Stop and smell the roses! Plant nerd Ryan Godfrey takes you on a walk into the Botanical World. Lighthearted conversations with botanical enthusiasts of all kinds are aimed to teach, inspire and entertain as we explore the wonderful green things that are so often overlooked.

Education

Natural Sciences

Botanically Speaking


          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  













































  

    
  
    

      

      
        
          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  













































  

    
  
    

      

      
        
          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  








 


  About Jennifer Gordon: 























  










































  

    
  
    

      

      
        
          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  


 


  From her very first summer job in a children's garden on Toronto Island, Jennifer has pursued her passion for working in and with the natural world. After graduating from a B.Sc. in environmental science and an ecosystem restoration graduate program at Niagara College, she spent four years as a gardener of the forest (ie. Natural Resource Worker with the City of Toronto's forestry division). She hopes one day to see some of the saplings she planted become grandparents of our urban parks. Last September 2018, Jennifer moved on to new adventures as a grad student in the Civil and Mineral engineering department at U of T. It was a good move. Her research focuses on understanding how the microbiology in mine tailing ponds can accentuates or prevent pollution. While she sometimes misses the forest, the ensuing year has been packed full of learning, discovery, and even teaching at an engineering survey camp.

Episode 5 -Jennifer Gordon - Ecologist and Urban Forester: Cities and the Future of Biodiversity


          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  













































  

    
  
    

      

      
        
          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  













































  

    
  
    

      

      
        
          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  


 





 


  About James Santangelo: twitter - @JS_santangelo 


































































  

    
  
    

      

      
        
          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  





  James is currently a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Marc Johnson and Rob Ness. His PhD is focused on understanding how plants are evolving in response to the environmental challenges imposed by the development of cities, and examining whether these responses are consistent across cities. When not engaged in research, James enjoys developing teaching resources for computer programming and data science, photography, playing video games, and all manner of outdoor activities (like botanizing!!). You can read more about his work on his website.  

Episode 4 -James Santangelo - Clover Hunter Extraordinaire: Plant Communication and Urban Ecology

Episode 3 - Kate Hudson - Wine Wizard: Stories of Flavour, Aroma and Spiciness


          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  













































  

    
  
    

      

      
        
          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  













































  

    
  
    

      

      
        
          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  


 








  About Connor Fitzpatrick: twitter - @crfitzpatConnor comes from the land of mountain and ocean, British Columbia, where he completed his undergraduate degree in plant biology. During this time he was fortunate enough to travel across the southwestern United States collecting wild sunflower species with Rose Andrew and the Rieseberg lab, and measure the effects of oil and gas development on sagebrush communities in Alberta. He knew ecological and evolutionary biology was in his future but decided to work on various research projects before beginning his PhD. He spent time in Trinidad studying the ecosystem effects of contemporary evolution in guppies and later moved back to BC to work on a large project led by Sally Aitken investigating local climate adaptation in conifer species. Connor began his PhD in 2012 with Marc Johnson in the EEB Department at the University of Toronto. Part way through his degree Connor made two important discoveries: 1) he found his research passion, the microscopic zoo living in and on plants, a.k.a. the microbiome; and 2) he met a fellow PhD student who later agreed to marry him. Now, he and his collaborator for life live in Chapel Hill where they both hold post-doctoral research positions at the University of North Carolina. Connor works in the Grant - Dangl research lab in the biology department at UNC and you can follow his research at http://unseenecology.com/ or find him on twitter @crfitzpat.   

Episode 2 - Connor Fitzpatrick - Doctor Dirt: Sunflowers, Evolutionary Ecology and the Future of Agriculture


          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  













































  

    
  
    

      

      
        
          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  













































  

    
  
    

      

      
        
          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  


 





 


  About Colin Chapman: instagram - @colin.chapmanii


































































  

    
  
    

      

      
        
          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                

            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  


  





  
Colin is a Botanist/Lichenologist at the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre in Sackville NBHe collects information on rare species and ecological communities in Atlantic Canada through field work and collaboration with many partners in conservation.Colin and his colleagues are working on the first installment of the new PEI Flora, which will be an updated online flora with fully illustrated keys, modern taxonomy, and dozens of new records and conservation status updates. Although PEI has less diversity than the mainland, the resource should still be useful for many people in the Maritimes and eastern Canada.
Links:Royal Botanical GardensBarcode of Life ProjectCampTech Podcast Workshop with Katie Jensen



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