Sign up for the Nature Memo, and I’ll let you know whenever a new episode is published! Sign Up Here! The Smith Oaks Rookery on High Island, in springtime, teems with life. Several species of colonial nesting birds come here to raise their young. And they do so right in …
It’s Breeding Season at the Smith Oaks Rookery (Ep. 22) Read More »
Sign up for the Nature Memo, and I’ll let you know whenever a new episode is published! Sign Up Here! Kristi Rangel has many facets: By career she is an educator, public health official, and artist. By passion she explores African American connections to the land in Houston. When she …
Kristi Rangel Reclaims Space and Place in Nature (Ep. 21) Read More »
Sign up for the Nature Memo, and I’ll let you know whenever a new episode is published! Sign Up Here! Houston birding can be intimidating. Those who are really committed to the activity not only know much, they also have a good amount of gear that sets them apart. But …
Go Birding with Sarah Flournoy and Houston Audubon (Ep. 20) Read More »
Sign up for the Nature Memo, and I’ll let you know whenever a new episode is published! Sign Up Here! The population of Texas is changing, but the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is ready. In this third episode of a three part interview, Ted Hollingsworth tells us how …
Texas Parks and Wildlife Meets A Changing State Population (Ep. 19) Read More »
Sign up for the Nature Memo, and I’ll let you know whenever a new episode is published! Sign Up Here! The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) describes its approach to protecting the state’s ecosystems as science-based and forward-looking. How does being science-based work in a political culture that disputes …
How Texas Parks and Wildlife Protects At-Risk Species Across the State (Ep. 18) Read More »
Sign up for the Nature Memo, and I’ll let you know whenever a new episode is published! Sign Up Here! The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is a state government agency, and it maintains a number of tourist attractions in the Houston area. An example is the San Jacinto Monument, …
My Time at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in Houston (Ep. 17) Read More »
Sign up for the Nature Memo, and I’ll let you know whenever a new episode is published! Sign Up Here! In this episode we’ll look at Houston through the lens of a native plant enthusiast. Katy Emde, an expert member of the Native Plant Society of Texas, explains why native …
Sign up for the Nature Memo, and I’ll let you know whenever a new episode is published! Sign Up Here! Each human being is host to a microbiota, an ecosystem made up of trillions of bacteria that inhabit the surfaces and crevices of our body and especially the insides of …
You’ve Got Your Own Private Zoo – It’s Called Your Microbiota (Ep. 15) Read More »
Sign up for the Nature Memo, and I’ll let you know whenever a new episode is published! Sign Up Here! In his book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” Microsoft founder Bill Gates proposes a global – yes, world-wide – solution to climate change. That’s ambitious. Does he succeed? Find …
Bill Gates Wrote “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster.” Is It Any Good? – Part 2 (Ep. 14) Read More »
Sign up for the Nature Memo, and I’ll let you know whenever a new episode is published! Sign Up Here! Microsoft founder Bill Gates, in his book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” proposes a global – yes, world-wide – solution to climate change. That’s ambitious. Does he succeed? Find …
Bill Gates Wrote “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster.” Is It Any Good? – Part 1 (Ep. 13) Read More »
Sign up for the Nature Memo, and I’ll let you know whenever a new episode is published! Sign Up Here! Former Congress member Beto O’Rourke knows Texas like no other. That’s because he’s visited every single one of its 254 counties – listening, debating, and campaigning for the U.S. Senate. …
Beto O’Rourke Wants Us to Protect Our Natural Heritage (Ep. 12) Read More »
Sign up for the Nature Memo, and I’ll let you know whenever a new episode is published! Sign Up Here! Even though squirrels are a very visible form of Houston wildlife, we know little about them. Were you aware, for instance, that their brain shrinks and increases in size with …
Sign up for the Nature Memo, and I’ll let you know whenever a new episode is published! Sign Up Here! Boy Scouts of America promises young men, and now also women, exciting nature experiences and preparation for life as adults. Do they live up to the promise? What’s it like …
