BeProvided Conservation Radio: Recent Episodes
BeProvided (Marcia R. Sivek)
BeProvided Conservation Radio takes you from the Santa Cruz Mountains to Africa with expert interviews in wildlife biology, conservation, environmental education, eco tourism and much much more. Our interviews help bridge the gap between international conservation efforts and local conservation efforts. Learn how you can help close to home and worldwide to save our wildlife, plants, water and environment.
About the Guest(s): Professor David Sedlak is a renowned civil and environmental engineer with a distinguished career focused on the intersection of technology and water resources. He is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he also leads as the director of the Berkeley Water Center. Professor Sedlak is celebrated for his significant contributions to the field, including his award-winning book "Water 4.0," which discusses the past, present, and future of the world's most vital resource. His latest work, "Water for All: Global Solutions for a Changing Climate," further solidifies his standing as an influential voice in water conservation and management. His expertise has been recognized and featured in prominent publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Nature, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the New York Review of Books.
Episode Summary: In this episode of BeProvided Conservation Radio, we're joined by the esteemed Professor David Sedlak to discuss the vital issue of water accessibility and the impacts of climate change on global water resources. With his new book "Water for All: Global Solutions for a Changing Climate" as the centerpiece of our conversation, we delve into the intricacies of solving one of humanity's most pressing challenges.
Professor Sedlak highlights the evolving water landscape, characterized by six distinct but interconnected water crises that affect communities worldwide. From the wealthy urban dwellers facing scarcity head-on to the unconnected billion without reliable water sources, the potential solutions are as diverse as the problems. Advanced treatment technologies, managed aquifer recharge, and community-led initiatives are just a few themes explored, revealing actionable strategies and future-oriented innovations.
Key Takeaways: * Professor Sedlak identifies six separate water crises: water for the wealthy, the many, the unconnected, safe drinking water, growing food, and healthy ecosystems. * He emphasizes the importance of innovative water management strategies, such as in-building water recycling and managed aquifer recharge, to combat these crises. * The conversation highlights the potential of technology transfer, where solutions working in wealthy nations could be adapted to help water-scarce communities in developing countries. * The idea of water rights, both for humans and nature, is discussed as a critical component of future water policy and conservation efforts. * The overall tone is one of cautious optimism, underscoring that despite the daunting challenges, there are viable solutions and opportunities for significant progress.
Notable Quotes: * "I'm pretty optimistic that if we set our minds to it, we can solve some of the most pressing water crises we're going to face." * "When you look around the world, we can see pockets of innovation where people are pioneering new solutions." * "Simply doing nothing is no longer much of an alternative, because solving a problem in the midst of a crisis is often not the way we want to go." * "The water crises that we're seeing today are just a harbinger of what we see in the future, because climate change is having a larger and larger impact on the water cycle."
Resources: * Professor Sedlak's latest book, "Water for All: Global Solutions for a Changing Climate," published by Yale University Press.
Feel encouraged to listen to the full episode and join us for more insightful conversations. Stay tuned to BeProvided Conservation Radio for compelling discussions that yield understanding and action in conserving our planet's vital resources.
About our Guest:
Devan Showe is a wildlife conservation advocate and a committed professional actively contributing to the welfare of wild animals. She currently holds the position of Campaigns Associate at Born Free USA, an organization devoted to preserving wildlife and ending animal exploitation. With academic credentials from Oxford Brookes University in conservation, Devan couples her theoretical knowledge with hands-on experience garnered from her time as a primate caregiver and veterinary assistant at the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary in Texas. Devan's work significantly revolves around campaigns aimed at topics like the fur trade and animal trapping, striving to educate the public and initiate action against the exploitation of wild animals in captivity.
Episode Summary:
In this eye-opening episode of BeProvided Conservation Radio, host Marcia Sivek converses with Devan Showe whose mission is to safeguard wildlife and halt the ill-usage of animals. The session begins by delineating Devan's passionate background, her educational endeavors, and her significant roles in animal welfare movements.
The narrative proceeds with a dive into Devan's enriching experiences at the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary, underlining the transformative journeys of primates from captivity to more natural environments. Devan also deliberates on pressing challenges in the framework of wildlife conservation, particularly addressing the misconceptions perpetuated by zoos and the need for accurate public information. The conversation offers an in-depth view of Born Free USA’s strides and victories in legislation, underpinning the tenet that safeguarding wildlife is intertwined with public health and safety.
Key Takeaways:
- Born Free USA has been instrumental in passing legislations like the Big Cat Public Safety Act, signifying a landmark triumph in the wildlife conservation arena.
- Challenges in wildlife conservation often stem from misconceptions propagated by zoos regarding animal captivity and spurious claims of contribution to species conservation.
- Social media plays a pivotal role in shaping public perceptions about wildlife, and Devan underscores the importance of using social platforms responsibly to protect animal welfare.
- A gradual phasing out of zoos, halting captive breeding, and prioritizing animal welfare over entertainment are some of the goals Devan Showe envisions for the future.
- The episode highlights personal animal rescue stories from the sanctuary, unveiling the profound emotional impact these endeavors have on conservationists.
Notable Quotes:
- “And when they’re prevented from doing these behaviors, they get very frustrated, and so they do other things to pass their time.”
- “Zoos keeping these animals in these environments and saying that it’s good for them, and also having the sort of interactive experiences they offer… those are all very harmful to people’s perceptions of wild animals.”
- “I wish that people could… speak out against [zoos] in the same way so that the demand would decrease for zoos to stay open and keep perpetuating the captive lives that they do in their institutions.”
- “They are not prepared to have this being who is going to require around the clock care, expensive care for the next 20-25 plus years.”
- “They never learned from their mother or other monkeys how to appropriately behave or submit… That results in monkeys having to live by themselves, just close to other monkeys, and not being able to interact with anyone for a while.”
Resources:
- Born Free USA Website: bornfreeusa.org
- Born Free USA Action Center: (Link to be accessed on the Born Free USA website)
- Born Free USA Activist Toolkit: (Link to be accessed on the Born Free USA website)
Dive into this essential conversation with Devan Showe to grasp the complexities of wildlife conservation, the journey towards more ethical treatments of animals, and the optimistic strides towards legislative change. Tune in for this compelling and transformative episode, and stay connected with BeProvided conservation Radio for more enlightening discussions that challenge and inspire our role in the natural world.
*Show notes were outlined with Decipher AI and edits were made by author for more detail.
The Global Effort to Conserve Cheetahs With Dr. Laurie Marker of the Cheetah Conservation Fund About the Guest: Dr. Laurie Marker is a pioneer in the field of wildlife conservation, with a keen focus on the preservation of cheetahs. As the Executive Director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) since 1990, Dr. Marker's journey in conservation commenced at a wildlife safari park in the United States. Her pioneering research has traversed continents, leading her to the grasslands of Namibia. There, she uncovered the grim reality of wild cheetahs being killed due to human-wildlife conflict, a revelation that prompted the inception of CCF. Dr. Marker is acclaimed for her groundbreaking efforts, resultant research, and unwavering dedication to the fastest land animal on Earth.
Episode Summary: In this exclusive episode of BeProvided Conservation Radio, we embark on a profound exploration of the challenges and strategies involved in cheetah conservation, featuring the esteemed Dr. Laurie Marker. As we delve into the pressing matters faced by the cheetah population, listeners are offered an intimate glimpse into the groundbreaking initiatives spearheaded by Dr. Marker and her team at the Cheetah Conservation Fund.
In the heart of Namibia, Dr. Marker uncovered a harrowing threat to cheetahs—hundreds being killed by livestock farmers. This drove her to establish the CCF and become a central figure in cheetah conservation. The episode further highlights the Global Cheetah Summit in Ethiopia, a milestone gathering where experts and organizations like Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit and the IUCN specialist groups convene to discuss the future of these majestic animals. With urgent vigor, guests are transported to Africa, where the stakes for the cheetah's survival are laid bare, and the collaborative efforts for their preservation are underscored.
Key Takeaways: * Dr. Laurie Marker is a pioneering figure in cheetah conservation, with a career spanning over 30 years dedicated to saving these endangered animals. * The Global Cheetah Summit in Ethiopia serves as a critical platform for worldwide experts to develop an action plan and address the several threats to the cheetah population. * Cheetahs play a vital role in maintaining the health and biodiversity of their ecosystems, yet they face numerous threats including habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, illegal wildlife trade, and climate change. * There are approximately 7,100 cheetahs left across 23 countries, representing less than 10% of their historical population. * Engaging communities and developing conservancies are key to creating sustainable habitats for cheetahs and providing alternative livelihoods for people living in these regions.
Notable Quotes: * "We can't save the cheetah without the people. And our motto has always been, save the cheetah, change the world." – Dr. Laurie Marker * "About 80% of [cheetahs] are found outside of protected areas." – Dr. Laurie Marker * "The cheetah is actually in these fragmented areas and really struggling to survive." – Dr. Laurie Marker * "The future is in the people's hands." – Dr. Laurie Marker
Resources: * Cheetah Conservation Fund website: cheetah.org * Marcia Sivek's email for inquiries regarding being a working guest at CCF: marcia@beprovided.com
Discover the intricate world of cheetah conservation and the riveting strategies devised by experts like Dr. Laurie Marker by tuning in to this captivating podcast episode. Understand how every step toward the conservation of these majestic creatures leads us toward a more sustainable future. Stay connected for upcoming content that promises to enlighten and inspire.
About The Guest(s): Leif Cocks is the founder of the Orangutan Project and Wildlife Conservation International. He has dedicated his life to orangutan conservation and has worked with these great apes for over 30 years. Leif is also the author of several books, including "Finding Our Humanity" and "Orangutans: My Cousins, My Friends."
