Don't Forget Your Boots

In this episode of the podcast, I speak with Sandra Shaw Homer, an environmentalist and author, with a recent book called Evelio’s Garden: Memoir of a Naturalist in Costa Rica. We spoke about writing, travel, conservation, and her life as an ex-pat for 29 years in Costa Rica.

Sandra is incredibly inspirational and has an amazing story to tell, filled equally with beauty and sorrow. Below are links to where you can pick up a copy of Evelio's Garden as well as her previous books. 

Evelio’s Garden on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Evelios-Garden-Sandra-Shaw-Homer/dp/1646693248/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1576966182&sr=1-1

Sandra Shaw Homer on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sandra-Shaw-Homer/e/B00LLWLGOA/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Sandra Shaw Homer on GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7884051.Sandra_Shaw_Homer?from_search=true

In this episode, I speak with John Platt (there is no relation between us, he just has the best last name ever) but he is a renowned environmental journalist covering endangered species, climate, and pollution-related issues. There was a bit of an audio issue at minute 23, and again at 29:00, as my recorder crapped out halfway through the podcast, however, John, the quintessential professional was recording the whole time and sounds great throughout.

We cover a lot, and talk about what is causing the species to become more endangered at a faster rate, why some environmental issues need to reach beyond economic solutions, the importance of emotion in storytelling, and staying positive in the era of Trump.

Thanks, and again, if you can, please rate, review, and subscribe, it helps a lot! 

In this podcast, I spoke with our tour guide, Jona, as my wife and I were on our honeymoon in Uganda. 

A lot of people don’t know much about Uganda, myself included, so I made sure to take the opportunity to ask Jona just about all the questions I had amassed since the trip began. We talked about a lot- rhinos, Uganda being safe, Kimberly Endicott, Ebola, economic drivers, the depiction of Uganda and Africa in general in the media, and conservation efforts.

In this podcast, I speak with Julie Vanassche of the Libassa Wildlife Sanctuary, the only wildlife sanctuary in Liberia.

While we talk other animals, much of our conversation is about pangolins, the most trafficked animal in the world.

Pangolins are desired locally for bushmeat (which is embedded in the culture) and internationally in many Asian countries, which tend to believe their scales have medicinal value.

Overall, quality isn't great since her internet on location is spotty. We tried recording it a few different ways, but this is the best we were to get. My hope is we can do another one in the future but, since Julie is so busy, I wanted to upload this one sooner rather than later.

In this episode, Will explains the difference between National Parks and National Forests, why environmental conservation shouldn't be a partisan issue, and some surprising conservation wins in the Trump administration. We also talk about the state of Red Wolves, one of the most endangered animals in the world, trail running, and his bestseller Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and The Fight For Cumberland Island. 

This week I speak with Enrique Ortiz of the Andes Amazon Fund. Enrique talks about the forest fires, the current state of the Amazon and addresses some common misconceptions about the Amazon. 

 I met Enrique because the digital agency I work with, Yoko Co, redid his website, AndesAmazondfund.org. If you are or an association, non-profit, or any organization with a passion beyond pure profit, and need a new site or ongoing marketing efforts, drop us a line, we’d be happy to help!

In this episode, I talk with David Stein of the Prairie Rivers of Iowa. While some of his work is specific to Iowa, there are a lot of national takeaways and we talk about overall watershed health and what plants farmers and local landowners can grow that will actually benefit the soil and pollinators.