Nerdy About Nature

This is a special edition of Undercurrents - instead of sharing and discussing recent news, articles or studies here, Julia & Ross delve into their thoughts and reflections given the results of the recent US Presidential election, and what that means moving forward. Undercurrents is a podcast series from Nerdy About Nature where we discuss recent studies, reports and news from the world of environment, ecology and climate which all impact our understanding of the world and the way we relate to it.  In other words, it’s all the unseen things that happen without much notice that impact the direction or flow of our society and the world we all share. Produced by Ross Reid Hosted by Ross Reid & Julia Huggins Nerdy About Nature is a passion project whose primary goal is to provide free access for all to education about this world so that people can enjoy it more, build connection and fall in love with it, and ultimately work in ways to steward it for future generations to enjoy.  We do this through short and long form videos all over social media @NerdyAboutNature, as well as this podcast you’re listening to now, and it’s all made possible thanks to support from folks like yourself.  If you’re enjoying the content we’re creating, you can help keep it going by supporting us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠nerdyaboutnature.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

In case you missed it, I took a brief hiatus from your regular programming to run for MLA of the Mid Island - Pacific Rim riding as the Green Party of BC Candidate and whewwww, what a time! After a long campaign period of lots of learnings, I unfortunately wasn't elected...but thats alright with me, I've got other things to focus on and I may revisit it again in the future. After a week and a half of decompressing, I've decided to pop on here and share some thoughts and reflections on the whole experience with y'all in a long-winded rant, while also taking time to address some questions that many of you had here. Massive thanks to everyone who supported me and who voted in this election, y'all are the best, and together we can make the future a pretty rad place! Links: Green Party of BC 2024 Platform PDF Green Party of BC Platform site Enjoying Nerdy About Nature? Support this project on Patreon to make podcasts like this possible! ⁠⁠|| SUPPORT THESE PODCASTS ||⁠⁠ Follow elsewhere Nerdy About Nature for more engaging fun-facts to make your next jaunt into the outdoors more rad! || ⁠⁠YouTube ⁠⁠|| ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ || ⁠⁠TikTok --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

Over the past 40 years, Tla-O-Qui-Aht First Nation has been fighting relentlessly for their traditional unceded territory with the colonial government of BC / Canada so that they can implement a land vision and stewardship model that seeks to benefit society at large, while preserving options and opportunity for their grandchildren. I sat down with Saya Masso, the Lands & Resources Manager for Tla-O-Qui-Aht First Nation, to chat about the origins of their Tribal Parks, trials and tribulations along the way, recent wins, and the vision for the future they hope to achieve. A truly fun and charismatic guy, Saya has a great deal of experience and unique perspective on some of the most pressing issues we as a society face today, with progressive solutions that work to create an equitable, inclusive and diverse future for all of us who reside amongst these lands. Listen in, and get inspired! Learn more about the Tla-O-Qui-Aht Tribal Parks Allies at TribalParks.com Each episode of Nerdy About Nature makes a donation to a non-profit of the guests choosing using funds from Patreon supporters, and in this episode Saya decided to give his donation to the Tla-O-Qui-Aht Language Keepers Program. Nerdy About Nature is an independent passion project that relies on support from folks like you.  If you’re enjoying this podcast and videos, help me keep making them by joining the Patreon family - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Got Questions?  Want Stickers?  Want community?  Wanna engage?  Do it all as a Patreon member, it’s easy! You can also make a one-time donation, get NAN merch, resources and more information at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.NerdyAboutNature.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