Summary: Leif Cocks, founder of the Orangutan Project and Wildlife Conservation International, discusses the challenges and importance of orangutan conservation. He emphasizes the need for diverse support and funding across ecosystems and highlights the significance of grassroots involvement and community engagement. Leif shares heartwarming stories of his experiences working with orangutans and explains the role of orangutans in the ecosystem. He also discusses the current challenges faced by conservation efforts and the importance of securing funding for meaningful change.
Key Takeaways:
- Orangutans have intrinsic value and deserve conservation efforts for their own sake.
- Saving the rainforest, which is the habitat of orangutans, is crucial for mitigating climate change.
- Indigenous communities play a vital role in orangutan conservation and need support to improve their livelihoods.
- Funding is a major challenge for conservation efforts and is crucial for achieving meaningful progress.
Quotes:
- "Saving the rainforest is the most effective way of mitigating the worst effects of climate change."
- "To dismiss the value and importance of individuals and their rights is to create a world that is worse for everybody."
- "Knowledge not only has to be gained, it has to be selflessly applied in an intelligent way to achieve meaningful impact."
- "Hope can come with despair, but having love and compassion and energy to keep working is a more effective strategy."
Note: The quotes provided are direct quotes from the transcript.
Websites:
Adopt:
https://www.theorangutanproject.org/about-orangutans/orangutan-adoption-program/
Donate:
https://www.theorangutanproject.org/donate/
Learn More:
https://www.theorangutanproject.org/about-us/
About The Guest(s): Ian Rowbotham is the Senior Land Stewardship Manager of Sempervirens Fund. With a master’s degree in Earth Systems from Stanford University, he is an expert in redwood conservation and restoration. Ian has dedicated his career to protecting and restoring redwood forests in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Summary: Ian Rowbotham, the Senior Land Stewardship Manager of Sempervirens Fund, discusses the pivotal role of redwoods in the face of climate change. Redwoods are resilient giants that can sequester carbon and provide essential habitat for a diverse range of species. Despite the challenges they face, such as drought and wildfires, redwoods continue to thrive and adapt. Sempervirens Fund focuses on active management and restoration projects to protect and restore redwood ecosystems. Through fuel reduction, prescribed burns, and wetland restoration, they aim to create more resilient forests and safeguard these iconic trees for future generations.
Key Takeaways: - Redwoods are resilient and adaptable, with the ability to re-sprout and regrow branches from their trunks. - Redwoods play a crucial role in sequestering carbon and providing habitat for a diverse range of species. - Restoration projects, such as fuel reduction and prescribed burns, are essential for creating more resilient forests. - Wetland restoration projects can provide habitat for threatened and endangered species, such as the California red-legged frog and Western pond turtle. - Redwoods are not only important for their ecological value but also as cultural icons that inspire and connect people to nature.
Notable Quotes From Our Discussion:
“Redwoods are these incredible sinks for carbon, living 2000 years.” - Ian Rowbotham
“Redwoods are sheltering and providing a last harbor for other species that rely on them.” - Ian Rowbotham
“Redwoods have this incredible will to live and adapt to various challenges.” - Ian Rowbotham
“We’re trying to restore ecosystem processes and create more resilient forests.” - Ian Rowbotham
About The Guest: Dr. Carl Safina is an ecologist and author known for his work on animal behavior. He has received numerous fellowships and has written for prestigious publications such as The New York Times, Time, the Guardian, and National Geographic. He is the author of many books, including "Alfie and Me: What Owls Know and What Humans Believe." Summary Dr. Carl Safina joins the podcast to discuss his new book, "Alfie and Me: What Owls Know and What Humans Believe." He shares his personal experience caring for a wild Eastern screech owl named Alfie and delves into the fascinating world of owls and their behavior. Dr. Safina also explores the historical and cultural perspectives on humanity's relationship with nature, highlighting the Western view of humans as separate from and superior to the natural world. He emphasizes the need for a shift in mindset and offers insights into how individuals can make a positive impact on the environment. Key Takeaways: - Dr. Safina's relationship with Alfie, a wild Eastern screech owl, led him to explore the deep connections between humans and nature. - Owls, like screech owls, have complex behaviors and form deep emotional bonds with their mates and offspring. - Many cultures throughout history have viewed humans as part of nature and emphasized the importance of maintaining the balance of the natural world. - Western culture, influenced by Plato and religious ideologies, has perpetuated the idea that the world is not valuable and that humans should focus on an afterlife. - Individuals can make a difference by making conscious choices in their daily lives, such as choosing sustainable food and transportation options and supporting leaders who prioritize environmental conservation.
Today’s music was provided by soundstripe.com royalty free music. The song is Cabin In the Woods by Brent Wood.
Dr safina was generous to provide some photos of Alfie and they are posted in our show notes at www.beprovided.com or you can just purchase a copy of Alfie and Me and see some of the photos in the book. Alfie and Me was published by Norton and is available at your local bookstore or by visiting https://www.carlsafina.org
Did you know that Herpetology (study of frogs, snakes, newts and many more!) is a crossroads to falconry? I didn't either! But it was for our guest today, Kenny Elvin. In 2022, Kenny gave a talk to the Bay Area Herpetology group if you want to learn more about the falconry/herpetology connection! https://youtu.be/zMg_lzlYhiQ?si=KWVqZkv2ASyWQGci
Our guest today is Kenny Elvin of Full Circle Falconry. He flies his raptors for groups and events around the state of California, not only for education of raptors but also for wildlife management. He is also known as King Mighty Flighty at local Renaissance Faires!
I had the pleasure of meeting with Kenny in person to meet a few of his birds thanks to a friend and co-worker, Lisa Villasenor in Los Gatos for this interview. We had great fun and good conversation, though it is easy to get distracted and lose your train of thought when you have a beautiful Eastern Screech Owl and a Peregrine Falcon close by! But I think we did ok and the interview is informative, casual and fun. I hope you all enjoy it!
Kenny can be found October 28th at Sanborn County Park in Santa Clara with Lisa Myers of Los Gatos Birdwatcher at a special Raptor Event and Workshop. See below for more information:
Pictures of our meeting can be found in the shownotes at www.beprovided.com.
Welcome to BeProvided Conservation Radio with host, Marcia Sivek.
Mark Haviland is founder of Conscious Careers, co-founder of Train My Generation and Vice Chair of Marine Conservation Society UK. Mark has spent over 25 years in big corporations such as Disney and CNN before changing career paths to the non-profit world.
Train My Generation and Conscious Careers help future generations understand their roles in any career choice bridge community, education and environmental restoration. Train My Generation is a volunteer community organization focused on bringing essential infrastructure, expertise, and resources to the islands of Mfangano, Lake Victoria, just off the coast of Kenya.
Conscious Careers gives school aged children and young adults the skills to go into a career with the world in mind. Mark is visiting 100+ schools in 2023-2024 all over the UK and creating workshops designed to inspire understanding, confidence and optimism in future careers.
The Marine Conservation Society UK is fighting for a cleaner, better protected, healthier ocean. They have over 25,000 volunteers donating their time to help clean up beaches, research and fundraise.
Please visit the following websites to learn more Mark Haviland’s work:
www.trainmygeneration.info
www.consciouscareers.co.UK
www.mscuk.org
Video link to the podcast: https://youtu.be/rc3QLXLADcU?si=xTzFgFVxNlXPT8eP
Photos from Mark:
I am excited to introduce my guest today. Her name is Rebecca Wildbear and she is the author of Wild Yoga: A Practice of Initiation, Veneration and Advocacy for the Earth. The book is published by New World Library
In her book, Rebecca writes, “ When we are in our bodies, at one with nature, we are in touch with intelligence more significant that our minds. Nature can inspire our movements, align us with our instincts, initiate us into living our soul’s purpose, and guide us in tending the well-being of all life.”
Rebecca Wildbear is the creator of Wild Yoga and has been teaching yoga since 2004. She has been on the faculty at Nosara Yoga Institute and guides vision quests and other programs through Animas Valley Institute.
Speaking of Animas Valley Institute, Rebecca is leading a Soulcraft Intensive for Earth Activists June 13-17th, 2023 through the institute. This is a great intensive for anyone fighting to protect the earth but is feeling the stress and despair of devastation and compassion fatigue. If you are feeling the need to foster greater resiliency and vision in your mission to protect the physical ecology this is for you. You can please visit www.animas.org/offerings for more information.
For more information about Rebecca visit www.rebeccawildbear.com
Visit New World Library at https://www.newworldlibrary.com/
Today’s music was downloaded from sound stripe.com . The piece is titled Into the Deep by Daniele Musto
Additional information and links related to today’s show and other related shows can be found at www.beprovided.com
Thank you again for listening and stay safe and stay healthy.
My guest today is Mark Weston. Mark was sent to live on a remote island in the Tanzanian half of Lake Victoria where he found a community grappling with one of the world's great unknown environmental crises. In his new book, The Saviour Fish: Life and Death on Africa’s Greatest Lake he tells the story of this environmental catastrophe through the experiences of the people on Ukerewe Island. He lived on the island for two years and was able to create long lasting friendships and gain trust of the community. As Mark says, the book is not all doom and gloom about the bad state of the fishing industry. The book is also about people, their religion and beliefs and rural island life. Mark and his wife became part of the community and formed lifelong friendships. Mark states it was a privilege to get to know these people and their way of life.
I am happy to announce that The Saviour Fish was one of the Daily Telegraph's and Wanderlust Magazine's travel books of the year for 2022.
In today’s episode, Mark first describes a bit about his experiences with the people and the island. Then we get into the environmental crisis about the Nile perch also known as the saviour fish of Lake Victoria, how the crisis came to be and what is going on now. Mark was able to go out with a friend who also happens to be an illegal fisherman and tells us a small portion of his experience going fishing. We end the interview on a lighter note discussing of all things, banana beer. So enjoy the show and enjoy the book. The Saviour Fish is available through John Hunt publishing, Amazon, and hopefully your local bookshop. The publishers link to the book is in my show notes along with some island photos and more information about Mark. I hope you enjoy our conversation and the book as much as I did!!
