If you have a yard, you may spend a lot of time each fall raking or blowing leaves. But many experts recommend residents just “leave the leaves”—it’s part of a widespread effort to reduce waste, promote more ecological diversity, and save energy. Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with Dr. Ken Bridle of the NC Native Plant Society, as well as Greensboro's Chief Sustainability Officer, Dr. Shree Dorestant, and Masey DeMoss, Recycling and Waste Reduction Educator with the city.

Then, we return to an extended version of a conversation originally aired in November 2024. Daniel Lewis’s love of trees is deep rooted. He’s an environmental historian and author of Twelve Trees: The Deep Roots of Our Future. He knows not just about tree biology, but the ways in which trees have been inextricably bound to human history—and are essential to our future. He joins co-host Leoneda Inge to talk about two trees native to North Carolina—the longleaf pine and the bald cypress—and how these trees have helped shape the South.