I’m incredibly excited to announce that my Nature’s Archive podcast has launched! It has taken a lot of work and time, but it’s here! I’m really fortunate to have three great episodes to launch with: Dorian Anderson tells about his incredible story of biking 17830 miles across the USA for discovery of birds and himself … More Nature’s Archive Podcast has Launched!
Summary My guest in this episode is Tony Iwane. Tony is Outreach and Community Coordinator for iNaturalist, an environmental educator, contributor to Bay Nature Magazine, photographer, and just an all around interesting and knowledgeable naturalist. As a key staff member for iNaturalist and one of its earliest members, Tony gives us an insider’s view of … More #12: Tony Iwane – Outreach and Community at iNaturalist
Summary My guest today is Charley Eiseman. Charley is the lead author of the innovative and fascinating “Tracks and Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates”, which digs deep into the details of insect identification through the clues they leave, such as egg masses, cocoons, galls, burrows, leaf mines and more. This initial treatment of leaf … More #11: Charley Eiseman – Naturalist, Author, Innovator, and Leaf Mining Insect Specialist
Summary My guest today is Mike Bergin. Mike is the creator of 10,000 Birds, one of the oldest, and one of the most popular birding websites on the planet. Mike was an early pioneer of nature blogging, carving a playbook for others to follow, and creating a community of birding bloggers. This carries on today, … More #10: Mike Bergin – 10,000 Birds – Lessons from Pioneering an Online Nature Community
Summary My guest today is noted wildfire and chaparral ecologist Rick Halsey. Rick authored the book “Fire, Chaparral, and Survival in Southern California”, and has given countless talks on the subject. Rick has a background in Environmental Studies, Anthropology, and Education, with degrees from University of California Santa Barbara, Cal State San Diego and UC … More #9: Rick Halsey – Wildfire Ecology in the Chaparral and the American West
Summary My guest in this episode is Christian Shaw, adventurer and co-founder of Plastic Tides. Plastic Tides is a non-profit with a mission TO INSPIRE AND CATALYZE ACTION TOWARD A PLASTIC-FREE FUTURE THROUGH ADVENTURE, EDUCATION, AND YOUTH EMPOWERMENT, and as you’ll hear today, has a multi-faceted program to accomplish this. A graduate of Cornell University, … More #8: Christian Shaw – Adventurer and Founder of Plastic Tides
Summary My guest in this episode is Merav Vonshak. Merav is an ecologist, naturalist, and citizen science organizer located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Merav is the founder of BioBlitz Club, a group that organizes BioBlitzes to raise awareness for environmental causes, often partnering with specific organizations, or simply to raise community awareness of … More #7: Merav Vonshak – Outreach and Education with BioBlitzes
Originally posted 8 September, 2013 I love to hike. In fact, I try to take a 5-10 mile hike each weekend. I just can’t think of a better way to get a few hours of solitude, while also getting great exercise, along with an excuse to observe and photograph nature. Today was no exception – … More My Mountain Lion Encounter
Updated 16 October 2020 Like so many topics in the public eye, wildfire is very complex. For anything I state, it’s not hard to find exceptions. Every biome, every climate, every terrain has different wildfire regimes. As a result, I feel great disappointment when I see overly simplified comments in the media, in social media, … More Updates on my Crash Course in Wildfires
Summary Welcome to my second in-between episode. These are short episodes in between my interview episodes. I’m calling this one Cool Tools – Nature Identification Edition! I’ll cover what I think are great tools to aid you in identifying, and thus, learning about the nature all around us. I cover phone apps and websites, hand … More #6: Cool Tools – Nature Identification Edition
I live in San Jose, and we’re sandwiched in between three large fires, including two of the top three fires ever in California. In fact, 17 of the top 20 California fires of all time have occurred since 2003. While the 2020 fires were started by natural causes – lightning, it is clear that the … More A Quick Note on California’s Historic Wildfire Season