About the Author Mark Weston
Mark Weston has written about and broadcast on Africa for BBC Radio 4, Slate, the Royal African Society, South Africa's Mail & Guardian, and Roads & Kingdoms. He is the author of the West Africa travelogue The Ringtone and the Drum and the satirical novel African Beauty, and his research on global issues including public health, access to justice, education and demography has been published in some of the world's leading academic journals. He lives in London, UK.
About the Publisher
John Hunt Publishing is an independent publisher with sales teams worldwide welcoming new authors and unsolicited manuscript submissions. For our authors, we provide an automated production system, forums, a marketing database with over 40,000 contacts and other online tools to produce and market each book. We partner with our authors on marketing, reaching all the traditional bookstore markets for print books, worldwide, and all online retailers.
BOOK LINK: https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/earth-books/our-books/saviour-fish-life-death-africas-greatest-lake
Music downloaded from soundstripe.com and is titled Ngoni Nights by Kora Kollective.
Humans have existed for about 300,000 years. And played a huge role in their environment in a positive sustainable way. They grew and killed what they could eat. Gradually, over most of that time or gradually until less than a century ago, humans somehow became separate from their landscape and began extracting from their landscape more than was needed. Small sustainable farms became overrun by industrial agriculture.
Now the farms in the middle of the US are mostly monoculture crops or single crops to feed cows and livestock stuffed in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The cereal grains grown to feed these animals are not the foods that they are normally meant to be eating. So the animals are injected with hormones and antibiotics just to keep them alive enough until they get slaughtered. Growing enough cereal grains in abundance to feed the livestock crammed into CAFOs gave birth to chemical farming, genetic modifications and heavy pesticide use. The meat from these unhappy animals and grains are passed onto humans. Most of these meats go to feed the masses a cheaper source of meat like those found in the many fast food chains.
Nowadays a week doesn’t go by when I don’t hear livestock being blamed for the climate crisis. We are told to not eat meat if we want to save the planet. This is so frustrating to me, because all meat is not the same. When we are told this there should be a disclaimer, don’t eat meat from CAFOs. Meat from sustainably operated farms where humans are playing a role in helping livestock eat what they should, rotating crops to save soil, making use of pollinators and natural bug eaters like bats for pesticide control is completely different than meat from a CAFO. In sustainable farms the cows are happy not sick, the land is happy and not contaminated and the food makes people are healthier.
So the thought here is, in order to be healthier, have healthier livestock that lives on healthier earth - being more a carbon sink than a carbon source, should humans and livestock be considered keystone species? This is one of the topics in todays episode
I am excited today to be interviewing Miriam Kate McDonald, the author of Emergent: Rewilding Nature, Regenerating Food and Healing the World by Restoring the Connection Between People and the Wild. In her book, McDonald explores how humans extracted from natural landscapes can be reintegrated to restore severed relationships with animals and the land. She discusses how regenerative farmers can help build soil, produce nutrient-dense food, healthy happy animals and foster a renewed sense of kinship with their communities.
This ends todays episode. I hope you enjoyed it. Miriam’s book Emergent can be found to purchase at www.johnhuntpublishing.com. Miriam’s website is www.holisticrestoration.co.uk
and the website to her farm is www.wovenearth-mrh.com.
About Miriam Kate McDonald:
Miriam Kate McDonald has over 15 years of experience in ecology, conservation and agriculture. Her fusion of science and practise lead her to the realisation that people are a part of the wild, entangled in interdependent relationships. She co-directs Midlands Restoration Hub, Woven Earth and Heartwood and lives at High Leas Farm, Derbyshire, UK.
I will have more information about Miriam and some pictures of her farm in our show notes at www.beprovided.com.
Music today was downloaded from soundstripe.com and is titled Back on the Farm by Andy Elison.
If you like what hear and want to hear more shows like this visit beprovided.com and drop us line, leave a review and let us know how we are doing. Again this is Marcia Sivek of BeProvided Conservation Radio. Until next time stay safe and stay healthy.
About Marcia Sivek:
Marcia Sivek has over 12 years experience in Environmental Engineering. In 2010, she receicved a MS in Nutrition and has been helping people make better food choices since. She began the podcast in 2017 after returning from a working guest volunteer stint at the Cheetah Conservation Fund (cheetah.org) in Namibia where she was inspired about the work being done there to save wildlife and people.
Most black bears in the wild will avoid people unless a person gets between a mama bear and her cubs or if the bear feels threatened somehow. It seems over the past couple of decades at least the black bears in South Lake Tahoe, CA are not as afraid of humans as they should. They have learned that humans throw away a lot of food scraps from their homes and businesses. The scraps are placed in easily accessible garbage bins. Some bears have also learned to open windows and doors. This can definitely be a problem for both the bear and the human it may encounter. This episode of BeProvided Conservation Radio discusses the urbanization of black bears in the South Lake Tahoe area. My guests are, Lori Howell Thompson author of the newly published book, Living in Harmony with the Wildlife in Lake Tahoe and Toogee Sielsch, black bear expert in Lake Tahoe.
This is a replay of my live Facebook interview with Beth Pratt, CA Regional Executive Director of the Wildlife Federation, author, co-creator of Save LA Cougars and the all around cougar lady. The interview originally aired in 2020 during lockdown from the pandemic and I was experimenting with new audio equipment and FaceBook live.
As many of you may know, the world lost a great soul on December 17, 2022. The world famous mountain lion, P-22, had to be compassionately euthanized.
This is a summary in a written Eulogy for P22 by Beth Pratt of what the poor boy was suffering from :
“Before I said goodbye, I sat in a conference room with team members from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the team of doctors at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The showed me a video of P-22’s CT scan, images of the results, and my despair grew as they outlined the list of serious health issues they had uncovered from all their testing: stage two kidney failure, a weight of 90 pounds!!! (he normally weighs about 125), head and eye trauma, a hernia causing abdominal organs to fill his chest cavity, an extensive case of demodex gatoi (a parasitic skin infection likely transmitted from domestic cats), heart disease, and more. The most severe injuries resulted from him being hit by a car last week, and I thought of how terrible it was that this cat, who had managed to evade cars for a decade, in his weakened and desperate condition could not avoid the vehicle strike that sealed his fate.”
I dedicate this replay to Beth and P-22 as well as all of the other people and organizations that have helped with bringing the vision of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing to reality. Here is a link to the wildlife crossing website https://101wildlifecrossing.org/ and to Save LA Cougars https://savelacougars.org/ that has live coverage of the construction.
Here is the link to the moving eulogy for P-22 written by Beth Pratt. (have a tissue ready!) https://www.nwf.org/Latest-News/Press-Releases/2022/12-17-22-Eulogy-P-22
Welcome to BeProvided Conservation Radio with host, Marcia Sivek.
As temperatures rise and ecosystems are threatened, the news tends to make us feel there is no hope for our natural world. It is difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But in his new book, The Rescue Effect: The Key to Saving Life on Earth, Michael Mehta Webster suggests that we can feel more optimistic about the survival life on earth because it is more resilient than we think. Webster shares stories of certain species rescuing themselves from extinction through six processes. He does not suggest that humans can sit idly but suggests that conservationists include the rescue effects of a species in their plans for protection or recovery.
If you haven’t guessed already, my guest today is Michael Mehta Webster, author of The Rescue Effect. He is an expert in ecology, conservation, philanthropy, and non-profit management. His research interests focus on how organisms and ecosystems adapt to environmental change, how this information can be translated into effective conservation strategies, and the practical and ethical dilemmas that arise along the way.
Please go check your local bookstore for Michael’s book, if they don’t have it, ask them to stock it! It is a great gift to your nature loving friends and family.
His book is also available through your normal outlets like Amazon as well if you don’t have a local bookstore.
Today’s music was provided by soundstripe.com and is titled Treehouse Instrumental by Andy Ellison.
If you liked this podcast, please visit our website www.beprovided.com or where you get your podcasts for more episodes highlighting people who are dedicated to protecting our wild world.
Thank you for listening and stay safe and stay healthy
I am Marcia Sivek of BeProvided Conservation Radio
This is a replay of my interview with Camilla Fox, founder of Project Coyote (www.projectcoyote.org). We discuss the importance of coyotes and other carnivores to balance ecosystems. We talk about why there is fear around these and animals and most importantly, why there should not be fear around these animals.
We also touch on the horrible act of wildlife killing contests. Something that I was hoping, wishful thinking, would be banned in all 50 states by now. Unfortunately it is still legal in most of our states.
Listen in and learn how Camilla Fox and Project Coyote are dedicating their time to help the public change their negative thinking about these carnivores.
Here is their website so you can learn more and find out ways you can help https://projectcoyote.org/take-action/
Welcome to our Halloween edition about bats. But just so you know, bats are not scary! They just make for a great Halloween conversation. So stay tuned to learn why we should all love bats and not fear them. I am Marcia Sivek and this is BeProvided Conservation Radio. When my guest today is not giving bird talks and nature walks with the Yolo Basin Foundation she is rescuing and rehabilitating bats as well as educating people about bats. Mary Jean Quirk is the founder of Northern California Bats a rescue and rehabilitation organization in Sacramento Valley CA.
My guest today is Jenny Papka, an inspiring raptor educator. Her story began volunteering then eventually became staff at Lindsay Wildlife Center in Walnut Creek, CA. About 20 years ago she helped create Native Bird Connections (NBC) and is presently the Executive Director. NBC is an education and consulting organization and a place where injured or captive bred birds can live out the rest of their lives with respect, responsibility, and reverence. Please Visit: www.nativebirds.org for more information on the work Jenny is doing with raptors. #raptors #raptorsarethesolution #conservation #podcast #wildlife #nature #birds #birdsofprey #eagles #owls #ratpoison
My guests today are innovative and creative when it comes to removing aquatic weeds. They identified a problem and because of their love for beautiful healthy waterways, they created a solution in their company WeeDoo that preserves the health of aquatic life and native aquatic plants without chemicals.