For the past couple hundred years, buildings and homes in North America have been constructied using virgin timber from the vast forest resources that once stretched across the continent, and when those structures fall out of use, they are typically demolished, sending all of those old high quality timbers to the dump. Yet with that supply of quality oldgrowth timbers virtually non-existent these days, and second growth timbers not quite being of the same caliber, perhaps there's a way we can be less wasteful, more creative, and more resourceful in what we scrap, and what we build with what remains? Thats where the concept of 'deconstruction' comes in, or the process of taking a building apart and saving all of the most high quality pieces to be used again in new structures. I sat down with Adam Corneil of Unbuilders & Heritage Lumber to chat all about this budding industry, the challenges and benefits, and how thinking in a more circular fashion is better for our society and our forests. Learn more about Unbuilders and all the great work they do at Unbuilders.com, and all the great vintage wood products they create at HeritageLumber.ca Each episode of Nerdy About Nature makes a donation to a non-profit of the guests choosing using funds from Patreon supporters, and in this episode Adam decided to give his donation to ⁠⁠ The Re-Use People Of Canada Nerdy About Nature is an independent passion project that relies on support from folks like you.  If you’re enjoying this podcast and videos, help me keep making them by joining the Patreon family - ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature⁠⁠⁠⁠ Got Questions?  Want Stickers?  Want community?  Wanna engage?  Do it all as a Patreon member, it’s easy! You can also make a one-time donation, get NAN merch, resources and more information at ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.NerdyAboutNature.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

What is economic reconciliation, why is it important, and what does it have to do with protecting lands and empowering communities? I sat down with Michelle Laviolette, the director of Indigenous Banking Strategy at Vancity to break it all down and hear about all the ways that they are working to support and create opportunities for individuals and their communities.  They’ve been leading the charge in helping to support indigenous nations to provide banking and investment opportunities, to provide homeloans and retrofittings for climate sustainability, to opening up branches in remote communities to help support them, as well as tons of other incredible initiatives, so get ready to get inspired! Todays episode is presented by Vancity, a community credit union based in the greater Vancouver region that operates on a local scale to support and build up the communities it operates in, investing in building a clean and fair world for all.  Put your money into doing good! Learn more about Vancity and become a member by checking out VanCity.com. Each episode of Nerdy About Nature makes a donation to a non-profit of the guests choosing using funds from Patreon supporters, and in this episode Michelle decided to give her donation to ⁠⁠Aborginal Mothers Centre. Nerdy About Nature is an independent passion project that relies on support from folks like you.  If you’re enjoying this podcast and videos, help me keep making them by joining the Patreon family - ⁠https://www.patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature⁠⁠⁠ Got Questions?  Want Stickers?  Want community?  Wanna engage?  Do it all as a Patreon member, it’s easy! You can also make a one-time donation, get NAN merch, resources and more information at ⁠⁠⁠www.NerdyAboutNature.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

Forestry is a large part of the culture and economy of the PNW in both the US and Canada, but over a century of poor forest management has led to some of the largest issues we face today from a lack of biodiversity and carbon stores, to ecosystems that are less resilient to drought and forest fires. How can we create healthy communities living amongst healthy forest lands through a thriving forestry industry? Well, simply put - it's by changing the way we do things and learning to value a forest for more than just its value as a source of timber. I sit down with Barry Gates of Wildwood Ecoforest to talk all about ecoforestry as the best solution to our industrial logging complex problem, and I hope you find it as incredible and inspiring as I did. There's a lot of work to be done, but thankfully Barry and the crew at Wildwood have already done the ground work in laying out a clear path for a better future, so let's get to walkin' it already! Each episode of Nerdy About Nature makes a donation to a non-profit of the guests choosing using funds from Patreon supporters, and in this episode Barry decided to send his donation to ⁠Stand.Earth Nerdy About Nature is an independent passion project that relies on support from folks like you.  If you’re enjoying this podcast and videos, help me keep making them by joining the Patreon family - https://www.patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature⁠⁠ Got Questions?  Want Stickers?  Want community?  Wanna engage?  Do it all as a Patreon member, it’s easy! You can also make a one-time donation, get NAN merch, resources and more information at ⁠⁠www.NerdyAboutNature.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

Undercurrents is a podcast series from Nerdy About Nature where we discuss recent studies, reports and news from the world of environment, ecology and climate which all impact our understanding of the world and the way we relate to it.  In other words, it’s all the unseen things that happen without much notice that impact the direction or flow of our society and the world we all share. This episodes topics: Shifting Heatwaves: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adl1598 The Cost of Bad Winters: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13683500.2024.2314700 Droughts and Fire: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168192324001059 Nitrogen Impeding Nocturnal Pollinators: https://www.science.org/content/article/night-pollution-keeps-pollinating-insects-smelling-flowers Better Variable Retention Management: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112723000816 Produced by Ross Reid Hosted by Ross Reid & Julia Huggins Nerdy About Nature is a passion project whose primary goal is to provide free access for all to education about this world so that people can enjoy it more, build connection and fall in love with it, and ultimately work in ways to steward it for future generations to enjoy.  We do this through short and long form videos all over social media @NerdyAboutNature, as well as this podcast you’re listening to now, and it’s all made possible thanks to support from folks like yourself.  If you’re enjoying the content we’re creating, you can help keep it going by supporting us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠nerdyaboutnature.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.  Natures pretty neat, ya know - let’s keep it that way! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

