Project Dragonfly

Imagine stepping into the open ocean, the saltwater lifting your body, when suddenly a massive, majestic whale shark glides right beside you. For Dr. Claire Lannoye-Hall, that breathtaking moment wasn't just a bucket-list adventure—it was a terrifying leap of faith for an adult who didn't even know how to swim. It’s exactly the kind of barrier-breaking courage Claire has brought to her decades-long career in conservation education.

Starting out as an "accidental" zoo educator when local classroom teaching jobs were scarce, Claire fell in love with informal learning. Now, as the Vice President of Education at the Detroit Zoo, she is reimagining how the public interacts with wildlife. From letting go of rigid instructions to allow for pure, immersive play, to supporting her team in creating entire rhinoceros skeletons on 3D printers for local high schools, Claire is shifting the traditional "passive sign reading" model into authentic, life-changing community engagement.

Tune in to hear:

-- The Power of Loose Parts: Why the Detroit Zoo's massive new seven-acre section ditches instructional signs and lets children guide their own learning through play.

-- A Shift in Perspective: How Claire's early trips delivering school supplies to Peru evolved from a "deficit model" of giving into a deep, mutual partnership.

-- Trauma Bonding & Resilience: What it was like navigating a PhD program during a global pandemic while her husband was deployed for National Guard response.

In a special "flipped" episode, Project Dragonfly’s own Dr. Kevin Matteson moves from the host’s chair to the guest’s seat. Interviewed by graduate student Aimee Kemp, Kevin shares his journey from the urban landscape of the Bronx to becoming a leading voice in urban ecology and pollinator conservation.

3 Key Takeaways

• The Rise of the Urban Planet: For the first time in history, more people live in urban areas than rural ones. Kevin emphasizes that conservation success now depends on making cities livable and helping urbanites connect with nature to prevent the "extinction of experience."

• The "Pigeon Paradox": If city dwellers only interact with species they perceive as "dirty" or common (like pigeons), they may lose their appreciation for the natural world. Urban ecology aims to provide high-quality nature experiences right where people live—from Coney Island to Chicago.

• A "New World" Gardening Ethic: While native plants are ideal for specialists, Kevin suggests a pragmatic approach for urban gardeners. In highly altered city environments, non-invasive "butterfly magnets" (like butterfly bush) or culinary herbs can provide vital nectar and pollen for generalist bees when native options are scarce.

The "guru" of the native plant movement, Dr. Doug Tallamy, joins host Aimee Kemp to discuss a revolutionary idea: your backyard is the next great frontier for conservation. As a founder of Homegrown National Park, Tallamy argues that we can no longer rely solely on parks and preserves to save biodiversity; we must enlist the 78% of the U.S. that is privately owned.

3 Key Takeaways

• Conservation is a Social Responsibility: Owning a piece of the Earth comes with the responsibility of stewardship. Because ecosystems are interconnected (the "anti-Vegas" effect), what you plant in your yard directly impacts the health of your local watershed and global biodiversity.

• The 50% Rule for Lawns: With 44 million acres of lawn in the U.S. (an area larger than New England), Tallamy challenges homeowners to "cut your lawn in half." Replacing dead ecological space with native plants creates a functional food web that supports birds and pollinators.

• Keystone Plants are Essential: Not all plants are created equal. "Keystone" species, like Oaks, support hundreds of caterpillar species—the "meat and potatoes" of the terrestrial food web. Without caterpillars, bird populations cannot survive, as a single clutch of chickadees requires thousands of caterpillars to fledge.

From the vibrant reefs of the Bahamas to the desert landscapes of Baja, T'Noya Thompson has transformed her lifelong love for the ocean into a career of deep impact. In this episode, host Kevin Matteson explores T'Noya’s journey from a zookeeper at Moody Gardens to becoming a PhD candidate, the owner of Wild Spark Consulting, and the first Wildlife Coexistence Fellow at the Cincinnati Zoo.

3 Key Takeaways

• The "Organization as an Ecosystem": T'Noya’s PhD research treats conservation organizations like living systems. She is investigating the link between organizational culture and staff turnover, arguing that we must protect the people doing the work just as fiercely as we protect the wildlife.

