The Wandering Naturalist
Episodes
Episode 72: Discovering at Risk and Vulnerable Species
02 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Wildlife supervisor of Three Rivers, Steven Hogg, joins hosts Brandon and Angela to discover at risk species that call our parks home. Learn which s...
Episode 71: Fire to Frost - A Prairie Story Across Minnesota
04 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Take a journey out of our own local restored prairies of Three Rivers and expand to the entire state of Minnesota. To think big picture guest Megan ...
Episode 70: Fire to Frost - A Prairie Story of Restoration
04 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Wildlife staff from Three Rivers, Brian Fredlund and Mitch Haag, join to talk about using prescribed fire on restored prairies. Learn more on how mana...
Episode 69: Fire to Frost - A Prairie Story of Seasons
04 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Minnesota once was home to 18 million acres of prairie habitat but today only a little over 1 percent of native prairie remains. Protecting and recr...
Episode 68: It Came From the Bottom of the Web - Spider Research and You
07 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How many species of spider are in Minnesota? Chad Heins, Professor at Bethany Lutheran college can answer that question, now thanks to help from citiz...
Episode 67: It Came From the Bottom of the Web - Spider Webs and Spider Brains
07 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Larry Weber, author of multiple books including "A Guide to Webs and the Spiders that Make Them", joins us to discuss his love of spiders, their webs,...
Episode 66: It Came From the Bottom of the Web - Spiders 101
07 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Angela and Brandon share stories of getting up close and personal with spiders. Monica Rauchwater from Richardson Nature Center joins to cover spi...
Episode 65: Fungi are The Life of the Party: Grow Your Own!
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Join us as Susan Storck from Gale Woods Farm talks about why they have a mushroom forest. She gives tips on how to start growing your own mushrooms to...
Episode 64: Fungi are The Life of the Party: Fungal Invaders
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Angie Smith, Director of Natural Resources, and Dan Commerford, Forestry Supervisor, join us to talk about why harvesting wild mushrooms in our parks ...
Episode 63: Fungi are The Life of the Party: Exploring a Kingdom
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Aside from an amazing musical rendition by Brandon, we explore what makes fungi so unique. From acting as recyclers in nature to infecting hosts, and ...
Episode 62: Mexico to Minnesota: Monarchs from a Chicano Point of View
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Gain cultural perspective on monarchs as Chicana Professor Karen Mary Davalos, Chair of the Chicano and Latino Studies Department at the University of...
Episode 61: Mexico to Minnesota: Tagging and Planting
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Naturalist Jim Gilbert joins us to tell the story of how a monarch his students tagged confirmed for scientists where Minnesota's monarchs migrated. A...
Episode 60: Mexico to Minnesota: Piecing Together the Monarch Migration
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most recognized insects in the world sparks curiosity of its great multi-generational migration, the Monarch butterfly. Join Angela and B...
Episode 59 - Minnesota's Agriculture: From the Past to the Future - Sustainability
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Join us as we talk with Tim Reese and Mellissa Hochstetler of Gale Woods Farm about what practices they use to make their farm sustainable and how yo...
Episode 58 - Minnesota's Agriculture: From the Past to the Future - The Rise of Dairy
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Elise Bushard of Lowry Nature Center and Historical Interpretation Supervisor Bill Walker join us to tell the story of how one man created the dairy i...
Episode 57 - Minnesota's Agriculture: From the Past to the Future - Learning from Native Elders
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon and Angela sit down with Seneca Elder Hope Flannigan to learn how Native farming was practiced before Europeans reached Minnesota. Hope explai...
Episode 56 - A Light in the Dark - Citizen Science and Fireflies
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Climate change may increase the number of species of fireflies in Minnesota as our growing season gets longer, but habitat loss, light pollution, an...
Episode 55 - A Light in the Dark - You Can't Handle the Truth!
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Sara Lewis shares some of the knowledge she has gained from studying fireflies for over 30 years. We discuss a female firefly nicknamed ...
Episode 54 - A Light in the Dark - Fireflies 101
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Angela and Brandon are joined by Miranda Jones, resident firefly expert at Eastman Nature Center. Join us as she lights up our world with facts abou...
Episode 53 - Are you my Mother? Historical and Cultural European Childcare
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Learn how early European settlers in the 1800s navigated childcare by listening to guest Jayne Becker from The Landing. How was the diaper invented? W...
Episode 52 - Are you my Mother? Historical and Cultural Ojibwe Childcare
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Childcare among humans has advanced across history within many cultures, but it has never been easy. Michelle Defoe of the Red Cliff Ojibwe tells us...
Episode 51 - Are you my Mother? Farm Babies
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Time to visit Gale Woods Farm with supervisor Tim Reese to talk all things farm babies. Tim highlights volunteer project Lamb Watch and other farm b...
Episode 50 - Are you my Mother? The Parental Spectrum of Nature
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Join Angela and Brandon as they celebrate Mother's Day by discussing the spectrum of parental care found throughout the animal kingdom. Some animals...
Episode 49 - Swan Song to Trumpets of Success – Current Swan Research and Rehabilitation
01 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Trumpeter Swans are now a common sighting in the metro area of Minnesota but still little is understood about their movements and habitat selection....
Episode 48 - Swan Song to Trumpets of Success – A Historic Timeline
01 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
John Moriarty, Senior Wildlife Manager at Three Rivers, helps Angela and Brandon visit the important timeline of events that starts with the disappear...
Episode 47 - Swan Song to Trumpets of Success – Trumpeter Swan Basics
01 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Join Angela and Brandon to learn more about North America's largest waterfowl, the Trumpeter Swan. Learn interesting facts and basic biology behind...
Episode 46 - Under Pressure: Urban Sprawl - 80/20
04 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steven Hogg explains what the 80/20 policy of Three Rivers Park District is, why it is so important for managing the habitat of our park reserves, and...
Episode 45 - Under Pressure: Urban Sprawl - To Develop or Not to Develop?
04 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How does the Park District decide where to put a trail and where to preserve habitat? How do we decide how each park will be developed? Join us as we ...
Episode 44 - Under Pressure: Urban Sprawl - A Spectrum of Parks
04 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Luke Skinner, Associate Superintendent of Three Rivers Park District, joins us to discuss how the park district has created a spectrum among its parks...
Episode 43 - The Rivers that Shape Us… The Mississippi, Dams, and Birds
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Join us as Nick Beaufeaux, Maintenance Chief for Elm Creek Park Reserve and Mississippi Gateway Regional Park, discusses why Three Rivers Park Distr...
Episode 42 - The Rivers that Shape us… The Mississippi and How Geology Shaped its Use
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Matt Cassidy, Program Specialist with Minnesota Historical Society joins us to discuss how the geology of the Mississippi River has shaped the way h...
Episode 41 - The Rivers that Shape Us… The Mississippi and its Geology
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Join us as we discuss one of the rivers Three Rivers Park District is named after, the Mississippi River! Ashley Smith, Interpretive naturalist a...
Episode 40 - Ice, Ice, Nature - From Ice Harvesting to Ice Fishing, How Humans Use Ice
08 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Explore how humans interact with ice as we talk with park volunteer and Ice Harvest historian Tim Graff about how and why people harvested ice in the ...
Episode 39 - Ice, Ice, Nature - Invasion of the Oxygen Snatchers
08 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How do invasive species impact life under the ice? What do they do to the oxygen? Can you do anything to help? Find out as we talk about Aquatic Invas...
Episode 38 - Ice, Ice, Nature - Life Under the Ice
08 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for the start of season two as Brandon and Angela dive into to a listener requested topic: Life Under the Ice. Explore the murky depths of a l...
Episode 37 - Winter Strategies: Turtle Habits and Human Clothes
04 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Join us as John Moriarty shares new research Three Rivers has participated in to find out what turtles do in the winter. It turns out it is a lot more...
Episode 36 - Winter Strategies: Bird Banding and Winter Migration
04 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know that Minnesota birds have 5 types of migration habits? Join us as we discuss this with Ron Refsneider, a retired biologist for the MN DNR...
Episode 35 - Winter Strategies: Should I Stay or Should I Go - Getting MADD
04 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Wander with us as we explore how animals survive the winter. Angela and Brandon investigate three strategies that animals use to survive the winter, M...
Episode 34 - Buck-ing the Trend: Hunters, The Next Generation
06 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Barth, Outdoor Education Supervisor at Baker Near Wilderness Settlement, and Bill Vollbrecht, Golf Maintenance Supervisor at Eagle Lake Golf Cour...
Episode 33 - Buck-ing the Trend: Managing Our Deer
06 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Special guests Steven Hogg from our Natural Resource Management Department, and Shawn Howard from our Tree Nursery join us to discuss what steps the...
Episode 32 - Buck-ing the Trend: Deer 101
06 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Join us as we explore the history of deer management, why it was needed, and Disney's impact on deer populations. We discuss deer habits and why we be...
Episode 31 - Nature of Zombies: Historical Fascination
02 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Zach Mohlis from, The Landing – Minnesota River Heritage Park, will provide a historical perspective on where the idea of human zombies has come f...
Episode 30 - Nature of Zombies: Attack of the Zombees and Plants
02 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Our guests students Evie and AJ and Three Rivers Forestry Supervisor Dan Comerford, join us to investigate other real life zombies. Evie and AJ tal...
Episode 29 - Nature of Zombies: Strange World of Animal Zombies
02 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Zombies are real. Zombies are everywhere, near places you would never expect. In fact, some of you may have even encountered zombies in your ...
Episode 28 - 50 Years of Environmental Stewardship: Looking to the Future
04 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Three Rivers has worked to make our parks home for surrounding communities and wildlife over these past 50 plus years. Building a foundation on educ...
Episode 27 - 50 Years of Environmental Stewardship: Planting Restored Prairie
04 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Listen in as Brandon and Angela journey to 1969 to explore Crow-Hassan Park Reserve and the first planting of restored prairie. Joined by Senior Wil...
Episode 26 - 50 Years of Environmental Stewardship: Lowry Nature Center
04 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The first nature center was built in 1969, Lowry Nature Center. Tag along as hosts Brandon and Angela interview Tom McDowell, retired park employee ...
Episode 25 - 50 Years of Environmental Stewardship: The Need for Parks
04 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the past 50 years, Brandon and Angela are talking to special guest Bill Walker, Cultural Resources Manager of Three Rivers Park District,...
Episode 24 - Bees, Cows, and your Lunch - Native Bee Atlas
07 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Britt Forsberg from the University of Minnesota Native Bee Atlas shares with us how the university is discovering what native bees live in Minnesota. ...
Episode 23 - Bees, Cows, and your Lunch - Farmer Tim and the Bees
07 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Reese, Director of Gale Woods Farm, talks with us about his experience raising bees, how bee keeping has changed over the past 9 years, and how Ga...
Episode 22 - Bees, Cows, and your Lunch - To Bumblebee be or to Honeybee?
07 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Wander with us as Angela and Brandon investigate the differences between two different kinds of bees, bumblebees and honeybees. Though different, they...
Episode 21 - Here there be Dragon(flies) - Cultural Fascination to Research Subjects
03 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With over 149 dragonfly and damselfly species in Minnesota there is much to learn and observe. Dragonfly scientist Ami Thompson joins on this episod...
Episode 20 - Here there be Dragon(flies) - Creatures of Aquatic Habitats
03 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Dragonflies are usually found around or near water such as lakes, ponds, streams, and wetlands because their larvae, known as "nymphs", are aquatic. ...
Episode 19 - Here there be Dragon(flies) - The Transformational Journey
03 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Summer is here and with it you likely have spent time near water, a local lake, pond, or river, which means you have also undoubtedly watched the aeri...
Episode 18 - A Day on the Water - 1800's and Today
05 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We are joined by Zach Mohlis, from The Landing-Minnesota River Heritage Park, who shares with us how people used the Minnesota River when Europeans fi...
Episode 17 - A Day on the Water - Testing Our Watersheds
05 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Join us as a member of our Water Quality department, John Hess, shares some of the challenges our waterways face, how he monitors them, and actions pe...
Episode 16 - A Day on the Water - Too Many Vitamins
05 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Wander with us as we dive into water and the issues that face it. How are nitrates and phosphates like vitamins? What is the difference between blue g...
Episode 15 - Flower Medicine and Taking Photos - April Showers, May Wildflowers
01 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Wander with us as we talk with Pauline Bold from The Landing. She shares with us some of the ways people used early spring wildflowers, including uses...
Episode 14 - Earthworms, Buckthorn, and Flowers, Oh My - April Showers, May Wildflowers
01 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Do earthworms help or hinder flowers in the forest? How are invasive species like buckthorn impacting spring wildflowers? Join us as we talk to Missy ...
Episode 13 - Growing While It's Snowing - April Showers, May Wildflowers
01 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How can plant's grow while there is snow on the ground? Can a plant really produce its own heat? Tune in to this episode to find out as Angela and Bra...
Episode 12 - Calls of Spring – Monitoring Frogs in the Dark
03 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
To determine status, distribution, and long-term population trends of frogs, citizen scientists participate in surveys in which they listen and record...
Episode 11 - Calls of Spring – Start of a Journey
03 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 10 - Calls of Spring – The Racket of Frogs
03 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The signs of spring are near and you may be hearing the calls of frogs, even with snow still on the ground. Fresh out of hibernation, join Brandon and...
Episode 9 - Wandering the Sugar Bush - Cooking with Maple Syrup
06 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Discover the secrets to cooking with maple syrup as Andi Anderson from Gale Woods Farm joins us to help us in the kitchen. We discuss how to substitut...
Episode 8 - Wandering the Sugar Bush - The Science of Syruping
06 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with our Forestry Supervisor Dan Comerford about the unique structure of maple trees that allow us to turn its sap into syrup. Explore with us...
Episode 7 - Wandering the Sugar Bush - A Native Perspective on Maple Syrup
06 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Join us as we talk with Ojibwe students about their personal perspective and experience with maple syrup. We discuss how they maple syrup today both o...
Episode 6 - Strange Calls in the Night - Owl Ambassadors
06 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Join us as Interpretive Naturalist Adam Barnett explains why nature centers' keep owls as ambassadors for their wild kin. He recounts his time worki...
Episode 5 - Strange Calls in the Night - Tracking Owl Nests
06 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Do you know where owls nest? Hear how volunteer Paul Schlick coordinates a group of volunteers to track and document owl and other raptor nests in E...
Episode 4 - Strange Calls in the Night - Super Ears and Keen Eyes
06 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Join Brandon and Angela as they explore how owls can not only survive the winter, but raise their young when the rest of us are hunkered inside waitin...
Episode 3 - Snow and its History with Minnesota
19 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How did humans interact with snow before the advent of modern heating and insulation amenities? Learn all about it as hosts Brandon and Angela talk wi...
Episode 2 - Snow and its Relationship with Plants
19 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In the second part of this series on snow, Angela and Brandon talk about the advantages and challenges snow brings to plant life.
Episode 1 - Snow and its Relationship to Animals
19 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this first episode of The Wandering Naturalist, hosts Brandon and Angela provide some insight on the science of snow and how it impacts the animals...