Jan Hintermeister is a prolific volunteer in many environmental causes and organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Jan has been a long time field volunteer and served multiple terms as the Board Chair for the non-profit San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory. He's been a County Parks Commissioner, a member of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority Citizen Advisory Committee, was instrumental in establishing a unique 40 acre open space preserve in what is now the shadow of Levi Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49’ers, and banded at the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, and much more.

Jan also has many years of experience as a field trip leader and open space docent, too.

Jan shows us that you can maintain your day job and still drive meaningful change through volunteering. We discuss this balance between Jan's Silicon Valley engineering career and his volunteering - how he started and grew his engagement and impact in both direct environmental efforts, and through engaging in the political side. Jan offers a lot of very practical advice for engaging locally and making an impact.

Music Credits
Opening - Fearless First by Kevin MacLoed
Closing - Beauty Flow by Kevin MacLoed
Both can be obtained from https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/

Matthew Dodder is the Executive Director of the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society - but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Matthew's journey into the world of nature conservation and education began with a blizzard in Massachusetts. Matthew's journey took him through seminary school and into a career in graphic design and marketing in Silicon Valley.

He never lost his interest in birds and ecology, spending his free time teaching birding and ornithology, and creating fantastic art work and bird-oriented products. Eventually, the preparation met opportunity, and Matthew was able to transition his career and take on the challenge of leading one of the largest Audubon chapters in California.

This episode covers all of that, how COVID-19 is causing Audubon to change and adapt, and much more, including how to use a melon to avoid a deadly bird encounter. Yes, you read that correctly - be sure to stay tuned for that!

Find Matthew's artwork on his website, and learn more about the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society.

Music Credits:
Opening: Fearless First by Kevin MacLoed
Closing: Beauty Flow by Kevin MacLoed
https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/

You may already know Dorian Anderson from his epic 2014 Biking for Birds adventure - 17830 miles over 365 days, through blizzards, heat waves and crazy drivers. The goal of this trip was to see as many bird species as possible (called a Big Year) in order to reset his life and simultaneously raise money and awareness for the environment and "green" ways to enjoy it.

Dorian has a fascinating back story including a high stakes academic career including a post-doctorate at Massachusetts General and Harvard Medical School, a battle with alcoholism and drugs, an early love of nature, and is quite a photographer, too.

This episode covers all of that and more, including Dorian's approach to risk taking and discussion of his upcoming projects.

Find Dorian on Instagram and on his photography site.

FULL SHOW NOTES

Links
People and Organizations
Listed in order of mention on the podcast.
Mark Kudrav, who had a California bicycle Big Year in 2013
Noah Stryker, who performed an International Big Year, and his book Birding Without Borders
The American Birding Association
The Conservation Fund
Victor Emanual Nature Tours
Christian Hagenlocher – The Birding Project, a funds-limited Big Year
The Speckled Hatchback, Dorian’s blog

Books
Note: links to books are affiliate links
Birding Without Borders, Noah Strycker’s wonderful book about an International Big Year.

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!