• Building a Legacy in the Bahamas: After a chance meeting at her Master’s graduation with Dr. Ancilleno Davis, T'Noya co-founded "Bahamians, Birds, and Botany." This citizen science program for teens provides the kind of early exposure to nature that T'Noya had to seek out on her own as a child.

• The "Day 4" Transformation: On Earth Expeditions, there is often a pivotal moment around the fourth day where the distance from home sets in. T'Noya shares how overcoming this emotional hurdle, through journaling and peer support, allowed her to be fully present and form authentic, lifelong kinships with her cohort.

Have you ever found yourself locking eyes with a baby orangutan swinging through the jungle canopy? Or experienced a mutual "jump scare" with a wild octopus? For Christy Frank, these aren't just wild adventures—they are moments of profound, undeniable connection.

From a “painfully shy” kid carrying around a tiny point-and-shoot camera to saving up waitress tips for her first DSLR, Christy has always used her lens to bridge the gap between humans and the natural world. Today, her award-winning work documents everything from the complex reality of Lake Erie's toxic algal blooms to local neighborhood bird-banding records, proving that you don't need a formal photography degree to capture stories that matter.

Tune in to hear:

• Mission Impossible, Wildlife Edition: How to ethically photograph animals without them ever knowing you're there.

• The Myth of the Single Villain: Why capturing the truth about environmental crises requires listening to scientists, families, and farmers.

• Stubborn Joy: How to handle a hundred rejected pitches, push through failure, and find enduring hope in conservation action.

Picture an autonomous rover navigating the vast, rolling terrain of the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. It pauses, drills a sand core, and analyzes the sample—just like it would on the surface of Mars. It sounds purely like rocket science, but for Barbra Sobhani, it’s intimately connected to protecting life right here on Earth.

When Barbra—who holds degrees in physics and geology—decided to pursue a master’s in biology, her friends were confused. But as the state director for the NASA Colorado Space Grant program, an Audubon Master Birder, and a botanical illustrator, she knows that exploring extreme environments in space is one of the best ways to understand climate resilience at home. From launching student-built atmospheric sensors to ground-truthing satellite data with community classrooms, Barbra proves that conservation and aerospace are two sides of the same coin.

Tune in to hear:

• The Astrobiology Connection: How sending bacteria up on high-altitude weather balloons helps us understand species survival.

• The Art of Observation: Why drawing Darwin's finches in the Galapagos can cement your connection to a species.

• The Lifelong Learner: Why it's never too late to pivot your career, head back to school, and connect with a brand new community.

Imagine standing perfectly still as a multi-ton elephant leans in, pressing its forehead directly against yours. For Dr. Michelle Szydlowski, this wasn't a moment of terror, but one of profound communication. In the world of elephant tourism in Nepal, Michelle doesn't just study animals; she studies relationships. As an anthrozoologist, she explores the messy, beautiful, and often misunderstood bond between captive elephants and their "mahouts"—the caregivers whose lives are inextricably linked to theirs.Michelle breaks down the "sanctuary myth" and moves us past Western labels of "good" or "bad" to look at the ground-level reality of conservation. From building popsicle-stick slides for salamanders as a child to navigating the complex caste systems of Nepal as a researcher, Michelle’s journey is one of radical inclusion. She shares how her own neurodivergence became a "superpower" in the field, allowing her to read the non-verbal cues of elephants in a way others might miss.Tune in to hear:-- The "Consent" Protocol: How Michelle asks an elephant for permission before beginning her research.-- The Mahout Gap: Why a 4,000-year-old tradition is shifting from an elite calling to a low-wage, low-status job for untrained youth.-- Dogs vs. Cats: A surprisingly accurate field guide to the personalities of rhinos versus elephants.

