to know the land

Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) is a tree I have been building relationship with for years. Through gathering, processing, storing, cooking, dyeing, planting, distributing and educating, this has been a plant I have come to know a lot about, and with whom I have shared some of myself with. I do not know Walnut in all stages (I long to know the flowers more), and I do not know the post glacial dispersal (it’s always nice to learn the backstory), I am slowly coming to understand the more than human relationships this tree has with the world around them. I am also deepening my understanding of the complex relationships this plant has with humans.

Now is the time of the year has arrived for the first harvest of hulls, but not yet the time for the nut itself. That will come in a few weeks, but until then tune in to hear about how the Black Walnut supports a strong community of wild life, how to use the hulls for dye, and a little bit of lore on this wonderful tree.

For most of my life I have enjoyed biking and walking through the trails at night. I explore the meandering paths by creek or riverside, venture through parks and fields looking for something unnameable or unknowable by day. There is a special beauty that glows faintly at night and I have longed to share that with friends ever since I was old enough to spend the night out by myself.

The show this week is about sharing the sounds I came across recently on late night forays down to the river by my house and in my backyard. The crickets, the random passing plane, the one off calls of birds, the sudden cry of something I do not know…  I recorded these in hopes to offer them as chances to participate in the space of the night for folks who can’t get out there for whatever reasons.

I hope you enjoy.

I went up to Point Grondine with my partner last week and while there we saw lots of great flora and fauna. Cardinal Flower, Bunchberry, Bristly Sarsaparilla, Bluebead Lily, among so much more beautiful flora. Some of the fauna included Bears, Beavers, Porcupines, possible Wolf scat, Moose tracks... but also one night we were woken up by an animal going through one of our bags. I scared them away but they hissed at me before they managed to get up a 7.5 m/25 feet tiered rock face. The next morning I found some tracks and sign, and then met other campers later in the week who were near us who had a similar encounter. Who did the tracks say it was? Who did the neighbouring campers see by flashlight in the middle of the night? Bobcat.

So, I of course have to nerd out and study Bobcats since I got home, and wanted to read some detailed selections from Donna Naughton’s book “Natural History of Canadian Mammals” and Mark Elbroch and Casey McFarland’s “Mammal Tracks and Sign (2nd edition)”.

I sadly had to cut the show short to be short it would be suitable for my time slot at the radio, but I hope to research more and share what I learn in future episodes or blog entries. For now, check out the show!

illustration of Bobcat by Julius Csotonyi, from Natural History of Canadian Mammals by Donna Naughton, 2012.

The Raccoon (Procyon lotor), whose range has expands to include nearly all habitats on the continent, from Canada to Panama, has made their impact on the land, hearts, minds, and cultures of those who have encountered them.

Author, professor and animal nerd Daniel Heath Justice helps us navigate the wild cultural impacts and impressions of Raccoons. From indigenous Missippian cosmologies as boundary walkers to the denizens of Toronto’s liminal urban nightscape, Raccoons are imprinted on the imaginary as “category-defying, rule-breaking and boundary-breaching beings”. They are models for both lean, resilient, images of the noble wild as well as pestilent dumpster dwelling “trash pandas”.  Queer creatures indeed.

We talk about these binary breakers, the inspirations for the book, their names across cultures and eras, how Raccoons have been weaponized to reproduce racist stereotypes by white supremacist cultures, and even chat a little bit about the Joy of Cooking. A full bodied show for a full bodied animal. Hope you enjoy!

More info:

https://danielheathjustice.com

Ebony Jewelwings (CIalopteryx maculata) are beautiful, which is one of the reasons they are so interesting to watch. I have seriously sat for hours watching them, photographing them and trying to learn from observing what is going on. I have mostly come away with questions.

In light of my own questions and many from friends I have decided to try and research a little bit more about these beautiful broadwinged Damselflies in hopes that I can learn a little bit more and help answer some of those pressing questions.

So come along for the flight and enjoy learning more about the natural history and interesting ecology of the Ebony Jewelwing.

Books I read from:

Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East by Dennis Paulson

A Guide To Observing Insect Lives by Donald Stokes

A Guide To Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America by J. Resse Voshell, Jr.