Undercurrents is a podcast series from Nerdy About Nature where we discuss recent studies, reports and news from the world of environment, ecology and climate which all impact our understanding of the world and the way we relate to it.  In other words, it’s all the unseen things that happen without much notice that impact the direction or flow of our society and the world we all share. This episodes topics: Boiling Microplastics: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.4c00081 https://www.newscientist.com/article/2419556-boiling-tap-water-can-remove-80-per-cent-of-the-microplastics-in-it/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2366304-ingesting-microplastics-may-increase-fat-absorption-by-145-per-cent/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2420674-microplastics-linked-to-a-greater-risk-of-heart-attack-and-stroke/ Oil & Gas Gaslighting: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/04/exxon-chief-public-climate-failureshttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/22/us-oil-company-exxonmobil-investors-climate-follow-this Glyphosate: https://enveurope.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s12302-018-0184-7 https://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/local-news/unbc-research-team-gets-15-million-to-study-glyphosate-8296613 https://www.evergreenalliance.ca/analysis/32/ Climate Bandaid Solutions: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023GL106132 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00119-3 Produced by Ross Reid Hosted by Ross Reid & Julia Huggins Nerdy About Nature is a passion project whose primary goal is to provide free access for all to education about this world so that people can enjoy it more, build connection and fall in love with it, and ultimately work in ways to steward it for future generations to enjoy.  We do this through short and long form videos all over social media @NerdyAboutNature, as well as this podcast you’re listening to now, and it’s all made possible thanks to support from folks like yourself.  If you’re enjoying the content we’re creating, you can help keep it going by supporting us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature⁠⁠⁠⁠, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠nerdyaboutnature.com⁠⁠⁠⁠.  Natures pretty neat, ya know - let’s keep it that way! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

Oo hot goss’ alert! A new leaked map shows that while the top scientists on the Oldgrowth Technical Advisory Committee panel were picking out the best remaining old growth forest to protect in BC, the Ministry of Forests was actively undoing all that work, changing the borders on the deferral areas to include more low productivity forest while making the best forest left in the bioregion available to be logged by industry.  You heard that right - government and industry blatantly working in hand in hand behind the peoples backs. Despite all the protests, the phone calls, the letters and the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history, the BC NDP smiled to your face and lied, while working behind closed doors with the logging industry to make sure that they could continue to log old-growth, just as they always had. It’s clear that those currently running our government are beyond ethically and morally corrupt, as they willfully ignore the demands of the people they were elected to serve, in order to line their pockets and continue to pander to a wealthy, established, power-hungry colonial capitalist resource extraction industry. So how do we create change in a system so determined to keep things as they are? Why do we spend so much time trying to fix those stagnant, broken systems that refuse to change, when we could be creating new systems altogether? What if we abolished the Ministry of Forests, created a Ministry of Ecology, and fundamentally changed the way we operate on these lands and in our communities? Let’s think differently to create a different outcome than this repetitive disappointment and corruption. Drop your ideas in the comments, engage in some constructive conversation, and let’s find a way to move forward together. Nerdy About Nature is a passion project whose primary goal is to provide free access for all to education about this world so that people can enjoy it more, build connection and fall in love with it, and ultimately work in ways to steward it for future generations to enjoy.  We do this through short and long form videos all over social media @NerdyAboutNature, as well as this podcast you’re listening to now, and it’s all made possible thanks to support from folks like yourself.  If you’re enjoying the content we’re creating, you can help keep it going by supporting us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature⁠⁠⁠⁠, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠nerdyaboutnature.com⁠⁠⁠⁠.  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

