Elysse is a fellow Dallasite and has a passion for creating equitable and resilient communities. She graduated with a degree in International Relations and she loves to travel and learn about new cultures. From her career experience, she learned that nothing in urban planning happens by mistake, and she is passionate about creating more opportunities for community connection and engagement in urban areas that had historically been underserved.

Elysse talks about the importance of having access to green space within walking distance of your home and how this is not only an environmental issue but also a social and health issue. If we live in a dense neighborhood with many apartment buildings and dwellings, it’s imperative to have access to a place outdoors to relax and be physically active.

The Trust for Public Land’s Green Schoolyards or the Texas Trees Foundation Cool Schools Program aims to increase Dallas’ access to public parks and green spaces by converting school playgrounds into dual-puporse areas: playgrounds during school hours, and community parks in the afternoons and on weekends.

If you’d like to get involved and help out with the amazing work that the Trust for Public Land is doing here in Dallas, Elysse is available to talk! Reach out to us at [email protected] and we’ll put you in touch with her.

Links:

-- Elysse’s LinkedIn page (https://www.linkedin.com/in/elyssedeliaalvarado/)

-- The Trust for Public Land (https://www.tpl.org/)

-- Texas Trees Foundation: Cool Schools Program (https://www.texastrees.org/projects/cool-schools/)

Mother Daughter Earth links:

-- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth

-- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)

-- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz

Mom has been wanting to chat about her birds, so she shares a little bit about the bird paradise she has created in her yard over the past four years. We also released the first episode of our bird course on Patreon, so go check it out! (https://www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth)

Today we talk with the amazing Melina Sempill Watts, the author of Tree. When Melina was 7, she and her family moved to Topanga, California and she describes the magical experiences she had as a child of taking in nature (with sounds, smells, and colors), becoming friends with the plants in her area, and internalizing the rich story that their interrelated lives told. Melina even helps me see my connection to nature as a child in a completely different way.

She goes on to share such a powerful story of an individual blade of grass giving her energy when she was feeling at her lowest. This experience was something she took with her the rest of her life and it ultimately inspired her to write her book, Tree. 

She talks about how the idea to write Tree came to her and then what the process was like to produce a book from the perspective of a 229 year old California Live Oak. She gives an amazing comparison of how communicating with trees and plants is just like learning a foreign language, and she provides some amazing and practical ways that people can start opening up and communicating with the plant world. 

-- Buy Tree on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tree-Melina-Sempill-Watts/dp/0997692111/ref=sr_1_2?crid=22AI4EKZVO9YY&dchild=1&keywords=tree+melina+watts&qid=1612791135&sprefix=tree+by+melina%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-2

-- Visit Melina's website: https://www.changetheworld-books.com/ 

-- Visit Melina's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MelinaSempillWattsConsulting/ 

Mother Daughter Earth Links

-- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth 

-- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth) 

-- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz

Vanessa Conley is the Programming Specialist for the Dallas Public Library (DPL) and part of the awesome team who spearheads DPL’s seed library. The seed library for DPL started about four years ago thanks to a couple of staff members who based the idea off of the Richmond Public Library program (http://www.richmondgrowsseeds.org/).

Dallas uses the self-serve model and anyone can come in and take the seeds that they need — you don’t even have to check them out. They also offer veggie growing and seed saving courses. One of their class series is called “Grow With Us;” every Monday they bring guest speakers who talk about everything from container gardening to how to select seeds and read seed packets. 

Episode links:

For this week’s bonus episode, Vanessa dives deep into seed saving and how we can all become seed saving pros!

Mother Daughter Earth Links

Grant shares about a presentation he gave to a group called Ocean Bridge (https://bridge.ocean.org/) recently about his journey from eco-anxiety to eco-activist.

He is also looking for guest writers for Happy Eco News (happyeconews.com), which is a great opportunity! If this is something that interests you, email Grant directly at [email protected] or reach out to us and we can put you in touch with him.

The Ailuna app (www.ailuna.com/)is also launching this week and Grant is collaborating with them as well. This app is essentially a way to gamify the process of creating better eco-habits, so check it out! Small incremental changes add up to big societal changes. 