Tara Lordi helped co-found WeeDoo with her husband and his father and was the marketing/salesperson. Since her husband’s death a few years ago, Tara has stepped up and is now running the show. She is very passionate about keeping waterways clean whether by using a precision weed harvesting boat like WeeDoo or by just getting out there and pulling the invasive weeds out by hand—any method if it doesn’t involve using chemicals. She also loves animals, is an avid equestrian and volunteers once a year to help victims of hurricanes, floods, or other natural disasters. Listen in to hear her volunteer adventure to rescue dogs from the Virgin Islands during COVID.
Unbeknownst to Bobby O’Shields his childhood job mowing lawns and tossing a rake with rope tied to it into a lake to pull out weeds, would help shape his role with WeeDoo today. Bobby started working with WeeDoo not too long after it was created. He now demonstrates and educates individuals, businesses, and governments in over 14 countries how to remove invasive aquatic weeds while preserving the native plants and aquatic life without using chemicals.
Tara and Bobby joined me on Zoom to tell us about the important work they do. It was a great conversation with passionate and enthusiastic guests. To learn more about WeeDoo visit www.weedooboats.com. They have some videos on their website showing the boats in action. Very cool to see if I say so myself.
Enjoy the episode.
Background music by: Downloaded from Soundstripe.com - Heads of People, Footwork Instrumental
Pictures in show notes provided by WeeDoo.
Instagram: @beprovided
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeProvided
Twitter: @beprovided
Website: www.beprovided.com
iTunes Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beprovided-conservation-radio/id1238944603
My guests today are innovative and creative when it comes to removing aquatic weeds. They identified a problem and because of their love for beautiful healthy waterways, they created a solution in their company WeeDoo that preserves the health of aquatic life and native aquatic plants without chemicals.
Tara Lordi helped co-found WeeDoo with her husband and his father and was the marketing/salesperson. Since her husband’s death a few years ago, Tara has stepped up and is now running the show. She is very passionate about keeping waterways clean whether by using a precision weed harvesting boat like WeeDoo or by just getting out there and pulling the invasive weeds out by hand—any method if it doesn’t involve using chemicals. She also loves animals, is an avid equestrian and volunteers once a year to help victims of hurricanes, floods, or other natural disasters. Listen in to hear her volunteer adventure to rescue dogs from the Virgin Islands during COVID.
Unbeknownst to Bobby O’Shields his childhood job mowing lawns and tossing a rake with rope tied to it into a lake to pull out weeds, would help shape his role with WeeDoo today. Bobby started working with WeeDoo not too long after it was created. He now demonstrates and educates individuals, businesses, and governments in over 14 countries how to remove invasive aquatic weeds while preserving the native plants and aquatic life without using chemicals.
Tara and Bobby joined me on Zoom to tell us about the important work they do. It was a great conversation with passionate and enthusiastic guests. To learn more about WeeDoo visit www.weedooboats.com. They have some videos on their website showing the boats in action. Very cool to see if I say so myself.
Enjoy the episode.
Background music by: Downloaded from Soundstripe.com - Heads of People, Footwork Instrumental
Pictures in show notes provided by WeeDoo.
Instagram: @beprovided
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeProvided
Twitter: @beprovided
Website: www.beprovided.com
iTunes Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beprovided-conservation-radio/id1238944603
Welcome Back Everyone!
I think every little girl I know, including myself, LOVES horses. I was never in a place to actually ride horses but as soon as I could pick up a pencil horses were the first animals I sketched. I fell in love with their eyes and their sleek muscular bodies.
I am Marcia Sivek and this is BeProvided Conservation Radio.
If you cannot tell, today’s show is about horses, specifically horse rescue and rehabilitation with Julia Hyde, founder of Canham Farm Horse Rescue and Rehabilitation and her senior volunteer and outreach coordinator, Jackie Foley. Julia started Canham Farm Horse Rescue and Rehabilitation about 5 years ago when she realized horses needed her help.
In today’s show, we talk about how horses come into their care. Julia and Jackie share stories on how domesticated horses are cared for and their dedication to getting them back to health and finding a new home. Julia also shares how our iconic wild horses in the American West are rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management using helicopters. We learn why these round ups are not good for the horses. Because of these acts, these symbols of freedom are diminishing from our lands.
I learned so much, which makes me want to learn more. If you know someone working to help save our wild horses and would want to share their experience, please contact me through my website at www.beprovided.com.
Enjoy the conversation. I start by asking my guests to introduce themselves and tell us a little bit about how they were inspired to dedicate their time to horse rescue.
Upcoming Events at Canham Farm: Plein Air Painting Workshop at Canham Farm Horse Rescue with Elvira Rascov Art and Conservation Zoom With John Muir Laws: Date TBD for September! Stay Tuned Music by: Andy Ellison's Wild Bronco Resources: Donations: https://canhamfarm.com/fundraisers/ Volunteer: https://canhamfarm.com/volunteer/ Adopt a Horse: https://canhamfarm.com/adopt-a-horse/ Sponsor a Horse: https://canhamfarm.com/adopt-a-horse/virtual-adoption/ More information on Wild Horse Roundups: Return to Freedom: https://returntofreedom.org/learn/wild-horse-issue/roundups/
Today’s episode is a replay of my FB live interview with two members of the Cal Falcons team who have been monitoring the nest of Annie and Grinnell since 2016. I wanted to replay highlights from our chat in May 2020 today in honor of Grinnell. On April 1, 2022, Cal Falcons sadly reported the world had lost Grinnell due to being struck by a car. I was hoping this would be some kind of bad April fools post, but I knew Cal Falcons would not tug at our heart strings with such a cruel joke. It was difficult to grasp that Grinnell was gone. I know I am not alone in mourning the loss of Grinnell, the cal falcons instagram page has over 10 thousand followers from all over the world. It is a terribly sad event for so many reasons, but heart wrenching because Annie just laid her second egg and Grinnell was hunting to bring food to her. It was reported a dead pigeon was found not far from Grinnell. My heart felt heavy for Annie, thinking that she would not be able to keep protecting and incubating the eggs without the help of a mate. But I am happy to say there is now hope for Annie and her eggs! Cal Falcons has reported that a New Guy, who has big talons to fill compared to Grinnell!, is helping Annie incubate the egg, providing food and defending the nest from other peregrine intruders. This is so promising! Music by Madirfan titled Both of Us on Pixabay.com Show notes with more video of falcons at www.beprovided.com
Today's episode is about the magical world of swamplands with author, Edward Struzik. Ed recently published his book, Swamplands: Tundra Beavers, Quaking Bogs, and the Improbable World of Peat with Island Press. You can buy his book at www.islandpress.org , your local bookstore or wherever you buy books.
Please visit www.beprovided.com for photos, shownotes, video and audio of today's show.
I hope you enjoy learning about the wonderful world of peat.
Do you love raptors? Have you ever wanted to work directly with raptors? Do you know what is involved with rehabbing raptors?
Well if you want answers to these questions listen to this week's episode (just press play above!) with Kaitlyn Bohnet theo-founder and executive director of North Sky Raptor Sanctuary. We did a live show near the shores of Lake Michigan to celebrate this 100th episode of BeProvided Conservation Radio!! Below you will find photos of the event along with photographs of Vega, the red-tailed hawk and Sprocket, the northern saw-whet owl.
Do you love raptors? Have you ever wanted to work directly with raptors? Do you know what is involved with rehabbing raptors?Well, if you want answers to these questions, listen to this week's episode with Kaitlyn Bohnet: Executive Director and Co-founder of North Sky Raptor Sanctuary. We did a live show near the shores of Lake Michigan to celebrate this 100th episode with North Sky Raptor Sanctuary and my family and close friends. Enjoy the show and thank you for listening!
We are used to seeing birds, squirrels and deer in our suburban neighborhoods. But what about other animals that are exploring our yards as we sleep? I am Marcia Sivek and this is BeProvided Conservation Radio.
You may be surprised to that animals like bobcats, coyotes and even mountain lions may roam our yards at night. AND it doesn't matter if you live in the country or city according to my guest today, Sarah Killingsworth. Sarah is a wildlife photographer and educator in Northern California.
Listen in as Sarah explains her observations of the elusive bobcats we have as quiet unexpected neighbors.
Today our show is about a Elinor Ostrom, a woman who pushed the envelope in the academia world when women weren’t well respected in that community. I speak with Erik Nordman, an Ostrom Scholar and author of The Uncommon Knowledge of Elinor Ostrom: Essential Lessons for Collective Action. In his book he explores the ideas of Elinor Ostrom (the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in Economics), who argued that addressing a global problem like climate change will require a truly collective response, not just from governments but at the individual, local, and regional levels as well. Ostrom pushed the envelope at a time when women were not well respected in the academic communities.
This book can be purchased at IslandPress.org: https://islandpress.org/books/uncommon-knowledge-elinor-ostrom.
You can get a 20% discount by using the discount code all caps UNCOMMON.
Show notes of today's show are at www.beprovided.com.
Music by Chantry Smith and titled Woman: licensed from www.soundstripe.com.
“As a child, Tammy had a Pegasus as a pet (seriously, nobody else saw it?), she knew she was part mermaid, and liked to believe Africa was just around the corner rather than thousands of miles away. Using her passion for nature, and veterinary and wildlife degrees, she is doing her best to make the world a better place through research, writing, and education. “ ~ Tammy Cloutier
Tammy Cloutier is my guest today, she is a children’s book author and former phd student of Dr. Greg Rasmussen of the Painted Dog Research Trust. She introduced me to Greg and I thought it important to share her story, it is inspiring to young and old to pursue what they are passionate about.
I am Marcia Sivek and this is BeProvided Conservation Radio.