Undercurrents is a podcast series from Nerdy About Nature where we discuss recent studies, reports and news from the world of environment, ecology and climate which all impact our understanding of the world and the way we relate to it.  In other words, it’s all the unseen things that happen without much notice that impact the direction or flow of our society and the world we all share. This episodes topics: Olivine Disintegration - https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/20/4669/2023/bg-20-4669-2023.pdf Reforestation Not So Cool - https://www.newscientist.com/article/2418595-climate-benefits-of-planting-forests-might-be-overestimated/ Eastern US Forest Cooling - https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2023EF003663 Plastic Bag Reduction - https://grist.org/solutions/plastic-bag-bans-have-already-prevented-billions-of-bags-from-being-used-report-finds/ https://publicinterestnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Plastic-Bag-Bans-Work-January-2024.pdf Kananaskis Logging Pause - https://thenarwhal.ca/kananaskis-clearcut-logging-pause/ Produced by Ross Reid Hosted by Ross Reid & Julia Huggins Nerdy About Nature is a passion project whose primary goal is to provide free access for all to education about this world so that people can enjoy it more, build connection and fall in love with it, and ultimately work in ways to steward it for future generations to enjoy.  We do this through short and long form videos all over social media @NerdyAboutNature, as well as this podcast you’re listening to now, and it’s all made possible thanks to support from folks like yourself.  If you’re enjoying the content we’re creating, you can help keep it going by supporting us at ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature⁠⁠⁠, or at ⁠⁠⁠nerdyaboutnature.com⁠⁠⁠.  Natures pretty neat, ya know - let’s keep it that way! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

Undercurrents is a podcast series from Nerdy About Nature where we discuss recent studies, reports and news from the world of environment, ecology and climate which all impact our understanding of the world and the way we relate to it.  In other words, it’s all the unseen things that happen without much notice that impact the direction or flow of our society and the world we all share. This episodes topics: Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Collapse https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/09/atlantic-ocean-circulation-nearing-devastating-tipping-point-study-finds https://www.newscientist.com/article/2416631-atlantic-current-shutdown-is-a-real-danger-suggests-simulation/ Global Ocean Temps https://www.wired.com/story/ocean-temperatures-keep-shattering-records-and-stunning-scientists/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2416231-hottest-january-on-record-sees-the-world-reach-1-7c-warming-mark/ Closure of Duke University herbarium https://www.science.org/content/article/tragic-mistake-decision-close-duke-university-s-herbarium-triggers-furor Forest composition affects drought resistance https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-024-01374-9 OGMA’s not actually Old Growth https://www.todayinbc.com/news/less-than-13-of-bcs-old-growth-management-areas-are-old-growth-watchdog-7312857 "Old growth" antarctic moss beds as biological archives https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9826052/ Produced by Ross Reid Hosted by Ross Reid & Julia Huggins Nerdy About Nature is a passion project whose primary goal is to provide free access for all to education about this world so that people can enjoy it more, build connection and fall in love with it, and ultimately work in ways to steward it for future generations to enjoy.  We do this through short and long form videos all over social media @NerdyAboutNature, as well as this podcast you’re listening to now, and it’s all made possible thanks to support from folks like yourself.  If you’re enjoying the content we’re creating, you can help keep it going by supporting us at ⁠⁠patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature⁠⁠, or at ⁠⁠nerdyaboutnature.com⁠⁠.  Natures pretty neat, ya know - let’s keep it that way! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

What the heck is a bioregion, what does that mean and why does it matter? Well, I’ll tell ya, because thinking bioregionally is a key component of recognizing the ground underneath your feet and the role it plays in the broader systems of earth to create a better future for us all. A bioregion is an area of land that is defined by physical properties or boundaries like coastline and mountain ranges that contain a similar mix of biota, or plant and animal species throughout, and interdependent hydrological patterns of flow that unites the region. No matter where on this planet you live, you are part of a bioregion, and what happens in one part of the world has literal trickle down impacts to another, and beyond into the oceans that unite all these different bioregions. Everything is interconnected beyond our myopic, linear way of human-thinking, and once you’re able to see this, it affects your values and thus the choices you make. From big to small, every choice we make and actions we take impacts those around us, and thinking bioregionally allows one to realize that many of the issues we talk about in silos are not limited to one little region or community, that they have bigger cross-border implications that impact the quality of lives we all live. Thinking at a bioregional scale helps contain and quantify the impact one has as a stepping stone to thinking about our global impact. It put our actions into perspective so that we can make changes that when compounded, really can make a difference. Support people and businesses in your bioregion that operate with the health of both their and your communities in mind, take action against developments that threaten the interconnections you rely on, and let’s work to break down those arbitrary lines of division to realize that at the end of the day, we’re all in this together. Like this vid? Support Nerdy About Nature on Patreon to make more engaging videos like this possible! ⁠|| SUPPORT THESE VIDEO PODCASTS ||⁠ Follow elsewhere Nerdy About Nature for more engaging fun-facts to make your next jaunt into the outdoors more rad! || ⁠YouTube ⁠|| ⁠Instagram⁠ || ⁠TikTok --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