Dawn Matheson wants to start connecting with trees, or a specific tree rather, at the University of Guelph Arboretum but she’s unsure which one yet. There is a process to get to know a tree and she is in the midst of sorting out that process. How do you find a friend in a tree when the culture around us says humans and trees can’t be friends? Well, she makes friends with other humans who are already friends with trees and starts from there.

Dawn is in the process of a project called “How To Draw A Tree” :

Together we talk about our relationships to trees, the struggles of navigating interspecies communications while we navigate our own mental health, the work and challenges of settlers in building these relationships, and how Dawn hopes to engage with this work and her larger project of connecting with trees.

More info:

Dawn Matheson’s website

If you have listened to the show in the past you’ll know that I am interested in interspecies communication. Usually I focus on animals, especially birds and bird language. Dr. Sarah Abbott is also interested in interspecies communication, and recently completed her doctoral research project with a focus on communication between humans and trees. I thought this was exciting, so I had to find out more.

We shared about what we knew about how trees communicate with each other, and how they might communicate with people. We talked about indigenous technologies for use around interspecies connections and if there were ways for settlers to take off the blinders we have practice the skills she outlines, with some interesting conclusions.

Dr. Abbott and I spent a couple of hours just “webbing it out”, wondering for answers; it was a non-linear conversation, echoing miles of mycelial threads searching out nutrients in the dirt beneath the perceived forest… just the right way to talk about talking with the trees.

More reading:

Approaching Nonhuman Ontologies: Trees, Communication, and Qualitative Inquiry

Sarah Abbott’s website

Tina and Angie describe themselves as “the Wizards behind the curtain” of an awesome company based out of Brooklyn called Bird Collective. They make beautiful patches, t-shirts, sweaters and hats and more celebrating birds from across the continent while also donating to conservation organizations and other projects that help make the world of birding more accessible to everyone.

Their mission from their website reads “Bird Collective is a Brooklyn-based brand creating thoughtfully designed apparel and accessories that celebrate birds and their habitats. Through meaningful partnerships with conservation organizations and community groups, they support bird conservation, protect the habitats birds depend on, and help make birding more inclusive and accessible to all.”

I wanted to interview these folks because of the company model, and because of the cultural creation that is possible with apparel. I am a fan of looking critically at the clothes we wear, and remembering that the things we wear represent our values and our desires. Our outfits show who we are and what we’re into. Why not make it count by sporting a fav pastime of birding, and by supporting amazing conservation projects? This is the first time I’ve interviewed a company or a business, which I might have thought I would never do, but really, I am stoked about the work that Angie and Tina are doing and how they are doing it.

To learn more :

Bird Collective
BlackAsFuckinSTEM

Certified wildlife tracker Sage Raymond, is completing her Masters of Science studying Urban-adapted Coyote ecologies in Edmonton. She has been working with colleagues on the Edmonton Urban Coyote Project studying the patterns and behaviours of these urbanized Coyotes in hopes to be better able to predict, and reduce some of the possible problems or conflicts which could occur between these wilder animals and human/pet populations.

Additionally, we talk about the use of tracking as a useful, non-invasive tool for studying wildlife, novel non-native zoonotic diseases (potentially lethal tapeworms!!) which are infecting the Coyotes and the implications that has for co-habiting human populations.

Studies Sage mentioned in the interview:

Wildlife biologist, Hannah Barron and lawyer Kaitlyn Mitchell have been working to defend Wolves, Coyotes, Bears, and Skunks, among many other animals from being poisoned indiscriminately. Why are they poisoned? The governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan say they are attempting to reduce the chances of livestock predation, and to supposedly protect endangered Caribou from population declines caused by the Wolves.

Together, with the organizations they work with, Wolf Awareness and Animal Justice, and many others, these two superheroes have signed on and submitted three requests under the Pest Control Products Act asking the Canadian Minister of Health to conduct a special review of the registration of all pest control products containing strychnine, Compound 1080, and sodium cyanide. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Health refused to reconsider the use of these violent poisons.

Rather than scapegoating wolves and coyotes and placing indiscriminate and deadly poisons into the environment, Hannah and Kaitlyn detail and describe the reasons why these poisons don’t work, can’t work, and should be banned from use.

This is a hard one to listen to at times, but there is some good news as well.

Learn more:

https://www.wolfawareness.org/

https://animaljustice.ca/