Wild For Change

On today’s Wild For Change podcast, we are going to learn about habitat restoration with David Lloyd, steward for the Cook County Forest Preserves in Illinois.  During this podcast, we will learn why habitat restoration is so crucial for local ecosystems.  

I am fortunate enough to live near forest preserves where I can take a hike, see wild flowers and wildlife and get a breath of fresh air.  Recently, I wanted to get back into volunteering and signed up to help with habitat restoration at my local forest preserve.  This is where I met Dave and from day one, his enthusiasm for nature was palpable.  Not only do I get to hang out with nature but I have a real opportunity to learn from Dave the importance of restoring the local habitat and what that means for our local ecosystem, pollinators, wildlife, and us. 

During this podcast we will learn;

• How David’s journey to becoming a steward for the forest preserves began with a membership gift to National Geographic.  
• Why habitat restoration is so important for native plants and wildlife.
• The main objective of habitat restoration.
• What happens when invasive species take over an ecosystem and why is it important to remove them.
• How restoring habitat encourages the growth of native plants that may have been dormant for hundreds of years. 
• What the beneficial connection is between habitat restoration and pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. 
• Why prescribed fires are beneficial in woodland regions and the history of fires as being a healthy renewal of biodiversity.
• Why is spending time in nature so important for us.
• Why is volunteering so important and learn how you can get involved.
• Learn about how you can help support native biodiversity in your own backyard through Homegrown National Park.

Website: http://www.wildforchange.com

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On a very special Wild For Change podcast, we celebrate World Elephant Day with Dr. Vicki Fishlock, resident scientist of Amboseli Trust for Elephants in Kenya.  

The Amboseli Trust for Elephants, located in Kenya, is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on the long-term conservation and welfare of Africa’s elephants in the midst of human expansion, through scientific research, outreach, advocacy, and training.   

Dr. Cynthia Moss and her co-founder, Harvey Croze created the Amboseli Elephant Research Project in 1972 which is the longest-running elephant research program globally! Currently, over 1800 elephants are monitored over the Amboseli Ecosystem.

The beauty of the Amboseli Elephant Research Project is what has been learned about elephants and their family dynamics.  

This research provides the basis that elephant familial bonds are an integral element to their continued survival, which also helps us as humans relate to another species and see the importance of ensuring their place on earth. 

In this Wild For Change podcast, we discuss;

• What some of the biggest discoveries have been about elephants through the Amboseli Elephant Research Project. 
• Why familial bonds are so important for elephants and their survival.
• Approximately how many elephant families Amboseli Trust for Elephants monitors in the Amboseli ecosystem.  
• How human and elephant families mirror each other.  
• That even though humans and elephants are different species, we have similar traits.
• Why elephants are great ecosystem engineers and why they are necessary to maintaining healthy ecosystems.
• Amboseli Trust for Elephants’ special Elatia Project where you can follow and elephant family and learn about their interactions and dramas with each other.
• How to discover more about the Amboseli Trust for Elephants and ways to help.

Website: http://www.wildforchange.com

Twitter: @WildForChange

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On today’s Wild For Change podcast, we speak with Joshua Sam Miller. Joshua is a world recording artist, composer, and producer.  His mission is to connect people to the natural world through using the sounds of nature as a healing modality.  

After discovering an affinity to surfing, Joshua took note of the fragility of ocean life and began using his artistry to help with ocean conservation by combining music and the sounds of nature.   

He recently released an album called Sounds of the Ocean to help support ocean conservation in which 100% of the proceeds will go directly to Oceanic Global, an international NGO who works with individuals, communities, and organizations to create positive change and provides solutions to protect our oceans.  

Through his passion for music and sound, Joshua also created a podcast called The Embodied Sounds where he speaks with experts in the field of sound, meditation, music, and wellness to unlock the secrets of sounds.  

As Edgar Cayce known as the father of holistic medicine stated; “The medicine of the future will be music and sound.”  After listening to Joshua’s album Sounds of the Ocean, I believe Edgar Cayce is right. 

