Golden State Naturalist is a love letter to California's ecological past, present, and future.
Come with Michelle Fullner as she climbs to the top of a beaver...
Flying over San Diego, you can see them: Fingers of green extending through neighborhoods all across the city.
San Diego’s urban canyon’s serve as refuges for people and wildlife alike, but they’re also often isolated islands of habitat. This can keep animals from accessing the resources they need to survive. And human neighbors aren’t always able to access these spaces, either.
In this episode, join me and Michelle Thompson as we search for reptiles in one of San Diego’s urban canyons, discuss what makes canyons special, and explore how the San Diego Natural History Museum is setting the foundation for the long-term health of these spaces.
Links:
Healthy Canyons Initiative
Go on a FREE hike with the Canyoneers
Want to help SD canyons? Email Michelle Thompson at: [email protected]
1988 Michael Soulé Study
Support Golden State Naturalist on Patreon and get perks starting at $4/month.
Follow me on Instagram.
My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com.
Get podcast Merch.
The theme song is called “i dunno” by grapes and can be found here.
Episode cover photo provided by The San Diego Natural History Museum.
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43:59
Keystone Plants with Doug Tallamy
What do oak trees, goldenrod, willows, and ceanothus all have in common? They all belong to the group of roughly 14% of plants supporting 90% of caterpillar species.
In other words, they’re all keystone plants.
Join me and Doug Tallamy as we discuss the vital role these plants play in their native ecosystems and how we can bring them home to welcome hundreds of species into our own yards.
Helpful Links:
Doug’s books
Calscape by The California Native Plant Society
Keystone Plants in Mediterranean California (National Wildlife Federation Resource)
Homegrown National Park Map
Article: “The Illusion of a Trillion Trees”
Support Golden State Naturalist on Patreon and get perks starting at $4/month.
Follow me on Instagram.
My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com.
Get podcast Merch.
The theme song is called “i dunno” by grapes and can be found here.Episode cover photo by Parker Sturdivant.
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58:18
Burrowing Owls with Phil Unitt
What do fake rattlesnakes, California ground squirrels, odd eye bones, bubonic plague, bizarre choices in home decor, and regurgitated mouse bones have to do with burrowing owls?
Join me and Phil Unitt as we venture into an urban canyon in San Diego to find out.
Helpful links:
Phil Unitt’s page
Rattlesnake owl noise
Urban Burrowing Owls piece by Clinton Abbott
Fish and Wildlife page on burrowing owls
Secretary Bird video
Support Golden State Naturalist on Patreon and get perks starting at $4/month.
Follow me on Instagram.
My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com.
Get podcast Merch.
The theme song is called “i dunno” by grapes and can be found here.
Episode cover photo by Ray Hennessy
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1:01:28
Sea Level Rise and the California Coast: Imagining a Better Future with Rosanna Xia
The sea is rising, and I have a lot of questions.
Questions about sand movement, seawalls, nature-based climate solutions, ecosystem engineer plants, sand dunes, climate literature, and how we can harness the power of our collective imaginations to adapt to a changing world together.
Join me and environmental reporter Rosanna Xia at Point Dume in Malibu as we discuss my many questions and explore a beach that's been reimagined with the future in mind.
Links:
Become a Heyday Member and receive a free copy of Rosanna’s book, California Against the Sea, when you add the code GOLDEN to the “How did you find us” section.
Grist’s climate fiction reading list.
Learn more about the Embarcadero from this Exploratorium walking tour.
Read more about Seattle’s living seawall.
Support Golden State Naturalist on Patreon and get perks starting at $4/month.
Follow me on Instagram.
My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com.
Get podcast Merch.
The theme song is called “i dunno” by grapes and can be found here.Photo Credit Nikoloz Gachechiladze
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1:14:52
BONUS: Leave the Leaves with David Mizejewski
It's fall!
And all around the country, tidy piles of raked leaves rest on the corners of lawns, ready to be bagged up and thrown away.
But throwing away leaves means throwing away free mulch and fertilizer.
It also means throwing away habitat and belching methane into the atmosphere.
Join me and National Wildlife Federation naturalist David Mizejewski as we discuss the benefits of leaving the leaves, the harms of removing them, and the kind of abundance we can buoy right outside our doors by embracing the natural habitat building opportunities all around us.
Learn more about leaving the leaves.
Support Golden State Naturalist on Patreon and get perks starting at $4/month.
Follow me on Instagram.
My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com.
Golden State Naturalist Merch
Golden State Naturalist is a love letter to California's ecological past, present, and future.
Come with Michelle Fullner as she climbs to the top of a beaver dam, descends into a tar pit, peers into the canopy of a giant sequoia, and basks in the glow of the Milky Way under the eerie silhouettes of Joshua trees.
Each episode, Michelle interviews captivating experts in their natural habitats across California to find out how the unique plants, animals, geology, and hydrology of this biodiversity hotspot make this state Golden.
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