Melanie T: [00:00:00] Hey there. It's your host. Melanie Tea with Biodiversity Adventures. Normally, I say tune in and geek out, but today I'm going to say tune in and gear up and screw it. I have recorded. This ad probably 20 times today. And I have literally cried every single time that I have attempted to record it. So I'm going to say, screw it. If I cry, I cry. I'm not a crier, but this really means a lot to me. Are you ready to dove in to the wonders of our natural world? Well, we've got something extra special for you. [00:01:00] Introducing Biodiversity Adventures merch. No, not that kind of merch. Okay, well, it is, but it isn't, because this is not your typical podcast, and I'm not your typical host or your typical scientist. In each episode, we bring you fascinating stories about our planet's incredible biodiversity. And now you can be a part of the adventure by wearing our exclusive biodiversity themed shirts, hoodies, hats, stickers, bags and more all related to the episode topics. when you're out there sporting our gear, you're not just supporting the podcast. It's more than that. You're starting conversations and spreading the word about vital biodiversity issues. And this [00:02:00] is one way together we can make a difference worldwide. That means a lot to me. I think about it this way. Imagine if I reach you and just. Just one other listener. And both of you have a shirt or a hat or just a sticker that you put on your car. And that starts just one conversation, just one that is a 400% increase in spreading awareness throughout the world about that topic. What if it. Like today, I'm getting ready to record. The Bat episode. currently we have general biodiversity merch and we also have. Save our bats [00:03:00] merch about the decline of our bats and. I know in my soul that I am meant to help. Spread awareness about biodiversity. It means so much to me. Because I know with my knowledge and my gift of gab that I can make a real difference with your help. And you can make a real difference with me. So we can do this together. And the more that I researched bats, the angrier that I became. And you'll see why when you hear that episode. But it really does mean a lot to me to do this. no that [00:04:00] the merch does not have my logo on it. It's, you know, doesn't say like in big block letters, biodiversity adventures. My website's on there in tiny print and that's it. The message is about. Each topic. I took a lot of time designing and coming up with a lot of different choices and messages based on the research. That I discovered or some of it our already knew about our bats. And some is, is, you know, just general information. we can make a real difference. And. If that's the one thing that I can do in this world is to make a difference, because that's, for example, [00:05:00] they're worldwide, with the exception of like two places, which typically there aren't a lot of people there, so that, you know, they're worldwide. And it affects all of us because bats are species that we cannot live without and could literally save our lives in one way or the other. it's amazing to me what is going on with them. If you. Are really passionate
Biodiversity or bats or another topic that I cover in the future. You will always be able to find. Merch that maybe expresses exactly how you feel or [00:06:00] the message that you would also like to get out there to the world. So visit biodiversityadventures.Org. And. Let's make a difference together. I worked really hard at looking for organic products. And there will always be some as well as some recycled products, which is great. And then the rest of them are just 100% cotton. that was the best that I could do. I also decided to do print on demand because that is actually the most environmentally friendly way that I could do this. Because if you order. A ton of merchandise all at one [00:07:00] time. That may be more cost effective, but it may or may not necessarily be good for the environment. you know, let's face it, I'm not Joe Rogan over here where my merchandise might sell out quickly or Mr. Beast or someone like that. I am me about to put my second episode out. So, you know, I have a long way to go, but this was something that I have been thinking about for a very long time, and I wanted to do it the right way. And because print on demand, companies print as you go, they are more of an environmentally friendly choice because they are, quote unquote, up and running, doing other people's printing at the same time as they would be for me. they are not [00:08:00] just starting from scratch each time and, going through the printing process. They're constantly doing that anyways. And I didn't want to order a bunch of things also because that's extremely wasteful and I'm going to cover the fashion industry pollution in one episode. And if you knew you would laugh You know, I'm not even going to cover that you would say what? What in the hell do you even know about it? Because I am very conservative when it comes to buying clothing. I will wear things until they just fall apart. I'm that person, but I do not mind spending. A lot of money on like a basic black dress, a basic pair of black or [00:09:00] gray, slacks or good blue jeans or I mean, I'm not going to pay $100 for hair blue jeans because I'm sorry. That's just ridiculous to me. But I'm just not wasteful I'm actually very well known for that among my best friends who I would say are, you know, fashionistas, one likes extremely trendy things. So any kind of fashion that's out, she's on it. She will buy it and wear it just a couple of times. And she laughs at me and says she's envious of me because she just does not have that kind of self-control. I get it. And then my other best friend. She's trendy, but not in the over trendy fashion way. She is more You know. If Frye comes out with new boots, she's going to have them. Or if Louis Vuitton has a new bag, she probably has it. You know, she's [00:10:00] that kind where my other friend may have. Ten different pair of $5 pair of earrings. that all came out this year, that design or whatever, you know, like two ends of the spectrum, but both highly wasteful. Okay, let's just be quite honest. And then I'm over here. You know, my little black dress cost $200 in. Now it's probably like $250. And what year was that? 19. 