Wild Plant Culture

Drew Altland is a Senior Manager of Water Resources at RK&K. I saw him talk a few years ago on stream restoration and was fascinated by his historical perspective on streams and wetlands in Eastern North America. We talk about stream conditions prior to European arrival, about the impacts of the colonial area, about reading streams in the present day, and various restoration methods. I never thought about streams the same way after hearing Drew talk and I hope this podcast is just as revelatory for you.

Welcome to Season Three of the podcast! This episode brings us to sunny Tucson Arizona to speak with Katy Gierlach and Jared R. McKinley of Spadefoot Nursery. We talk native plant nursery shop - about being ecologists not horticulturists, getting people to buy ugly plants and weeds, accepting failure, why tomatoes are patriotic if you're Italian, and dumping chicken manure on people's heads. You'll want to tune in. And yes, that's a picture of them.

Hey, if you're digging this podcast, find me on Instagram at @wildplantculture, it's the totality of my social life right now as NJ is snowed in and locked down.

My guest today is Shane LaBrake, talking about our relationship with the tools we use and how that relates to sustainability and earth care. With the winter dormant season coming on, many of us have time to sharpen shovels, fix roofs, change fluids and do other maintenance and repair tasks that we felt too busy for in the summer. So in this episode we're playing hooky from plants and talking about tractors, small engines, and the philosophy of maintenance and loving care.

You can reach Shane at [email protected]. He's got some great videos on Tractor Maintenance on YouTube, produced by ATTRA. Here's a link to the first one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhVIewAsqi8

Music this episode is by Horse Graveyard. Check us out on Bandcamp. This episode is brought to you by Wild Ridge Plants.

Today we have a dispatch from the front lines of habitat destruction and deer overpopulation -- New Jersey. But don't despair! We're talking with Dr. Jay Kelly about some remarkable rare plant recoveries and prospects for restoration.

This podcast is brought to you by Wild Ridge Plants, growers and stewards of native plants.

The music at the beginning and end is "The Ship" by my once (and maybe future) band Horse Graveyard. If you like raw, dark, heavy music with a bit of blazing sunshine peering out from the dark clouds... check us out.

Thanks for listening!