December 2020’s Top 5 Happy Eco News Stories

1. Scientists in Costa Rica are growing new corals to save reefs (https://happyeconews.com/2020/12/07/scientists-in-costa-rica-are-growing-new-corals-to-save-reefs/)

2. 14 Countries Commit to Ocean Sustainability Initiative (https://happyeconews.com/2020/12/13/14-countries-commit-to-ocean-sustainability-initiative/)

3. First fully carbon-neutral cargo flight set to take off from Frankfurt airport (https://happyeconews.com/2020/12/03/first-fully-carbon-neutral-cargo-flight-set-to-take-off-from-frankfurt-airport/) 

4. Historical! Amsterdam first city world wide that wants to ban fossil fuel advertising (https://happyeconews.com/2020/12/25/historical-amsterdam-first-city-world-wide-that-wants-to-ban-fossil-fuel-advertising/)

5. Pollinator-Friendly Solar Could be a Win-Win for Climate and Landowners, but Greenwashing is a Worry (https://happyeconews.com/2020/12/10/pollinator-friendly-solar-could-be-a-win-win-for-climate-and-landowners-but-greenwashing-is-a-worry/)

And as we've said before, sign up for the Happy Eco Newsletter! We can't recommend it enough! It's the best way to start your Monday morning on the right foot! Sign up on their website: www.happyeconews.com. You can also follow them on Instagram @officialhappyeconews (www.instagram.com/officialhappyeconews).

Mother Daughter Earth Links

- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth

- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)

- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz

We certainly weren't aware of the environmental dangers of nurdles, in fact we didn't even know what nurdles were until we visited with Jace Tunnell, the Director of the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas, Texas. What Jace and his team of volunteers are doing to clean up our beaches and waterways and make sure that our marine life has a safe, clean place to live and thrive is inspiring!

What ARE nurdles? Nurdles are small plastic pellets and the basis for everything that’s made out of plastic. Because they’re so small and lightweight, many of them don't even make it to plastic manufacturing plants. They get swept away by wind and rain and make it into our waterways where they negatively impact wildlife (birds, fish, turtles, etc.) and absorb harmful chemicals.

Nurdle Patrol (https://nurdlepatrol.org/Forms/Home/) was created in 2018 when there was a spill of plastic pellets that was showing up on the beach along the Gulf of Mexico. Jace and his team quickly realized that state agencies didn’t have the resources to clean up these nurdles or monitor the spread of plastic pellet contamination. So they started asking volunteers to take samples when they were at the beach and began mapping the concentrations of these pellets. Nurdle Patrol has been expanding ever since.

Jace describes how easy it is to collect nurdles and help Nurdle Patrol add more data to their concentration map. Nurdle Patrol has also created a platform that makes it super easy and user-friendly to upload your data and information. Go to the Nurdle Patrol website to get involved! They’ve created all the tools necessary to learn how to do a survey and enter your data. They also list specific ways you can help on their Solutions page (https://nurdlepatrol.org/Forms/Solution/index.php).

In this week's bonus episode, Jace gives us a sneak peek into the Nurdle Patrol startup kit that organizations receive to help them collect and monitor nurdles on a regular basis.

Additional links:

- Microplastic & Nurdle Literature on UT Marine Science Institute website: https://utmsi.utexas.edu/blog/entry/microplastic-nurdle-literature

- The Great Nurdle Hunt: https://www.nurdlehunt.org.uk/

Mother Daughter Earth links:

- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth

- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth)

- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz

We’re excited for the new year and sticking strong with our optimistic view for 2021! 

This episode is all about reflection; we’re taking time to think about 2020 and what we’re excited about taking with us into 2021. One of the things that mom did and loved in 2020 was to improve bird feeding game! She tells us about her recent bird excitement and how happy she is about all the bird feeding effort she put into her yard last year.

We have also put a lot of though into our message this coming year and what we want to focus on. We’re very passionate about sustainability and all that goes into living a mindful life, but we’re focusing our efforts this year to hone in on what we think is at the core of everything we've learned along our eco-journey.

