the Seneca Nation of Indians, and Community Outreach and Cultural Teacher for Dream of Wild Health joins us to discuss how they farm without pesticides. She provides a Native perspective on our relationship with insects and provides some strategies we can use in our garde...

Ken Graeve, Erosion & Stormwater Management Unit Supervisor, and Chris Smith, Wildlife Ecologist, with the Minnesota Department of Transportation join us to discuss how the Minnesota DOT is working to make highways and other roads safer for animals, a better habitat for plants, and safer for the people who drive on them.  

Ben Goldfarb, Environmental Journalist and author of such books as award winning, "Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter" is about to release a new book, "Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet" in 2023. He wanders with us to discuss the impacts roads have on humans and wildlife, new habitats created by roads, and direct impacts to Minneapolis a...

Brandon and Angela feel the need… the need for green, so they jump on the highway to the nature zone and explore what you can see as you drive to a Three Rivers park. From the large birds on light posts, to how bridges are making some birds' wings shorter, and more, learn about the nature outside your car window. Just don't buzz to close to any cell towers. After all Ghost Rider, the pattern is fu...

Our favorite historian is back to discuss the myths of the past! Why are beds really shorter in the 1800's? Were our parks untouched wilderness? Is Minnesota really a Scandinavian state? Find out!  

Allie Gams Beeson and Brett Sieberer join us to discuss some of the common myths they hear at the nature centers they work at. From insects predicting the weather to baby birds, wander with us to find the truth.  

Brandon and Angela share some of the myths from their childhood they believed for years, then get into the meat of persistent nature myths. What's the truth about Daddy Long Legs' venom? How did Walt Disney create a brand new nature myth? Is your dog really colorblind? Wander with us as we discover the truth and look into where these myths came from.  

Join as aspiring winter backpacker and thru-hiker, Emily Ford, shares on the remarkable journey of being the first woman to thru-hike Wisconsin's 1,200-mile Ice Age National Scenic Hiking Trail in winter.  Hear how Emily continues to seek adventure and represent the underrepresented in outdoor spaces.  

Learn about the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources program called Becoming an Outdoors Woman from its coordinator, Linda Bylander.  Whether you're trying an activity for the first time, or you consider yourself an expert, you can gain new skills and improve techniques in a relaxed, fun, and supportive atmosphere.