We love native plants and habit-friendly yards at Nature's Archive, and I have a few exciting updates from my yard: spoiler: native plants are working!

And stay tuned for a re-air of a classic episode with Leslie Inman from Pollinator Friendly Yards. There are plenty of useful insights for both habitat-friendly yard practices, and community building. Afterall, we need everyone to not only take action, but spread the word.

And we have new episodes around the corner, too. It's been incredibly busy these last couple of months, so thanks for your patience as we work to keep all of the proverbial plates spinning!

On to the episode...

I started Nature’s Archive podcast in an effort to understand the stories of people making a difference for the environment. I needed to be inspired, wanted to learn how they did it, and share that inspiration and knowledge with anyone willing to listen.

While we haven’t strayed too far from those initial aspirations, I do have many more topic-centric episodes than I did at the start.

Today’s episode is a “back to my roots” episode. My guest is Leslie Inman, the founder of the wildly popular Pollinator Friendly Yards group on Facebook. With 184,000 members, it is perhaps the top spot for people to discuss sustainable personal landscaping. And even if you are not on Facebook, it’s pretty likely you’ve seen her images and infographics.

Leslie’s story is an amazing example of how a little curiosity can be converted into a hugely impactful movement. Today, we discuss not only how the group formed, but the lessons that she has learned along the way. This includes how to “reach” people who may be skeptical about inviting insects to their yards, how to make it easy to get started, and more.

Leslie also has two books - Your Yard is Nature and The Butterfly Egg and the Little Tree.

FULL SHOW NOTES

Links

• Pollinator Friendly Yards
• Dave Goulson
• Doug Tallamy & Homegrown National Park (TikTok)
• Doug Tallamy appeared on Nature's Archive Podcast Episode #26
• Leslie’s Books - Your Yard is Nature and The Butterfly Egg and the Little Tree
• Mary Reynolds, We Are The Ark
• Nancy Lawson, The Humane Gardener [Book]
• Travis Longcore (light pollution ecologist)
• Wild Ones

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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!

Today’s episode is about one of the coolest plants that I can think of - both figuratively and literally!

Stick with me for a moment. When you think of a parasite, what comes to mind? Maybe mosquitoes, ticks, tapeworms. Probably nothing you want to invite into your house or property.

But there are parasites that are super beneficial to ecosystems.

The parasite I’m speaking of is also the cool plant I alluded to. Well, it’s actually a large category of parasitic plants. In fact, they’ve separately evolved on five different occasions. What are they?

Well, mistletoes, of course!

Dr. David Watson joins us all the way from Australia to talk about these spectacular plants. Today you’ll learn why mistletoes are beloved by birds, provide food for many other animals, are key to nutrient cycling, and why they are literally cool plants.

There are even mistletoes that grow on, get this, other mistletoes!

Find Dr. David Watson on Bluesky.

FULL SHOW NOTES including photos!

Support Us On Patreon!
Buy our Merch!

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!

Have you ever wondered why some rainshowers turn into thunderstorms? Just what happens in the atmosphere to create these dynamic, exciting, and sometimes damaging storms?

I find it fascinating, because so many interesting principles are at play - things we often overlook. Like, did you know that the sun doesn’t actually directly warm the air? Yes, you heard that right.

Today we take a look at how thunderstorms develop, how they can turn tornadic, and of course, I tie this back to ecology. We discuss the three ingredients needed for thunderstorms - moisture, lift, and instability - and how sometimes even that is not enough. And then there is the fourth ingredient needed to create tornadic thunderstorms.

You may know that I’ve been a weather nut since I was a kid. Back in grade school, I was so obsessed with tornadoes that I decided I’d write a book about them. My mom would take me to the library so I could check out every weather book I could find. Then I’d head home, pull out my dad’s old typewriter, and create my own newsletter — Weather Extra. My subscriber list? Just me. But I was hooked.

So I hope you enjoy this topic, a bit different than our typical episodes!

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS

Example Forecast Discussion available on your National Weather Service website.

Soil Moisture and Convection: https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/apme/49/4/2009jamc2146.1.xml

Support Us On Patreon!
Buy our Merch!

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!