Throughout this podcast we learn from Joshua;

• How his love of music began and by experiencing music from multiple cultures in various countries has helped him further express his love of sound and music and then share its healing benefits for people.  
• How sound is the oldest medium used to help us become in tune with what is going on internally and externally.  
• How the sound of music helps to interconnect the world.  
• As Joshua was introduced to music as a therapeutic tool by a dear friend and mentor and by performing with his friend, led Joshua to use music as a therapeutic modality in his work. 
• Through teaching a nada yoga class (yoga of sound) paved the path for Joshua to integrate the sounds of nature with music.  
• The profound impact we have on our ocean and how we can help.
• His new album, Sounds of the Ocean helps us connect to the ocean, helps us heal, and supports ocean conservation.
• How our own self-care can lead to helping the world.
• To learn more about Joshua’s work and album go to:

www.soundsoftheocean.com

www.joshuasammiller.com

Website: http://www.wildforchange.com

Twitter: @WildForChange

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On a Wild For Change podcast, we speak with The Conservation Kid, Cash Daniels.  

Cash has always had a passion for protecting our earth and its natural resources.  At the age of 7, he began cleaning up trash around the Chattanooga River and has since removed 17,000 pounds of trash.  He started teaching adults about the importance of protecting our planet and has gotten kids involved to do the same.  

In 2022, Cash began a non-profit with his best friend Ella Grace called The CleanUp Kids to help protect the trees, the seas, and everything in between.  

Did I mention that Cash is also Time’s Top 5 Honoree Kid of the Year?  

As much as Cash is young, he is also wise and has a lot to teach others how to support and protect our planet.  

During this podcast, Cash talks about;

• What inspired him to want to help protect the planet and animals. 
• His motivation to pick up 17,000 pounds of trash around the Chattanooga River 
• How he began cleaning up fishing lines along the Chattanooga River using monofilament recycling receptacles and with a grant from the Jane Goodall Institute program Roots and Shoots, he has now implemented this across the state of Tennessee.  
• How much trash from rivers and land actually ends up in oceans.
• The non-profit organization, The CleanUp Kids he created with his best friend Ella, to protect the earth and its natural resources, the projects they are currently working on, and how they are encouraging kids around the globe to pick up one million pounds of trash by the end of 2022.  
• The problem with single-use plastic and how it is affecting nature, animals and people.

His book One Small Piece and how each individual can help keep our planet healthy.  

Website: http://www.wildforchange.com

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On a Wild For Change podcast, we speak with Ellie Laks-Weiner, founder of The Gentle Barn.  

Ellie founded the Gentle Barn in 1999.  The Gentle Barn rescues animals, gives them sanctuary, and heals children by sharing the animals’ stories.   

It began as a half-acre farm in the San Fernando Valley, California.  In 2002, co-founder Jay Weiner began as a volunteer for the Gentle Barn and joined forces with Ellie to help children and animals.  

In 2003, Ellie and Jay moved the barn to a six-acre location in Santa Clarita, California and has since opened two locations in St. Louis, Missouri, and Nashville, Tennessee.

The motto of the Gentle Barn is “Teaching people kindness and compassion to animals, each other, and the planet.” And since its inception, Gentle Barn 

has saved thousands of animals and I suspect just as many people who have come to visit and experience the sanctuary.  

During this podcast we learn:

• What was Ellie’s inspiration to create The Gentle Barn
• How The Gentle Barn is a circle of healing for animals, people, and the planet
• How six cows who escaped a slaughterhouse in St. Louis were the impetus for The Gentle Barn location in St. Louis
• Why listening and communicating with the animals helps them to heal and know they matter
• Animals want the same thing we do; to be loved, having a voice, and having family
• How cow hug therapy provides people a sense of peace, comfort, love, hope, and healing
• How the animals help us learn to BE instead of DOING – which helps us remember who we are
• About how to make kinder choices with plant-based foods and cruelty-free products

Website: http://www.wildforchange.com

Twitter: @WildForChange

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On a new Wild For Change podcast, we speak with Barbara Lovett, co-founder of Save Nosey Now, a grassroots organization founded in 2014, whose original mission was to provide actions and education that would get Nosey, a circus elephant to sanctuary and keep her there.  