Her book Painted Dog Pursuit is available on amazon.com
For pictures of Tammy and her book, Painted Dog Pursuit visit todays show notes on beprovided.com
Background music is Rainbows and Candy by Dreamlamp and licensed from Soundstripe.com.
My guest today is Dr. Greg Rasmussen, founder of the Painted Dog Research Trust.
The African Painted Dog is one of the most beautiful animals I have seen in the wild. Their body is covered in patches of black and tan that do look painted on with a brush! AND they have huge rounded ears and a furry white tipped tail.
I am Marcia Sivek and this is BeProvided Conservation Radio.
My first sighting of the dogs in a natural setting was in Namibia, at Erindi Game Reserve. A gate opened to enter the natural area of the reserve and there they were, a pile of black and tan spots. There were groups laying around on each other, some curled up sleeping others laying on their backs with legs in the air just like a house dog playing and enjoying time in the sun.They are social creatures and I could tell there were both young and older dogs in the group interacting with each other. When seeing such playfulness I almost felt like I could reach down and rub their bellies!
Then one yawned and that’s when I saw the teeth - large sharp scissor-like molars and I greatly appreciated I was safely sitting in a safari vehicle. They definitely demand respect.
Listen to the high pitch greeting sounds of dogs as they greet each other. This audio and the video of these dogs greeting each other is provided by the Endangered Wolf Center in St Louis and can be seen at www.beprovided.com.
This week's episode is created from conversations with 11-yr old animal advocate and CEO of Kids Can Save Animals, Kate Gilman Williams and IoT Solutions Architect for Microsoft and creator of Project 15, Sarah Maston.
We learn how Kate enlists the help of Sarah Maston of Microsoft to help create a platform to showcase new technologies playing important roles in saving our wildlife. We also learn of other creative ways Kate is influencing her generation to take action.
Links to Kate’s and Sarah’s websites and videos are in my show notes at www.beprovided.com.
The musical clip, Kids Can Save Animals, is by Jenn Hartmann Luck and can be downloaded on any streaming platform for $1.29 or visit
https://www.jennhartmannluck.com/kids-can-save-animals for more information.
Background music by Avocado Junkie, song is How We Quirk It licensed from soundstripe.com
I am Marcia Sivek and this is BeProvided Conservation Radio. As we enter summer with no real rain from the winter and no forecast of any rain in the future; California is drying up. It is time to be prepared for the worst, especially for those of us living in areas where there is a lot fuel for a fire. So in today’s episode, I speak with Grey Hayes as some of you may remember he helped me start this podcast a few years back and did cohost several episodes with me.
I sought out Grey, not only for vast knowledge of ecology, grasslands and nature in general but also because he, for the most part, alone fought the fire to save his home. He lives in the area designated as the CZU Lightening Complex. I want others to hear his experience and heed his advice on preparing for the next fire. It is not if the next big fire will happen, it is when.
I met Grey at Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz on beautiful spring day. You may hear ambients sounds of nature and man! Enjoy this episode and note you can learn more about Grey and his Community for Nature at www.greyhayes.net.
Visit www.beprovided.com for more podcasts and show notes of today's show.
Background music is Dark Cloud by Ian Kelosky and is licensed from soundstripe.com. The news clip of Gov. Newsom is from www.cspan.net (a public domain file).
Enjoy and stay safe and stay healthy.
Our world is becoming more populated with urban areas increasing. This causes more traffic, more noise and more streetlights. How can birds thrive in these urban environments? Birds already face so many challenges without human intervention; but now they have to navigate daily flight paths will tall buildings made of windows, migration paths that are becoming more lit up at night and communicating with each other above all the noise. How can we make our cities more bird friendly?
Timothy Beatley addresses some of these challenges in his new book, The Bird-Friendly City: Creating Safe Urban Habitats. He is my guest on this episode of the podcast and our discussion includes the topics below:
examples of bird safe environments
biophilic cities - check out www.biophiliccities.org
catios- a way to keep birds safe from domestic and feral cats\
how we can create safe habitats in our own backyard
incorporating bird safe measures in architecture - you don't have to sacrifice cool designs to make a building bird friendly - Tim shows many examples in his book.
The Bird-Friendly City is published by https://islandpress.org/books/bird-friendly-city and if you want to purchase a book please click the link above and use the discount code: BEATLEY to get a 10% discount.
Background music is by Adrian Walth and is titled For the Birds.
Thank you for visiting and stay safe and stay healthy! Now get outside and look for birds!
The War on Wolves with Michelle Lute, Carnivore Conservation Manager for Project Coyote
My guest on this episode of the podcast is Michelle Lute, the Carnivore Conservation Manager for Project Coyote. We discuss: * How she became involved with carnivore conservation * What is happening currently with the War on Gray Wolves * The appalling practice of killing contests * Why developing, implementing and using a gold standard of evidence based research in conservation decisions is important * What we can do to help.
Please listen to our conversation ... lives of many great animals depend on it! Visit www.projectcoyote.org to learn more on how you can help! Important Links to Resources on How to Help! Sign the petition: https://projectcoyote.salsalabs.org/predatorfilmpetition/index.html View the movie (note: graphic images):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV0UZsaMjMM Resources to contact local papers, lawmakers, commissioners etc: http://www.projectcoyote.org/take-action/how-to-help/make-your-voice-heard/ Michigan Representative Deborah Dingell's Website: https://debbiedingell.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1316 Background Music: Forget Me Not by Reveille News Footage from https://www.c-span.org/video/?454490-1/us-house-meets-legislative-business
Have you heard of the unprecedented wolf hunt in Wisconsin this past February that nearly wiped out 20% of the state's gray wolf population in just TWO days? My guest this week is Adrian Treves, founder of the Carnivore Coexistence Lab at the University of Wisconsin Madison. He talks to us about this unprecedented hunt that occurred during wolf mating season. We also discuss that those managing wildlife need to be more responsible for implementing methods of coexistence that does less harm to the wildlife population.
Listen in to hear how this could happen and what we can do to better coexist with our wild neighbors.
In this episode you will meet author John Pickrell as he talks about his new book, Flames of Extinction: The Race to Save Australia's Wildlife that shares the stories of conservationists, wildlife rescuers, Indigenous rangers, ecologists who worked to save plants and wildlife impacted by the bushfires.
In this episode you will hear about:
The unique Australian species threatened by the fires, like the Nightcap oak, a dinosaur-era tree and Wollemi Pine
Why many species highlighted in his book now have a brighter future due to Australians efforts; and
How Australia’s Black Summer offers an urgent warning to a world threatened by catastrophic wildfires.
Show notes and photos from John's book can be found at www.beprovided.com
John's book was published by Island Press and can be found at www.islandpress.org.
This is Aaron Prince, the educator and raptor care specialist at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in the Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania. He is going to educate us about all things raptors and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary.
*Photo Credit: Coyote Face by Sheryl Hester
Historically the coyote features prominently in Native American mythology and folklore - In some stories the coyote is a sacred being with creative powers. In other stories the coyote is wiley, deceptive and a trickster but almost always referred to as creative and intelligent. I am Marcia Sivek and this is BeProvided Conservation Radio
Many people report observing more animals in places they had never expected. This is true for coyote sightings. Coyotes are highly adaptable to new environments. They are likely the first wild carnivore you will see.
The coyote’s adaption to new environments are good for the coyote in one way, but in another way, it brings them close to people, specifically people’s pets and livestock. This has caused fear and anger for coyotes when they are living so close to us humans. This is why animals such as coyotes, wolves, bobcats, and bears are not revered as sacred, intelligent or creative — they are sadly considered varmints in some states. A varmint is defined as a troublesome wild animal— a pest to be rid of.
In this episode, Camilla Fox of Project Coyote helps us understand why we should learn to coexist with our wild carnivore neighbors.
The Native Americans say the spirit of the cougar has chosen to take the earth and walk as a spiritual hunter, to teach unconditional leadership, patience and determination.
These stealthy, strong and solitary cats feed our imaginations and unfortunately for many they feed fear. They are very misunderstood animals and are often shot for sport or when livestock or pets go missing. They are shot because people are afraid.
If these beautiful cats are so dangerous to coexist with, why don’t we hear about more human attacks? In that last 100 years, there have been fewer than 20 fatal mountain lion attacks on humans, yet humans killing mountain lions is on the rise. I just don’t get it.
I am Marcia Sivek and this is a Nature Short on Coexisting with Cougars. by BeProvided Conservation Radio. This episode is with Korinna Domingo, founder and director of the Cougar Conservancy. Their mission is to reduce human-wildlife conflict and conserve cougar populations. Here she explains on some basic things we can do to feel more safe and to protect our wild neighbors.
Please listen to our Nature Short below to learn more
This is Richard Pallardy, a freelance science writer. He uses is talents to write about our natural world; bringing attention to animal/ wildlife behaviors, the environment and their importance to our lives and world.
Richard recently published an article on an online publication called Hidden Compass, titled No Dog is an Island about the New Guinea Highland Wild/Singing dogs. (www.hiddencompass.net)
If you have never heard of these amazing animals thought to be extinct but recently rediscovered in the wild, you should really listen in and read Richard's article. They have become my new favorite animal! They are beautiful, strong, athletic and they can sing!!
Hello everyone. Have you ever felt fear for your life when the turbulence of the plane is bouncing you around your seat and people around you are vomiting - hopefully in the vomit bags provided? Have you thought that that one mosquito who bit you in Africa was definitely going to give you Malaria, even though Malaria hasn’t been seen in that area for decades? But you still start feeling symptomatic and the doctor cannot find anything wrong? I have and I am sure many others, even seasoned travelers.
I am Marcia Sivek and this is BeProvided Conservation Radio. My guest today, Jeremy Hance, feels this anxiety and more, yet he is probably one of the most traveled people I have spoken with yet and it hasn’t stopped him. Today’s show touches a little bit about anxiety and mental illness and how to deal with that when your work takes around the world to very remote locations.