Do you ever stop to think about the dirt under your feet, or in this case the rock, and wonder how it got there? Well the answer is...complicated, but basically billions of years of intense geological and mechanical processes from erosion to volcanism and everything in between. In this episode, I sit down with Pierre Freile, an award-winning geoscientist based in Squamish BC to chat all about how the landscape of North America and the Cascadian Bioregion in particular were formed, from the macro-scale actions of continents moving and colliding with one another, to the localized impacts of landslides that took place thousands of years ago, and rockfalls in our neighbourhoods just a few years ago. This one may be a doozy of an information blast, but I promise you it's worth it, and it will give you a profound appreciation for the lands on which we live, and the forces that shaped them into what they are. Buckle up tight and hang on for the ride, cuz it ain't over yet! Each episode of Nerdy About Nature makes a donation to a non-profit of the guests choosing using funds from Patreon supporters, and in this episode Pierre decided to send his donation to ⁠The Dogwood Society! Nerdy About Nature is an independent passion project that relies on support from folks like you.  If you’re enjoying this podcast and videos, help me keep making them by joining the Patreon family for 1$ a month or more! - ⁠https://www.patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature⁠ Got Questions?  Want Stickers?  Want community?  Wanna engage?  Do it all as a Patreon member, it’s easy! You can also make a one-time donation, get NAN merch, resources and more information at ⁠www.NerdyAboutNature.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

Undercurrents is a podcast series from Nerdy About Nature where we discuss recent studies, reports and news from the world of environment, ecology and climate which all impact our understanding of the world and the way we relate to it.  In other words, it’s all the unseen things that happen without much notice that impact the direction or flow of our society and the world we all share. This episodes topics: Saving Bats - https://thenarwhal.ca/endangered-bats-fake-old-growth-trees/ Plants Evolving to have Less Sex - https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19422 How Moss Piglets survive - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0295062https://www.newscientist.com/article/2412569-we-finally-know-how-tardigrades-can-survive-extreme-conditions/ https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-2023-hottest-year-record Produced by Ross Reid Hosted by Ross Reid & Julia Huggins Nerdy About Nature is a passion project whose primary goal is to provide free access for all to education about this world so that people can enjoy it more, build connection and fall in love with it, and ultimately work in ways to steward it for future generations to enjoy.  We do this through short and long form videos all over social media @NerdyAboutNature, as well as this podcast you’re listening to now, and it’s all made possible thanks to support from folks like yourself.  If you’re enjoying the content we’re creating, you can help keep it going by supporting us at ⁠patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature⁠, or at ⁠nerdyaboutnature.com⁠.  Natures pretty neat, ya know - let’s keep it that way! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