90. Eight. And I still have that dress. It still looks brand new. And it's still so sleek, so dressy. It's amazing. It's the kind of black dress that you can wear to a nice, dressy dinner or a formal event. You cannot beat it. [00:11:00] And everybody loves the dress. And it's the kind of thing that stands out. But at the same time, no one remembers that you wore it. You know what I mean? It's not like I wear it all the time, maybe once every five years or something. I think it was like laundry, something like that brand. I don't know. But this was, late nineties and I still have it. So if that tells you anything, I was 19 when I got it. I am 45 now. So just saying, you know, I still wear it, but. That's just who I am. I've always been that way. that was that actually played into my decision to do print on demand instead of buying a bunch of things that may go to waste. And even if, let's say I donated things left over to charities, to me that still waste because there are [00:12:00] so many other things that I could donate that don't have to be printed currently. Right. struggles we face. I thought that this was just a really good way to spread awareness about biodiversity and about individual issues with biodiversity loss or individual species like the bats. And I'm really, really excited to get that episode out. I know that I am over my week getting that out, but. Honestly, I. I have probably read. Over 100 scientific studies. And. I finally had to just make myself stop because I would have kept going and going and going. [00:13:00] But I have plenty more than enough information already to. Show you exactly what is going on around the world and make my point clear as day. By tons of different studies. And when I post the episode, not all of the studies because honestly, I don't I do not have the the time or the patience to. Accumulate that many different articles and where they are on the web. But the ones that I use the most information from, or if it was like a little tidbit that was. A little more random that I did not find in a lot of places. All of those which will be a lot of studies, are going to be in [00:14:00] my shownotes. So be on the lookout for that. That way, if there's something that you're interested in and you want to read more because there's always more information within those studies than even I can go over, I could I could literally make an entire podcast just on bats and the research surrounding them. There's that much information. And the thing is, we still don't know that much about them. It's it's truly incredible what I've discovered. I already knew a ton of information, but like I promised, I am extremely thorough and one of my strong suits is being able to research and accumulate. Scientific facts [00:15:00] from scientists directly. And interpret that so that you can understand it. But also, I wanted to make sure that you have the scientific studies that back up what I say. I'm not using just one scientist. I'm sorry that you really don't know if a scientist on a show that's being interviewed by a journalist, you do not know. Neither does that journalist. If this person. Actually produces sound studies or they're a quack is just like a doctor. Okay. Yeah, sure. A lot of doctors are really smart, but there are a lot of doctors who are quacks, who are insane, who are really dumb, who? I don't understand how they made it through medical school. We all know [00:16:00] someone like that. In any field. It doesn't matter what the field is. just because someone says that they are a scientist does not mean that they are the end all, be all. And on top of that, in science. A lot of us. It's just like anything else. Not everybody sees eye to eye. There are a lot of different studies out there where some studies from certain groups may show one thing, certain studies from one group may show another. The unfortunate thing about a lot of these journalists who have shows they will only interview one scientist if they do interview more than one scientist. A lot of times it's on or showing that same view, same study or whatever. [00:17:00] They do not present you with any other information. So as far as you know, by listening to it, you think, well, that must be all there is, because that's all they're talking about, they should be a trusted source of information. But that is just not the way it is. And I make a point to listen to other podcast. Because one, I well, I don't listen to a ton of them. But for instance, when I finished my bat research, I took a few minutes, searched a few to see if anyone had recently done episodes on bats or if anyone did anything thorough. And I wanted to make sure that I was like, if someone just did an episode and I wasn't aware, I didn't want to present the same information, I would just if it's not that, maybe not that important, but [00:18:00] maybe not as significant, or if it's if they just went over a single study, then I would just have gone back and found more studies about the same topic and then mentioned, hey, I noticed that, this podcast covered this one study and yes, this is what that study revealed. But here are some others that showed, X, Y and Z. I don't want to be a redundant podcast, but I don't typically look at the topics that I'm going to be looking at I don't want to be influenced. So I don't do that until I'm done. And then the other thing I do is I look at others who talk about biodiversity. Mainly to see if what they're saying is accurate or not. A lot of times they're not accurate. [00:19:00] And it's very surprising to me I will go into some of that information in other episodes as well. I guess today will just be a mini podcast of me crying through an ad advertising my merch, which now that I'm done with it. Feels a little absurd, but at least you know that I'm coming from a place that is pure intentioned and. it is what it is. I could not keep recording that over and over because honestly, I felt like it was getting worse. And it just it makes me proud. As well as very excited to be able to. Help in any way that I can in the best way that I know how, because I am artistic, [00:20:00] but I'm also a scientist. So that's kind of the best of both worlds. Those are my strongest Processes artistic creative processes and then scientific processes. Those are my strong suits. I am trying to harness those to. Follow my passion to benefit my passion. Not necessarily me, but my passion, which is biodiversity. So I hope that you will join me. I am trying my hardest to get the bat episode out. It was a lot of research and I still have to get through organizing everything so that. I can give you everything that you need to know, but it's going to be a damn good episode, I can promise you that. It is amazing. It is so amazing what these creatures can do. It's [00:21:00] fantastic. And I did not even plan that. It's October. So Halloween and bats are associated with Halloween. Did not even think about that until. I got an email earlier about children's costumes and I was like, Oh my God, it's Halloween. So anyways, that's, I guess, fitting that I'm a week or not a week late, but pretty close to a week like now on my episode. For now, Tune in and gear up The website for merch if you want to take a look is biodiversityadventures.Org.