Jeremy Hance is a freelance environmental journalist and author of the recently published book: Baggage: Confessions of a Globetrotting Hypochondriac. Today we will be talking about Jeremy’s travels, his new book, rare animals he has met along the way and his way of coping with his mental illness.
Next to a very busy major road in Jerusalem is Gazelle Valley, the biggest urban natural site in Israel. Here roam endangered mountain gazelle, migratory, birds, and reptiles amongst the hustle the and bustle of the oldest city in the world. I am Marcia Sivek, and today we will be learning about Gazelle Valley along with its challenges, its wildlife and success of being a place that all people of any age, culture and religion can enjoy. What is most fascinating about this park is that it's not only in such a busy culturally rich city, is free to all who visit. With emphasis on free and all.
Next to a very busy major road in Jerusalem is Gazelle Valley, the biggest urban natural site in Israel. Here roam endangered mountain gazelle, migratory, birds, and reptiles amongst the hustle the and bustle of the oldest city in the world. I am Marcia Sivek, and today we will be learning about Gazelle Valley along with its challenges, its wildlife and success of being a place that all people of any age, culture and religion can enjoy. What is most fascinating about this park is that it's not only in such a busy culturally rich city, is free to all who visit. With emphasis on free and all.
This Nature Short is from a FaceBook Live Conversation with Diana Oppenheim, founder of the ForElk.org campaign to save the Tule Elk. This audio is a 12 minute highlight of our hour long discussion. I have included both versions below for your convenience! Tule Elk of Point Reyes National Seashore need our help! So please listen and share! ForElk.org also has many videos and updated information about this so please visit their site to stay up to date. FB Live interview is at www.facebook.com/beprovided Theme music: Blossoming by Podington Bear at freemusicarchive.org
I am creating a new series highlighting my conversations with people helping to protect our natural world. These episodes will be between 2 to 15 minutes. Bite size pieces of inspiration and hope!! My first Nature Short is Searching for the Snow Leopard with Jak Wonderly. This is a fun little clip about his search and feelings toward his travels to the Himalayan mountains in search of the Grey Ghost! Here is our first Nature Short and is only 2 minutes but packed with a fun story!! Enjoy and please let me know what you think of these episodes by leaving a comment or sending me an email.
When my guest today was a young boy, his grandmother would share stories about the many penguins on the beaches near where he was living. These stories stayed with Pablo (Popi) Garcia Borboroglu into adulthood and have inspired him to share the stories of penguins, not only with his children but with the world.
Popi founded the Global Penguin Society (GPS) just over 10 years ago in Argentina. GPS is now internationally recognized as one of the leading organizations dedicated to the conservation of the worlds penguin species, the coasts and the oceans they inhabit.
Below is a condensed audio version of a live FaceBook interview I did with Popi in July 2020. I have included some of the pictures we mention that I showed to the audience at the time of the show. If you prefer watching video, you can find the live video feed of the show at: https://www.facebook.com/BeProvided/videos/616550252395575
You can see photos at : www.beprovided.com
If you like what you hear and learn from this conversation, please reach out to the Global Penguin Society website to get more information. Please consider donating to this cause that is not only helping the survival of penguins around the world but also the health of the oceans. We all depend on the oceans health to thrive so this work is benefiting the entire world not just the areas where there are penguins.
Other places to connect to GPS:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlobalPenguinSociety/
Instagram: @globalpenguinsociety or https://www.instagram.com/globalpenguinsociety/
Twitter: @PENGUINS_GPS
Marcia Sivek of BeProvided Conservation Radio speaks with Lisa Owens Viani, Co Founder of Raptors Are The Solution. They discuss the signing of bill AB1788 by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 29, 2020 and what that will do to help our wildlife. Lisa also gives advice of what we can do next now that this bill is signed.
I was honored to host this episode of BeProvided Conservation Radio because of my two special guests: Shavaun Mara Kidd and Jak Wonderly. We talked about their book that is coming out very soon (Octoberl) called Searching for the Snow Leopard: Guardian of the High Mountain. Full show notes along with the Facebook Live video version of the show and photographs can be seen at www.beprovided.com.
In early Spring 2019, Bigs Eyes and Laimos wandered into new territory around the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto, California from Shoreline, near Mountain View. They are a young couple hoping to find more of their kind in this new area and raise a family. I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think they expected to be alone. They did not know that 25 of their kind died off in 2016 due to overpopulation, disease and drought, a perfect storm for wildlife, leaving no other gray fox in the Baylands area. Now, it is up to Big Eyes and her mate, Laimos, to bring new gray fox into this area. As they do so, the “Fox Guy.” also known as Bill Leikam, is working hard to make sure the perfect storm of 2016 doesn’t happen again on his watch.
Since 2009, Bill has been going to gray fox territory in the Baylands twice a day, every day. The only time he has taken off is when he is on vacation in Montana. When he is near them, he talks to them and they listen. Many would come out to see him when he called their names. He became part of their environment which allowed him to observe their behaviors, understand they way they raised their young and their intelligence with problem solving. Since 2009, Bill has been going to gray fox territory in the Baylands twice a day, every day. The only time he has taken off is when he is on vacation in Montana. When he is near them, he talks to them and they listen. Many would come out to see him when he called their names. He became part of their environment which allowed him to observe their behaviors, understand they way they raised their young and their intelligence with problem solving. He spoke of a time when sitting on a log near one of the den sites writing notes and looking up to see a few fox pups sitting in the grass in front of him like students in front of a teacher- studying him as much as he was studying them.
The population of fox seemed to be thriving until in 2016 when Bill started noticing certain fox would not show themselves like they had in the past. Bill started getting calls about fox being found dead in the area and no one knew why. Eventually, with the help of a UC Davis veterinarian, he was able to get necropsy reports and found that the fox all had canine distemper, a disease common in our pet dogs. Unlike our pets, though, fox cannot be vaccinated.
It was soon realized that the fox population was too large for the Baylands area. Distemper in such a closed territory spread like wildfire among all the fox. The peak of the drought was also in 2016, water for all wildlife in the area was scarce. These conditions stressed and pushed the immune systems of the fox to the limit. Their weakened immune systems could not battle the distemper or any other virus or bacteria that they encountered.
The problem overlying the drought and disease is the lack of wildlife habitat connectivity for fox and other animals to expand their territory and find new resources. Highways, like Highway 101, and new large scale building projects basically cut off the Baylands from other wildlife areas where the fox could travel - they are trapped in this area unless we can create corridors that connect for wildlife to safely travel. In order to do this, Bill needs to find pups in the Baylands and collar them so they can be tracked as they try to travel to new areas. Learning where the fox go will help determine areas for connectivity. He needs camera traps to observe den sites of fox as well as the behavior of other wildlife such as raccoons and opossums. Without fox around to control the population of the other species, the other species can be experiencing overpopulation, disease and inbreeding as well.
As of July 2020, Bill is pretty confident Big Eyes and Laimos do not have pups yet. He also has not given up hope that this young couple will hopefully have pups in the Spring of 2021. In the meantime, this allows Bill to continue his hard work with the Urban Wildlife Research Project to raise funding to purchase collars and game cameras to keep an eye on the resident couple and other wildlife. He is using this time to educate the community and world about importance of gray fox and why they need our help to create natural corridors for their survival. Bill gives me hope with his dedication to the gray fox and other animals as he motivates and educates the community to care. With Bill at the helm, I feel confident we will see wildlife corridors successfully connecting habitats in our area during my lifetime.
Live video show from July 2, 2020 is at www.facebook.com/beprovided/live.
I am honored to have Dr. Liz Tyson as our guest today. Liz is an animal advocate with over 16 years of experience working for animal protection and conservation. Since 2018 she has been with Born Free USA and is currently the Program Director; here she is responsible for running the largest primate sanctuary. She is also leading the organization's campaign program to help stop illegal pet trade and roadside zoo operations.
Liz has worked as a freelance consultant for the organization’s linked charity, Born Free Foundation in her native United Kingdom for some years prior to taking up her current role. She has been all over the world — UK, Ireland, Colombia, Spain, Middle East, Bolivia, Ethiopia, and Peru —advocating for animals. Some of her work includes running sterilization programs for street dogs in the Middle East, and working with indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon to bring the end to hunting of wild primates.
In this episode, Liz shares the stories of the monkeys that come into the care of the primate sanctuary team. The sanctuary gives monkeys a second life after a traumatic first life. She shares the stories of rescued animals from terrible conditions at roadside zoos and how people think a monkey makes a great pet then abandons it after they realize it IS a wild animal. As these stories are sad to hear, people need to hear them to understand that wild animals as pets and these roadside zoos should not be happening.
But on the light side, we get to hear about the crotchety but lovable Mrs. Wilkin who walks with an uneven gait.
We will hear about one of Liz’s favorites (even though he pays her no mind!), Gizmo, a long tailed macaque monkey with big ears and a crooked smile.
Here are ways you can learn more and help!
Visit their website: https://www.bornfreeusa.org/primate-sanctuary/
Sign up for their newsletter (at the bottom to their webpage) to stay up to date on current legislation and news about theillegal pet trade and roadside zoos.
Adopt a monkey and learn more about them! https://www.bornfreeusa.org/primate-sanctuary/adopt-monkey/
Donate!
Fund a Need! https://www.bornfreeusa.org/primate-sanctuary/fund-a-need/
Enjoy the audio below and the gallery of photos of the monkeys at the sanctuary!