- The importance of connecting with nature, how easy it is, and how it anchors a sustainable lifestyle. If you focus on fostering a relationship and friendship with nature, then everything else will start falling into place.

- Our daily choices might seem small and insignificant, but they all add up and can bring about BIG changes. So don’t fall into the trap of thinking that your daily choices and changes are insignificant. Celebrate your big and small wins, because it all adds up!

- Never stop learning, and that goes for sustainable practices as well.

And of course, stay positive and motivated!

We also share a couple of things that we’re focusing on this year in our personal eco-lives.

Mother Daughter Earth links:

- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth

- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth)

- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz

David Milarch, Co-Founder of Archangel Ancient Tree Archive (www.ancienttreearchive.org), is a third generation nurseryman with over 40 years of experience in propagation and reforestation and has a vision of replanting the earth with the genetics of the world’s remaining ancient forests.

In this episode, David shares what he and his team are doing to propagate, reforest, and archive the world's oldest trees. They're doing this so we're able to restore our forests using clones of Champion Trees, that have shown they are capable of surviving thousands of years, in order to improve the ecofunction of the world’s forests and give us the best shot of combating climate change. 

In the U.S. alone, we have cut down 98% of our old growth forest; Archangel Ancient Tree Archive (AATA) is creating a kind of Noah's Arc for trees so their genetics live on in these environmentally uncertain times. They have already cloned about 130 different species of trees and they continue to expand their work around the globe; they're even helping tree species with assisted migration to ensure their survival. 

David tells us how he and his team of climbers collect and clone ancient tree cuttings, and how they came up with a process to clone trees that are thousands of years old, which scientists said was impossible. David shares how his son Jake and his climbing colleagues even developed a rope elevator so visitors and non-climbers can go up 250 feet up and experience what it’s like to be in an ancient Redwood!

If you haven't already, you should definitely read Jim Robbins' book about David Milarch and his work. The Man Who Planted Trees: A Story of Lost Groves, the Science of Trees, and a Plan to Save the Planet is such an inspiring read. My mom and I both read the book in a day, and we even talk about in Episode 9: Our 2020 Must Read and Watch List. 

- Visit the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive website: www.ancienttreearchive.org 

- Donate to AATA: https://www.ancienttreearchive.org/donate

- Watch David's TEDxJacksonHole talk on Ancient Trees For The Future: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y069UFbk11s

Mother Daughter Earth links:

- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth

- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth)

- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz

Grant Brown, founder of Happy Eco News and a previous podcast guest (episode 3) is back due to popular demand! He updates us not only on a recent personal identity shift toward "eco-activist" and what that was like for him, but also on the most popular Happy Eco News stories that everyone should know about.

Here's a rundown of the top news stories and the article links if you want to read more.

1. IKEA to open first ever second-hand store this year  (https://happyeconews.com/2020/10/14/ikea-to-open-first-ever-second-hand-store-this-year/) 

2. The World’s Largest Wind Turbines to Be Used for North Sea Project (https://happyeconews.com/2020/10/07/the-worlds-largest-wind-turbines-to-be-used-for-north-sea-project/)

3. Impossible Burger Sales Replace 72% Of Traditional Burger Sales (https://happyeconews.com/2020/10/05/impossible-burger-sales-replace-72-of-traditional-burger-sales/)

4. Infographic: Top Green Behaviors To Reduce CO2 Emissions (https://happyeconews.com/2020/10/17/infographic-top-green-behaviors-to-reduce-co2-emissions/)

5. China’s carbon target moves big economies into radical climate consensus (https://happyeconews.com/2020/10/12/chinas-carbon-target-moves-big-economies-into-radical-climate-consensus/) 

Happy Eco News has also started collaborating with Ailuna (an app that helps you develop environmental habits) and will be providing them with positive environmental news stories! Find out more information about the Ailuna app on their website: www.ailuna.com.