Undercurrents is a podcast series from Nerdy About Nature where we discuss recent studies, reports and news from the world of environment, ecology and climate which all impact our understanding of the world and the way we relate to it.  In other words, it’s all the unseen things that happen without much notice that impact the direction or flow of our society and the world we all share. This episodes topics: Norway Seabed Exploration: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00088-7 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605320000277 Forest Restoration in WA: ⁠https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/csp2.13004 Orca Matriarch Death: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-biggs-killer-whale-wake-presumed-dead-1.7074033 - Citzen Science for Whale ID: https://happywhale.com/ Lack of Oldgrowth in ON & QC affecting Caribou: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/1/6 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/world/canada/canada-boreal-forest-logging.html Lack of Oldgrowth left in QC: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/01/10/news/push-protect-rare-old-growth-forests Antarctic Heatwave and Atmospheric River: https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/clim/37/3/JCLI-D-23-0175.1.xml Forest Fire Resilience in CA: https://forests.berkeley.edu/sites/forests.berkeley.edu/files/The%20Fire%20and%20Fire%20Surrogate%20Study%20Summary_2.pdf Produced by Ross Reid Hosted by Ross Reid & Julia Huggins Nerdy About Nature is a passion project whose primary goal is to provide free access for all to education about this world so that people can enjoy it more, build connection and fall in love with it, and ultimately work in ways to steward it for future generations to enjoy.  We do this through short and long form videos all over social media @NerdyAboutNature, as well as this podcast you’re listening to now, and it’s all made possible thanks to support from folks like yourself.  If you’re enjoying the content we’re creating, you can help keep it going by supporting us at patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature, or at nerdyaboutnature.com.  Natures pretty neat, ya know - let’s keep it that way! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

The first introduction episode to a new podcast series I'm starting here called 'Undercurrents' Every couple of weeks, I'll be connecting with Julia Huggins (PHD, huge nerd) where we'll share interesting articles, studies, and news from the world of environmental science, ecology, climate, and everything in between! The goal here is to be able to provide you all with more consistent, steady educational content to keep you up to date with the science and happenings of today, because as our understanding of the world around us changes, our relationship to it changes. This series is all about the subtle, unseen but often felt shifts in the undercurrent of our society that influences the direction we all flow. Looking forward to releasing the first episode in just a couple of days, so stay tuned! Nerdy About Nature is an independent passion project that relies on support from folks like you.  If you’re enjoying this podcast and videos, help me keep making them by joining the Patreon family for 1$ a month or more! - ⁠https://www.patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature⁠ Produced by Ross Reid Hosted by Ross Reid & Julia Huggins Got Questions?  Want Stickers?  Want community?  Wanna engage?  Do it all as a Patreon member, it’s easy! You can also make a one-time donation, get NAN merch, resources and more information at ⁠www.NerdyAboutNature.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

At a top level, the lives we live are governed by political systems which control regulations, policy and set enforcements for how we treat each other not only within our human societies, but they can heavily impact the way our societies interact with the grander, more interconnected natural world that we all share.  In order to create lasting change for the better in the world today, it ultimately has to happen on a political level to officially set the direction of society…a daunting task, for sure. I sat down with Sonia Furstenau, the leader of the BC Green party, to get her perspective on this whole system we have established in Canada, it’s strengths and shortcomings, and some of the most glaring issues we faced that still need to be addressed.  Honestly, the political landscape these days can often leave me feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, but chatting with Sonia gave me great hope for the future in that people like her are working hard every day to help create that better world. Sit down with us outside the Parliament building in Victoria BC to learn all about the inner workings of policy and how they translate to on-the-ground protections for things like old growth forests and Northern Spotted Owls, the convoluted wedge politics of different parties that hinders collaboration, how we can humanize the politics and indigenize the institutions, and how every day folks like you and me can get involved for change. Learn more about Sonia & the BC Green Party Each episode of Nerdy About Nature makes a donation to a non-profit of the guests choosing using funds from Patreon supporters, and in this episode Sonia decided to send her donation to The Mother Tree Project! Nerdy About Nature is an independent passion project that relies on support from folks like you.  If you’re enjoying this podcast and videos, help me keep making them by joining the Patreon family for 1$ a month or more! - https://www.patreon.com/nerdyaboutnature Got Questions?  Want Stickers?  Want community?  Wanna engage?  Do it all as a Patreon member, it’s easy! You can also make a one-time donation, get NAN merch, resources and more information at www.NerdyAboutNature.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