Sloth is one of the seven deadly sins; meaning laziness and failure to act on ones talents. So why did the animal sloth get this name? They may be slow, but they are not lazy. They are efficient in conserving energy and they certainly utilize their talent by being able to hang in a tree and hide from potential threats and pesky tourists! I sought out The Sloth Conservation Foundation Founder, Rebecca Cliffe and Development Director, Tess Robitschko, to share the story of the sloth and clear up this myth that sloth are lazy! We did a live FaceBook event and had a great audience turnout. However, we had some audio and video trouble but we got many questions answered. I merged our show into audio and it is available below. I was unable to show the beautiful photographs by Suzi Eszterhas that are shown below. Suzi is a board member of the Sloth Conservation Foundation and co-authored a book with Rebecca Cliffe in which these photographs and more can be found. Here is a link to their website and to the book Sloths: Life in the Slow Lane. It is definitely worth your time to check out the audio, the website and the book!! Enjoy!
Joshua Hammer, the author of our topic today, The Falcon Thief, has traveled the globe as a foreign journalist for Newsweek and is now a freelance writer living in Berlin. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Bad Ass Librarians of Timbuktu . He has also written for many publications that include the New York Times, Smithsonian, Outside, GQ and the New Yorker to name just a few!!
The Falcon Thief uncovers the world of oology- egg collecting. He introduces us to an obsessed wild bird egg thief and smuggler, Jeffery Lendrum. The adventures of this thief are balanced with The Wildlife Crime Unit's detective, Andy McWilliams who is determined to stop Lendrum's egg thief activities.
I thought this a gripping adventure of these two men. It exposed me to a world I did not know existed and feel the world should know about this. Peregrine's and birds in general are facing great threats already at the hands of humans, they don't need the challenge of egg thieves stealing their eggs for collections that sit in storage areas. They certainly don't need their eggs or babies stolen for entertainment such as falcon races or songbird competitions.
I thought there was a nice balance of adventure and facts in this book. The facts are needed to understand this world better.
Boto's are Amazon River Dolphin, sometimes pink but always cute. They have a long rostrum with teeth that can munch through a turtle shell. They can reach up to 400+ pounds with strong flippers and tails but are graceful swimmers in the dark waters of the Amazon. I spoke with Suzanne Smith, founder of the Amazon River Dolphin Conservation Foundation during a Facebook live presentation about the boto. This is the audio version of our live show. Enjoy!
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to BeProvided Conservation Radio. Today is a special edition of a live Facebook event and you can find the full video version on my Facebook or you can also find. A recorded version on YouTube. This is an abbreviated audio version of that interview with highlights about P-22 and the current vote on the California Endangered Species Act for Southern CA mountain lions. This interview was with Beth Pratt, California regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, and co-creator of Save LA Cougars, which is a campaign to build one of the largest crossings over highway 101, one of the busiest highways in LA. Beth is also the author of, When Mountain Lions are Neighbors: People and Wildlife Working it out in California. In this book, she shares hopeful stories from people coexisting with wildlife throughout California. Such as coyotes living in San Francisco, Grey Fox raising a family on the campus of Facebook, raptors in cities, backyard wildlife and much much more. In the audio interview below, Beth shares stories of her background in wildlife conservation as well as the adventurous story of P-22, Hollywood's (and California's) most famous mountain lion. If you have not heard of P-22 then listen in to see how this cat is coexisting in one of the most populated area of our country within an area of only 8 square miles.
My guest today is award winning journalist with master's degrees in both journalism and biology. Peter Christie, we are going to be talking about his new book, Unnatural Companions, Rethinking Our Love of Pets in an Age of Wildlife Extinction, we will discuss the pets versus conservation dilemma, such as domestic animals, preying on backyard wildlife, invasive species being released into the wild and how the food we feed our pets is impacting the environment.
Are we loving nature literally to death through our pets we bring into our home. Don't worry, this isn't all doom and gloom. We're going to be discussing small changes we can make with, that can make a difference. And, Peter doesn't think that pets are really the problem, but we do need to change how we love and care for them by becoming more educated on how our pet choices affect the wildlife we are trying to protect.
Lori Marino is a neuroscientist and expert in animal behavior and intelligence. She coauthored a ground breaking study that showed that bottlenose dolphins can recognize themselves in the mirror. This altered Lori's career path, she stopped working with captive animals after this, it was too difficult to know about their intelligence an see them confined to small concrete enclosures.
Lori moved on to become Director and Founder of the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy. She also appears on the documentary Blackfish and its's sequel Long Gone Wild. Both about killer whales and captivity. Her current project, The Whale Sanctuary Project begins where Long Gone Wild left off.
The Whale Sanctuary is the first of its kind. It will be located off the coast of Nova Scotia and offer previously captive whales and dolphins a natural place, with no concrete walls, to live out the rest of their lives. It is an amazing project and a major undertaking. Listen to this week's episode to hear more about this project.
Good day everyone this is Marcia Sivek the host of BeProvided Conservation Radio. I hope this finds everyone and their loved ones safe in these crazy times. I have been fortunate enough to be healthy and have a healthy family. I know there is a lot of news about COVID 19. There is a lot of anger toward China and the live wet markets. There is a lot of crazy finger pointing, blaming and bad planning tactics from government and others we should trust in such crazy times. But with all this I do see the majority of us coming together globally, a positive light in the chaos.
My guest today is Dr. Hayley Adams. She is veterinarian who has a PhD in epidemiology and virology. She has many years of experience working with One Health in Africa, wildlife and domestic animals. She is also an author of the book Conscious Conservation which is a worthwhile read during these times and any time. She is certified in meditation and compassion fatigue therapy. On top of all of this she is a mother, who is currently home schooling and a wife! She is much more than all of this and she will give you a better summary of her background in this episode.
Hayley and I were supposed to chat via Skype for this interview, but with Shelter in place, home schoolings and spouses working from home, finding time and quiet space is difficult. So we opted to have Hayley answer questions from listeners and some from me! in a pre recorded session she could do when she could find quiet and time. So Hayley is both interviewer and interviewee! Our original goal was to discuss her book and her work in forensic wildlife studies and other topics not COVID 19. But during this time I wanted Hayley to share her thoughts on this current pandemic and introduce my listeners to her. She has vast knowledge on emerging diseases from wildlife to humans. She also has a podcast, Conservation without Borders where she offers more scientific details to our current situation in 7 episodes including this one which is less detailed but very informative. You can find this series on drhayleyadams.com and hayley is spelled HAYLEY.
In this episode Hayley touches on such topics that include:
- How the coronaviruses can affect our pets and should we worry? (note this was recorded before the tiger and other big cats were diagnosed with COVID 19 in the Bronx Zoo).
- How finger pointing and blaming may do more harm than good in resolving this pandemic and other pandemics.
- Will banning wet markets and trade of bush meat from wildlife do any good?
- What can we do to help prevent the next disease when it emerges? because, Yes it will
- What is herd immunity and is it good or is it bad?
- What can we do to help ourselves and others get through these times?
- What positive outcomes will come from all of this?
- Hayley also answers some listener questions which touch on all of these topics.
This week's show is a little different, in that I am interviewing the co-founder of an investment management firm called Karner Blue Capital. I have never thought of interviewing an investment company co-founder until I saw their recent press release titled: Socially responsible investment leader urges a collective reassessment of our relationship with animals to fight global outbreaks of infectious disease. I became curious how investing can make a difference. On this show we talk about many ways you and I can make contributions to help protect our natural world in terms of volunteering, education, artwork and donations. But do we look closely at the companies we invest in, through say our 401 K s etc in order to make an impact? To be honest, I have not looked at every company in my plan to see how they treat people or animals. Well, we are all about to learn how investing can make an impact. We have been told we can vote with our forks, now we can vote with how we invest to let companies know we care. Karner Blue Capital is the first of its kind to thoroughly research and choose companies for its Animal Impact Fund and portfolio that rank high in good animal welfare and care for the environment. By investing in companies that have these good practices we can even make more of a difference. This company does not sponsor our show. It is the intention of this show to give you, the listeners, ideas and options of making your own impact in any way you can. Investing for animal welfare is an interesting concept that I thought others would want to learn more about. So enjoy the show. Our guest for this show is co-founder of Karner Blue Capital, Vicki Benjamin. She is also the CEO since it commenced operations as an investment advisor in 2017. Karner Blue Capital is the first investment management firm that offers strategies centered around animal welfare. I like the company saying “compassionate investing with impact!” In this episode Ms. Benjamin will discuss how she became involved with loving animals and how she was driven to have a career that meant something to her, thus founding Karner Blue. We also discuss the extensive research that goes into choosing companies for their Animal Impact Fund portfolio that are truly acting responsibly for animals and the environment. We also discuss how investing in companies that practice compassion for animals and the environment could help us reduce or better control pandemics and diseases like we are facing now with COVID-19. There is a brief timeline of our discussion below the audio at the bottom of this post. Here is an example of the Animal Impact Fund Fact Sheet. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS FACT SHEET DOES NOT CONTAIN CURRENT INFORMATION. This fact sheet is to only provide an educational glimpse of the fund overview. Karner Blue Capital updates it page and the fund's performance quarterly. Click here for more information: Animal Impact Fund Investing. Ms. Benjamin is also Executive Vice President of the Karner Blue Center for a Humane Economy, Inc. This is the first non-profit animal welfare organization that focuses on influencing the conduct of corporations and encourages them to honor their duties to social responsibility. Some of their current campaigns include: Kangaroos are not shoes, banning of greyhound racing, providing animal care not cruelty, ending torture in testing, and driving global tourism to end cruel spectacles. Learn more in the episode below. Just press play to begin!
Hello everyone. Marcia Sivek here with BeProvided Conservation Radio. We are doing a re-broadcast today of one of my favorite interviews with John Muir Laws. I interviewed Jack at his home a couple of years ago, and I'm happy to say that he has won the Bay Nature Local Hero Award for Environmental Education for 2020.
This is well deserved as he has inspired me and my love of nature and nature drawing, so please listen and so he can inspire you as well. Maybe inspire you to start a nature journal or get outside during this crazy coronavirus time. Journaling is easy, meditative, and definitely easy to do while you are social distancing yourself from others and getting back into nature. So enjoy the show and congratulations Jack, and I'm really happy that you have won this Local Hero Award, it is well deserved.