Barbara will share the story of how her love and determination to rescue Nosey evolved into a grassroots movement leading to Nosey’s rescue and sanctuary placement.  We will also learn from Barbara’s experience, effective advocacy tools to use to become a voice for animals. 

With trailblazers like Barbara, the groundwork for advocating for elephants and all animal rights has paved a way for us an opportunity to do the same.  

During this informative podcast, we will learn;

• How Barbara Lovett began a grassroots organization known as Save Nosey Now to save Nosey, a circus elephant and get her to a sanctuary to live in freedom.
• What life is like for a captive elephant and the stark comparison of life for an elephant in the wild.
• Which captive elephants Save Nosey Now is focusing on to fight for their freedom.
• Advocacy tools to become a voice for all animals.
• How we can help stop wild animals being exploited in traveling shows by supporting the TEAPSPA Act (Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act.  You can learn more here.
• How to join Save Nosey Now and what you can do to help captive elephants.   

Website: http://www.wildforchange.com

Twitter: @WildForChange

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On today’s podcast, we discuss how unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS’, can benefit wildlife, nature, and mankind with Fatema Hamdani, CEO, and co-founder of Kraus Hamdani Aerospace.  

In today’s world, we are constantly seeing changes in our climate, larger-scale natural disasters and fires.  Many of our wildlife are threatened by poaching and wildlife trafficking.  Although there are countless solutions to help minimize these global impacts, faster results can provide us with a larger perspective, a bird’s eye view. 

As Fatema Hamdani states in Forbes, 2020;

“We are imagining a world where we have flying robots that have the ability to cover our planet and provide data for climate change monitoring, for effective management of natural disasters, and search and rescue missions.  The ability to do that changes the odds for innocent lives that come in harm’s way, whether that be wildlife, the vulnerable, or people impacted tragically by tragedy or climate change. The vision is to use technology to enable our humanness more, and connect us more to our world.”

The future of supporting the planet and its inhabitants is here with the technology developed by Kraus Hamdani Aerospace.  

During this podcast, we discover;

• How the founders of Kraus Hamdani Aerospace created their UAS platform to connect the world and become a bridge between sea, land, air, and space.
• The Kraus Hamdani UAS K1000 ULE is not only the longest endurance UAS in its size and weight category in the world but is also fully electric.
• How the UAS K1000 ULE incorporates the use of biomimicry for flight and endurance.
• How using this technology will help conserve and protect wildlife in real-time from wildlife poachers.  
• How the use of the UAS K1000 ULE is able to provide early detection for a natural disasters such as fires, continuous monitoring during the disaster, and intelligence for post-disaster rebuilding.  
• How the UAS K1000 ULE can provide access to connectivity for 45% of the world’s population who do not have it, which in turn can establish equality and education for all. 

Website: http://www.wildforchange.com

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On a new Wild For Change podcast, we will be talking about America’s historic prairie ecosystem, with Daniel Kinka, Senior Wildlife Restoration Manager of American Prairie.  

American Prairie’s mission is to conserve the largest ecosystem in the contiguous United States.   

It is working to connect and preserve more than 3 million acres of habitat on the Northern Great Plains of Montana. This is the equivalent to the size of the state of Connecticut.  

Prairies are found in regions where there isn’t enough rain to support a forest but not so little that a desert forms.  Many of these prairies or grasslands have been converted into agricultural use and are one of the fastest disappearing ecosystems in the world.   Globally, less than 2% of prairies have been preserved.  

Losing prairies threatens the wildlife living there, water quality, and carbon stores that helps to mitigate climate change, which is why the work of American Prairie is an important contributor to preserving one of North America’s most important ecosystems.  

During this podcast, we discover;

• How American Prairie actually works to connect, restore, and protect the prairie ecosystem and thereby supports the full ecological process of the prairie
• What it means to rewild the ecosystem through indirect rewilding and collaboration
• How American Prairie works with neighbors to support and sustain large scale wildlife conservation
• How American Prairie’s Bison Restoration Program is key to the restoration of the prairie ecosystem

You can learn more about American Prairie at www.americanprairie.org

Website: http://www.wildforchange.com

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Today, we will be speaking with Blake Lawrence, Marketing Manager of Cool Effect on how we can reduce our carbon footprint.  