Prepared for Life? The Boy Scouts of America (Ep. 10) Read More »
When it comes to drawing children and teenagers into nature, Mary Ann Beauchemin of Russ Pitman Park is an expert. After earning a Master’s degree in outdoors education in Oregon, she taught generations of young Houstonians how to turn over logs, use bug boxes and marvel at critters. And in …
Enchanting Children With Nature: A Teacher’s Tale (Ep. 9) Read More »
Exploration Green is a beautiful park in flood-prone Clear Lake. The Green functions as a giant detention pond. But it is so much more: a space that welcomes wildlife, a refuge from the hustle of city life, an opportunity for volunteers to make friends and learn about nature. My guest …
Exploration Green – It’s How You Build Beauty, Nature and Flood Control (Ep. 8) Read More »
I interviewed green architect Shawn McFarland about permaculture in Houston. My expectation was that we’d have a chat about gardening technique, but I was mistaken. Her take: Permaculture is so much more than gardening. Here’s a sneak peak: In the video, I ask Shawn McFarland what permaculture is.Here is her …
Video Sneak Peak at: Houston’s Permaculture Scene Read More »
The Houston permaculture community is lively. And chances are, you’ve heard of their innovative approach towards gardening – it involves saving seeds and water, harnessing sunlight with herb spirals and food forests, and leveraging beneficial insects to fight garden pests without toxic chemicals. But, as you’ll learn from veteran expert …
Houston’s Permaculture Scene, with Shawn McFarland (Ep. 7) Read More »
Do you have a small plot of earth next to your Houston home? Do you want it to attract birds? Then you’ve come to the right place. The video below – which I made for the Native Plant Society of Texas – features over 40 Houston plants for birds. These …
I interviewed Jackie Young Medcalf, who got her start as an environmental justice advocate at the San Jacinto Waste Pits, and below is a sneak peak at the conversation. To find out how she has made it all work over the past ten years, and how she applies her experience …
The San Jacinto Waste Pits may be Houston’s best-known Superfund site. The chemicals they harbor are at constant risk of leeching out and poisoning both nearby residents and Houston’s seafood supply. But the Pits are not the only toxic site. As my guest Jackie Young Medcalf will tell you, there …
Last night Hurricane Laura made landfall. Against expectations Houston and its Ship Channel, depicted in this map, remained unscathed. People east of us were less lucky. The residents of coastal Louisiana got hit by 150-miles-per-hour winds plus violent storm surge. And at least one chemical plant – in Westlake, Louisiana …
Hurricane Laura Passed on Houston. This Map Shows How Lucky We Were Read More »
We face serious danger from Houston hurricane. I’m not talking about just any old storm, but one that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, rides up the Houston Ship Channel and destroys our petrochemical complex. Several thousand tanks filled with toxic substances might buckle and spill their contents into the …
The Next Houston Hurricane May Be Worse Than Harvey – Let’s Get Ready! (Ep. 5) Read More »
A hundred years ago, you could see the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken all across the Texas Gulf Coast. And on mornings during spring mating season, you’d hear thousands of males call out for females. The soundscape they wove was quintessentially Texan – you just couldn’t find it anywhere else. Today fewer …
This Prairie Chicken Will Make Your Heart Quicken: Fighting Species Extinction (Ep. 4) Read More »
What an amazing little creature the honeybee is. It provides us with essential goods and services – honey, wax, and pollination – and is even more social than we humans are. Curious to find out how a honeybee society runs itself, I reached out to Carlisle Vandervoort, a movie producer …
Glance at the Texas prairie, and all you see is grass and weeds. Look again, and you begin to appreciate the opportunity it holds for all of us: New income streams from carbon storage for ranchers and a slow-down in global warming for the rest of us. It’s win-win all …
The Green Wealth That’s in the Texas Prairie (Ep. 2) Read More »
Greater Houston is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States, and it is growing. To give us a sense of the challenges this poses to the Houston environmental movement, I invited Jaime González to the show. Jaime is the Houston Healthy Cities Program Director at the Nature …
