I love getting feedback about the podcast, and within days of each other, I received some interesting and overlapping suggestions. One said "I enjoy the deep dives into different taxa or environments, but I also really enjoyed some of your earlier episodes where you had people with different ways of engaging with nature, such as the standup paddleboard guest". And a former guest gave me similar feedback, along the lines of wanting to hear from guests with "different relationships with nature".

My guest today will make those listeners happy, and hopefully you, too. She's inspiring, she has a wealth of knowledge in environmental education and natural sciences, and has charted a unique path. My guest is none other than Parker McMullen Bushman, also known as Kweenwerk on social media!

Today's discussion is very wide ranging. Parker tells us about her unique journey that led to getting a Master's degree of science and natural resources, focused on environmental education/interpretation. She's worked in marine sciences and was Vice President of Community Engagement, Education, and Inclusivity at the famous Butterfly Pavilion.

Parker gives many examples of how she and her organizations reached people that had been thought to be difficult to reach. If you are a nature communicator - and I think nearly all of us are, even if only with our family and friends - you'll walk away from this episode with some new tools in your toolkit. 

After 25 years in environmental education, Parker's personal and life experience led her to a bigger calling - founding The Inclusive Guide. It's an online crowdsourced review service, like Yelp, but focusing on safety, accessibility, and inclusion. The guide is for everyone, regardless of race or identity, and covers not only businesses but also parks, outdoor spaces, nature centers, and more.

Check The Inclusive Guide, consider contributing to their gofundme. Reach the Inclusive Guide at [email protected], instagram or twitter.

Parker's on TikTok, IG, Twitter and LinkedIn.

And stay tuned until the end to hear about a roly poly the size of a football (video here)
FULL SHOW NOTES

Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry by Dungy
Butterfly Pavilion
Crystal Egli Inclus

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!