On every surface of every single thing, there are tiny microbial forces at work creating the world we live in.  From oily sheens on pond water to streaks of red mud, the evidence of these little microbes is more obvious than you may think - you’ve just gotta know where to look, and what to look for! Back for her third appearance, Julia Huggins takes us deep into the world of everyday microbes to share fun facts all about the life on life on life that surrounds us!  We learn about the power these little living beings have on the bigger planet we all share, which brings us to some pretty interesting conversation regarding what life is, and what it may look like on other planets.  Enjoy! Each episode of Nerdy About Nature makes a donation to a non-profit of the guests choosing using funds from Patreon supporters, and in this episode Julia decided to support The Last Stand Legal Defence Fund. Nerdy About Nature is an independent passion project that relies on support from folks like you.  If you’re enjoying this podcast and videos, help me keep making them by joining the Patreon family for 1$ a month or more! Wanna ask a question?  Want community?  Wanna engage?  Do it all as a Patreon member, it’s easy! You can also make a one-time donation, get NAN merch, resources and more information at www.NerdyAboutNature.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

Have you ever stopped for a moment to think about where all our food comes from, and how it came to be? Well, if you know anything about ecology and life on this planet, you’d know that a vast majority of all that food either directly or indirectly comes from the work of pollinators. Without them, there would be no fruit, no squash or pumpkins, no berries and jam, no cattle or turkey feed so no meat…they literally are the reason we’re able to eat so much of this deliciousness. So today I’m sitting down with Emilie Usher, an urban bee-keeper and flower fanatic to chat all about our most beloved pollinators, bees. We tend to immediately think of honey bees here, but it turns out our native wild bees all around North America play massive roles not only in the health of our agriculture industries, but the functional ecology of the lands we all live amongst, and are incredibly important to biodiversity and our future on this planet. So why are bees so important? Do they like certain flowers more than others? How long do they live? Do they all live in hives? Do they all sting? Whats going on with those flashy green bees I see from time to time? Let’s dive into this tiny, fascinating world with Emily here and learn all about these awesome little critters. Learn more about Alveole Each episode of Nerdy About Nature makes a donation to a non-profit of the guests choosing using funds from ⁠Patreon⁠ supporters, and in this episode Emilie opted to support The Xerces Society! Nerdy About Nature is an independent passion project that relies on support from folks like you.  If you’re enjoying this podcast and videos, help me keep making them by joining the ⁠Patreon⁠ family for 1$ a month or more! Wanna ask a question?  Want community?  Wanna engage?  Do it all as a Patreon member, it’s easy! You can also make a one-time donation, get NAN merch, resources and more information at ⁠www.NerdyAboutNature.com⁠ Learn more about this episodes sponsor, ⁠Hoka & their Anacapa 2's --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support

Fire is such a hot topic these days - pun intended! Yet we used to have a lot more fire across the landscape than we do today…so whats going on?Fires are a naturally occurring part of a forest ecosystem, and are generally classified as either low-intensity burns (LIBs) or high-intensity burns (HIBs), both of which have different causes and impacts based on different forest types and factors.Since colonization of North America by western societies, a combination of fire suppression and large scale land alteration through logging has left our forests in a highly vulnerable state all across the continent that makes them more susceptible to large-scale HIBs, which has big picture issues relative to both volume and frequency.Speaking to volume, its estimated that roughly 85% of native forests here in North America has been lost, logged or modified to the equivalent of a HIB, which is an insanely large number, and much of this has been done in a manner that reduces the ecological function of these forests and actually contributes to large scale HIB’s that we see more and more often each summer.In the last 400 years of western colonization roughly 85% of native forests have been lost to the equivalent of being burnt to the ground in a HIB (in some places 4x over), which historically only ever happened in much smaller scale fires every 1000 - 2000 years if at all, yet we’re calling this all natural and sustainable…sounds more like the apocalypse to me 😬So instead of trying to replicate these HIBs in our clearcut logging practices, we need to allow our forest ecosystems to mature in a healthier manner over a longer period of time, and we need to spend a lot of energy properly thinning and restoring the ecological function of the billions of hectares we’ve mismanaged thus far. Through prescribed burns and by replicating LIBs we can not only create a more humble, sustainable industry and jobs, but we can improve the ecological health and functions of the lands we live amongst for a better future in this uncertain era of climate change. Nerdy About Nature is an independent passion project that relies on support from folks like you.  If you’re enjoying this podcast and videos, help me keep making them by joining the Patreon family for 1$ a month or more! Wanna ask a question?  Want community?  Wanna engage?  Do it all as a Patreon member, it’s easy! You can also make a one-time donation, get NAN merch, resources and more information at www.NerdyAboutNature.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdy-about-nature/support