Cool Effect is the actual boots on the ground non-profit working diligently to help fund projects that help reduce our carbon footprint.   Cool Effect uses science, expertise, and transparency to fund projects around the globe that actually help in reducing carbon emissions.  And as citizens of earth, we can help reduce our carbon footprint by purchasing carbon offsets for these projects.   

Carbon dioxide is the most prevalent greenhouse gas and accounts for ¾ of all emissions.  It keeps heat close to the Earth’s surface causing global temperatures to rise and affecting our weather patterns.  

This combined result has been seen with our extreme weather changes, rising sea levels, forest fires, changing of wildlife patterns and habitats, and water availability.  Carbon dioxide emissions mainly come from burning wood, coal, oil, gas, and solid waste which is related to human activity.  

Greenhouse gases also affect our health as these emissions contribute to an increase in smog and air pollution which can lead to respiratory illnesses.  

We all emit carbon through our daily activities, ranging from driving to the amount of electricity we use.  Reducing our carbon footprint is a key component to turning the tide with climate change and the rise of global temperatures.  The carbon footprint of the average American is 16.6 carbic tonnes in one year which is one of the highest rates in the world.   

Whether it is purchasing land in Montana to protect native grasslands that sequester carbon to providing cookstoves in rural homes in Honduras that provide clean air and health benefits to families, Cool Effect is trailblazing a path towards a greener, healthier, more sustainable planet for all of us to live on.  

On this Wild For Change podcast, we will learn;

• How Cool Effect helps combat climate change by funding projects around the globe that aim to reduce carbon emissions.
• Learn what our carbon footprint is and a carbon offset.
• Simple measures we can take to reduce our carbon footprint.
• How we can offset travel to reduce our carbon footprint.
• Learn about some of the amazing projects Cool Effect is funding to help reduce carbon emissions.  

You can learn more about Cool Effect and its amazing work at: www.cooleffect.org

Website: http://www.wildforchange.com

Twitter: @WildForChange

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If you’re a bird lover like me or a lover of nature, you are going to love today’s podcast with Tykee James, Government Affairs Coordinator of The National Audubon Society.  

The National Audubon Society is a nonprofit conservation organization that started in 1905.  It protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. 

Audubon works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive. 

Birds play an important role in our ecosystems.  They help control pest populations, pollinate plants, and disperse seeds.  But bird populations are being threatened as our landscapes and climate is changing.  

In a 2019 National Audubon Society report, it was estimated 2/3 of North American bird species will become vulnerable to extinction if global temperatures continue to rise.  Audubon experts also found an overlap between places that are important for birds’ survival and where there are natural carbon stores.  Therefore, protecting bird habitats is equally important for fighting climate change, thus improving our shared quality of life.  As Tykee mentions in the podcast; “Where birds survive, people thrive.”

Thomas Lovejoy, an American ecologist stated; “If you take care of birds, you take care of most of the environmental problems in the world.”  and the National Audubon Society is striving to do just that. 

In this @WildForChange podcast, we learn;

• How Tykee’s path in high school led him to his position The National Audubon Society
• How Tykee shares his love of birds with staff members on Capitol Hill
• How climate change is threatening bird populations 
• The key strategies The National Audubon Society uses to maximize conservation efforts for birds
• How we can mitigate the threat of climate change for birds and ourselves
• How we can get involved with The National Audubon Society to make a difference for birds 
• What urban areas are doing to help birds with the Lights Out Program
• What we can do to make our backyards more bird friendly

You can learn more about Tykee James and his progressive movement for birds and wildlife conservation in his podcasts;

• https://www.wildlifeobservernetwork.com/podcasts/on-word-for-wildlife
• https://www.wildlifeobservernetwork.com/podcasts/brothers-in-birding

Website: http://www.wildforchange.com

Twitter: @WildForChange

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