Imagine a child opening a picture book to find a tiger, a sloth, and a zebra all sharing the same jungle floor. To most, it’s a colorful scene; to Katy Tanis, it’s a missed opportunity for "eco-literacy." Katy started by designing textiles for brands like Betsy Johnson, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that the animals on her fabrics deserved better representation.A graduate of Miami University’s Advanced Inquiry Program, Katy works to bridge the gap between "cute" and "correct." Whether she’s illustrating the real-life courtship rituals of same-sex animal pairs in her Love in the Wild series or debunking the myth that penguins and polar bears are neighbors, Katy proves that you don’t need to sacrifice style to teach science.Tune in to hear:-- The "Accuracy Gap" in Media: Katy highlights a significant lack of ecological literacy in children's products—from putting penguins in Scandinavia to calling chimpanzees "monkeys." She argues that if we don't accurately represent where animals live and how they behave, we undermine future conservation efforts.-- The Power of Stylized Science: You don't need a dry, botanical sketch to be accurate. Katy uses her fashion background to create vibrant, "trendy" art that serves as an entry point for kids (and adults) to learn about niche biodiversity, such as the LGBTQ+ behaviors observed across the animal kingdom.-- Diversity as a Hook: By showcasing the "rainbow" within animal families—like the many colors of bees or frogs—artists can break the "quintessential animal" mold and introduce the public to the 98% of species that usually get ignored by publishers.

Imagine lying in a bed with too many blankets piled on top of you. You’re sweltering, you’re uncomfortable, but unlike us on a hot summer night, the Earth can’t simply kick a foot out to cool down. This is the vivid, accessible world of Kait Birghenthal, President and Project Coordinator for NNOCCI (the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation). Working from the front lines of The Marine Mammal Center in California, Kait is on a mission to dismantle the "spiral of silence" that keeps 75% of Americans from talking about the climate, even when they’re deeply concerned.

Kait moves us away from the "doom and gloom" of traditional environmentalism—what she calls the heartbreaking "Sarah McLachlan commercial" effect—and toward a strategy of strategic framing and shared values. By connecting the survival of baby elephant seals to the way we talk over the dinner table, she proves that hope isn't just a feeling; it’s a tool for civic change.

Tune in to hear:

• The Power of the Blanket: How a simple shift in metaphors—from "greenhouse effect" to "heat-trapping blanket"—can bridge the gap between scientific complexity and public understanding.

• Sentinels of the Sea: Why seals and sea lions are the "canaries in the coal mine" for our shared health, and how their survival is tied to our own communities.

• The "Jedi Mind Trick": Practical tips on "bridging and pivoting" to navigate difficult conversations without getting stuck in political polarization.

Kait mentioned an 'On the Street' framing video when discussing climate change misconceptions, carbon dioxide, ozone layer etc:

https://youtu.be/paCLWbze08c?si=TyKepNLhl4dKfjWN

And, check out Kait's podcast, featuring some NNOCCI colleagues:

Let's Sea: https://linktr.ee/letsseapod

And, join NNOCCI!

https://nnocci.org/

Martha Parker grew up on 20 acres in rural New York, where a chance encounter with a displaced nest of baby bunnies sparked a lifelong obsession with wildlife. Today, she isn’t just saving rabbits; she is the Director of Grants & Partnership Development at the International Rhino Foundation, where she manages the complex "people work" required to save the world’s five remaining rhino species.From the "honeymoon paddocks" of Indonesia to the grasslands of India, Martha pulls back the curtain on the reality of modern conservation. It’s not all rugged jeeps and field binoculars—it’s about grant writing, human-centered design, and navigating the politics of shared spaces. Martha shares the enchanting (and loud) eating habits of the critically endangered Sumatran rhino and explains why, even in a world of habitat loss and poaching, she maintains a sense of "pragmatic hope." This episode is a masterclass in how individual passion can scale into global impact.Tune in to hear:-- The "Pizza Slice" Strategy: How semi-wild sanctuaries are saving species that are too shy to find their own mates.-- The "Singing" Rhino: A description of the unique, endearing vocalizations of the world’s smallest rhino. Hear their songs here:https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2706939102756892-- The Resilience of the "Native Garden": How a frost in Florida serves as a powerful metaphor for the future of conservation.