And as we've said before, sign up for the Happy Eco Newsletter! We can't recommend it enough! It's the best way to start your Monday morning on the right foot! Sign up on their website: www.happyeconews.com. You can also follow them on Instagram @officialhappyeconews (www.instagram.com/officialhappyeconews).

Mother Daughter Earth Links

- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth

- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)

- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz

Lauren Clarke is the Founder and CEO of Turn, a Dallas/Ft. Worth based environmental startup that benefits businesses and households while reducing their environmental impact through composting. Lauren has a very unique and diverse background with degrees in Violin Performance from the University of North Texas, Strategic Communications from Columbia University, and Culinary Arts from El Centro College! Her love for cooking and gardening grew into a passion for composting. She realized that food waste is a major problem and compost is such a valuable resource for our soil and gardens, so she created an environmental services business around it!

Lauren is also a certified Master Gardener with Texas A&M AgriLife (Class of 2013) and a certified composting specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife. She is educated as a compost facility operator with the US Composting Council, and she is also a Certified Culinarian with the American Culinary Federation.

Lauren launched Turn on Earth Day 2018 with a residential pilot in one Dallas zip code. Their vision is to help consumers and businesses rethink and reuse their urban natural environment. Two years later, they’ve expanded their doorstep service to 17 Dallas zip codes and opened over a dozen mobile drop-off stations around the Dallas metroplex, including several in partnership with Whole Foods Market. Turn collects organics from their members (through a subscription-based model) and transport it to local farmers and other partners who can responsibly recycle it.

Lauren and the Turn team also educate and consult on sustainability practices related to the food cycle. Check out the Turn website (https://www.turncompost.com/classes) for a list of available classes. And if you’re looking for a fun session around composting for your business, organization, or class, get in touch with Lauren (even if you’re not in the Dallas area)!

In this week’s bonus episode, Lauren shares some fun and informative stories about how she has turned (no pun intended) her entire yard into an edible landscape and how she has embraced chickens as important members of her family!

Turn links:

- Visit their website: www.turncompost.com

- Check them out on Instagram: @turncompost (www.instagram.com/turncompost)

- Visit their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/turncompost

- Check out Turn’s partners, Farmers Assisting Returning Military: www.farmingveterans.org

Mother Daughter Earth links:

- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth

- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth)

- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz

PJ Beaven has developed a fitness and wellness program unlike any other called ZooFit. Using her 15-years experience as a zookeeper and animal trainer, she implemented the principles of positive reinforcement and conservation to make people’s healthy habits empowering, engaging, and impactful. Her motto is "eat clean, live green, train positive." ZooFit turns fitness into something you can cherish -- an enjoyable activity that helps save the planet! Through her program, PJ teaches people that we can connect to the earth in a healthy and positive way.

After being a zookeeper for 15 years, PJ realized what a toll that had taken on her body and recognized that she needed to start taking care of herself so she could continue to take care of the animals that she loved so much. She applied all the animal training methods she had acquired over the years (positive reinforcement, enrichment, breaking larger tasks down into small steps) to shape a health-centered lifestyle that worked for her. She also learned that the key was to make it fun! She created games and her own workout equipment to make fitness and her personal well-being an engaging and empowering experience.

She then adapted everything she had created and learned and started teaching this unique wellness approach to her clients; she made the connection between health and environmental conservation a major part of her program.  PJ drives home the message that everything that we do (the way we eat, how we move, what daily choices we make) have an impact on the planet. Given this, you wonder why we don’t already talk about conversation in tandem with fitness and health. This is the genius connection that PJ made and used to create ZooFit.  

Check out this week’s bonus episode on Patreon (www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth) where PJ shows us how to make one of the delicious recipes from her book! 

How to connect with PJ

- Visit her website: www.zoofit.net/

- Buy her book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3f05BTd 

- Check out her Instagram page: @zoofit1 (www.instagram.com/zoofit1/)

- Check out her Facebook page: @zoofit (www.facebook.com/zoofit)

- Watch her videos on YouTube: ZooFit (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO5UtCPD_w8UNas0LmBz5EQ)

Mother Daughter Earth links:

- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth

- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth/)

- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz