On this week’s Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, is delighted to be in conversation with retired (recovering) engineer and environmental advocate, Barry Zalph. It may come as a surprise that we are in the midst of the United Nations Decade of Ecological Restoration. Barry wonders what might happen if we took that global mandate seriously and began to envision pathways for restoring degraded lands while taking care of the many degraded people in our society, as well?! It all started one day when Barry encountered a tree stump covered with blue oyster mushrooms in his neighborhood. He’ll share that story and the vision it engendered for tackling the interlinked social and ecological crises facing our society. Does nature provide a model for addressing these crises? Learn more about:The United Nations Decade on Ecological Restoration: https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/John Todd, ecologist and developer of Living Machines: https://www.toddecological.com/Robin Wall Kimmerer and her book, Braiding Sweetgrass, which is a wonderful introduction to Native perspectives on the relationship between humans and the wider community of life: https://www.robinwallkimmerer.com/ Ecosystem Restoration Communities: https://www.ecosystemrestorationcommunities.org/Get in touch with Barry Zalph at barry8033@att.net. As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW!Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at http://forwardradio.orgThe music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at http://appalatin.com