Our most recent podcast is with Ayana Young, founder and host of the popular podcast, For The Wild. Ayana is a lover and protector of wild nature. She teaches us about empowered earth stewardship and leads biodiversity enhancement workshops. Ayana will discuss her experience with falling in love with old growth forests and the creation of her film, When Old Growth Ends. Please check it out here...https://forthewild.world/when-old-growth-ends.
(In this episode we discuss the threat of the Tongass National Forest. Last year the forest Service announced that the preferred action of the service at this time is a full exemption of the designated Roadless Rule. Which means the Tongass would lose protections against clear cutting by roadbuilding being allowed through this old growth forest. But GOOD NEWS...Earlier this month and after we created this podcast episode, the Federal Court ruled against the massive old growth rainforest logging plan in Alaska! Read about it here....*https://www.audubon.org*. ~there is hope! )
For The Wild is an anthology of the Anthropocene; focused on land-based protection, co-liberaton and intersectional storytelling rooted in a paradigm shift from human supremacy towards deep ecology.
Getting to Know the Noble Persons of the Rainforest
"The beauty of this whole process is becoming more altruistic...find love in your and have an attitude of giving...There is no sacrifice in that sense." ~Leif Cocks
Hello everyone welcome back to our new season of BeProvided Conservation Radio. Today we are sharing the story of the great apes that share 97% of human DNA, the orangutans. Leif Cocks, founder of The Orangutan Project, global orangutan expert and Orangutan Whisperer regards these great apes as the most noble people on our planet. Leif has just received one of Australia’s highest honors, the Medal of the Order of Australia for services in conservation and today he will be the one telling the story of his friends living in the rainforest. He will also share his story on how, even after 30 years, he continues to work tirelessly to improve the welfare of orangutans in captivity and ensure their survival in the wild.
For more information on how to help save the orangutans and their rainforests, visit The Orangutan Project website and social media sites listed below.
- The Orangutan Project Website
- The Orangutan Project Facebook Page
- Links to Leif Cocks books: Finding Our Humanity and Orangutans: My Cousins, My Friends
*Intro by Dale Willman, Acoustic Breeze music by bensound.com
Hello everyone I am happy to be back with another show about the Land of the Snow Leopard Network. I interviewed Darla Hillard of the Snow Leopard Conservancy and Maria Azhunova, the newly elected leader of the Land of the Snow Leopard Network.
Last year I interviewed the founder of the Snow Leopard Conservancy, Dr. Rodney Jackson where he explained what is happening in conservation of these cats. Today’s topic is more about the people coming together to not only protect these cats but protect their traditions.
The Land of the Snow Leopard Network spans across 12 countries in Asia: China (where at least half of all wild snow leopards are believed to exist), Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia. As you can imagine this area is diverse in tradition, culture and political views. The Land of the Snow Leopard Network shares the voices of local stewards working in the same areas where snow leopards reside. In these indigenous communities the snow leopard is a symbol of endurance and indicator of the health of the high mountain ecosystems.
Protectors and stewards of the land in each country are coming forward, reviving spiritual and cultural practices while educating their communities about the importance of saving the snow leopard. So I hope you enjoy this episode as Darla and Maria share their stories and the work they are doing.
Photo Credit: Nicolas Villaume
Hello everyone welcome back to BeProvided Conservation Radio, this is your host, Marcia Sivek. In today’s episode I speak via telephone with Lisa Owens Viani, cofounder of Raptors are the Solution or in short RATS. We discuss the topic of rodenticides or rat poison that seems to me, to be the DDT of our times and it is very important to learn more about this topic because our wildlife is being greatly affected, such as raptors (owls, hawks, eagles) and animals such as bobcats, mountain lions and even our own beloved pet cats and dogs. Research has even shown that rodenticides are finding their way into slugs, snakes and even sea otters.
This is a heavy subject because it seems like such a big feat to take on but Lisa has done so and started a movement. This is what keeps her going.
Also in todays episode we will discuss an important assembly bill AB 1788 created by assemblyman Richard Bloom from Santa Monica. Just after this episode was completed, Lisa contacted me that there will be a sign-on letter and petition going to Governor Newsom to take action on this AB 1788 To find out more about this petition coming up, please sign up for RATS e newsletter at raptorsarethesolution@gmail.com or visit Raptors are the Solution Facebook page if you would like to learn more and take action.
Now onto today’s show!
So you want a pet cheetah?
When you see a baby cheetah your heart melts. They have dark golden eyes that are curious with goofy spikey mohawk hair that is meant to mimic honey badgers in the wild. Not to mention, the hundreds of tiny little spots from the top of the head to the tip of their long tail. Their faces have that distinctive black tear line and when they look at you, you can see an intelligence, grace and thoughtfulness.
When I ask my fellow feline lovers if they could have an exotic cat as a pet, what would it be?The answer is almost always a pet cheetah. It is something I have even said too, but would never ever do or support anyone who does. There is something magical and mystical about them. BUT, these beautiful creatures belong in the wild. They do not belong on the passenger seat of a wealthy persons sports car with a collar and leash or in a high rise apartment.
Having a cheetah as a pet isn’t new, but it presently getting out of control. I spoke briefly with Dr. Laurie Marker when she was on her 2019 Spring fundraising tour for the Cheetah Conservation Fund about what is happening with cheetahs being traded as pets and how this is effecting their numbers in the wild.
As most of you know, I met Dr. Laurie Marker, the founding director of The Cheetah Conservation Fund a few years ago. I was so inspired to learn about the work CCF is doing and what Dr. Marker has accomplished that I traveled to Namibia to become a working guest for a few weeks. It is a fantastic experience and I recommend it to everyone. I wrote a small piece about my experience at CCF for Wild Hope Magazine and that will be published shortly so stay tuned.
PLEASE NOTE: If you are in the Bay Area you can meet Dr. Laurie Marker in person at the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz California on October 8th. Laurie will be speaking about cheetah conservation in Namibia and how some of the methods can be applied to our area to protect the cougar and other predators. There will also be a film screening of Born to Explore’s : Namibia, Land of the Cheetah produced by Richard Weise.
I am excited to be speaking again with Dr. Marker although I find the topic of illegal pet trade disturbing. But as always Dr. Marker will inspire us to have hope and come together to stop these actions and bring awareness to the world.
*intro and closing by Dale Willman and acoustic breeze music by www.bensound.com
Allyson Jayne Miller is the Founding Director of Oregon Action Team (ORECAT), a nonprofit foundation dedicated to protect Oregon’s cougar from being hunted down and poached and educating communities how to coexist with cougar and other predators without fear
Here is a message from Allyson on her website:
“There is nothing in our Universe that indicates that humans are the only species for which to be blessed with the ability to reason, think, and feel; indeed, there is growing evidence that is quite the contrary. Everyone, it seems, claims to love a particular animal or ecosystem. But I say, rather than fall in love, fall into an epiphany that changes your insights or perspectives as to the reality of the simple and often seemingly mystical elements of ecosystems and the animals and plants that sustain them. Because when you fall into an epiphany, you will never view the ecologies and animals as a commonplace occurrence or experience again. You will love them as if your life depended upon it. “Allyson Miller, 2019.
Allyson fell into an epiphany at a young age, when at the age of 11, she promised the universe she would do what she could to protect the cougar after a spiritual moment on a mountain top with her father. Her father taught her how to coexist with wildlife on their large 7,000 acre ranch in Oregon.
Allyson now runs her own 10-acre permaculture farm based on the teachings of her father- “take care of the land and land will take care of you.” The original farm dates back tho the mid 1800s! Here is the link to the farm’s website so you can learn more: http://www.grapelanepoultryfarm.org.
Allyson is also an artist inspired by the natural world and her work has been shown and sold at (her website is https://www.allyson-miller-artist-ecologist.com):
Bliss Victoria Magazine, 1998/99
Sew News Magazine, 1998/99
The Oregon Book
The Farmers Journal
Pagasus Gallery
Oregon State Parks
Barns & Noble
Amazon.com
Maine Historical Society
West Virginia Historical Society
International Quilts Incorporated
OSU
Please listen to following podcast episode featuring Allyson Jayne Miller and the work she is doing with ORECAT. In this episode you will learn how Allyson fell into her epiphany, the challenges cougar are facing with poaching and an interesting correlation to the disappearance of cougar in areas and increase of Lyme Disease in the same areas.
More information about ORECAT can be found on their website: http://www.orecat.org.
Today we continue our discussion with Ashleigh Lutz-Nelson, Assistant Curator of Carnivores for San Francisco Zoo. In Part two we talk about many things but the highlights include: the birth of the two snow leopard cubs at the zoo, the project with the Snow Leopard Conservancy, Ashleigh making the chuff sound!, the zoo's role in conservation, the importance of citizen science and what gives Ashleigh hope.
Audio tags:
5:30 min Discussion of project with International Vet Outreach, San Francisco Zoological Society, and Snow Leopard Conservancy.
10:30 min: conservation fit
11:30 min: the preston project and Ashleigh demonstrates a chuff
19:00 min: Queen of all Tigers in India
21:30 min: Zoo Role in conservation
23:00 min: Outreach projects and information
26:00 min: Citizen science projects
Special thank you to Patricia Dennis Photography and Josanne Virene with their help with these podcast episodes.
Meet Ashleigh Lutz-Nelson, Assistant Curator of Carnivores at the San Francisco Zoo! In this podcast Ashleigh talks about how she fell in love with carnivores, specifically cats at a young age and knew she wanted to aways work with animals. She discusses her journey of wanting to be a veterinarian to changing g her mind and wanting to work more with wildlife conservation and animal behavior. She volunteered with the veterinary staff a Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park in Tampa, Florida. There she fell in love with the wildlife rehabilitation part of the work and her path changed to become a keeper at Busch Gardens. She assisted with ambassador animals on Wildlife Docs and on shows such as the Today Show, to educate people about wildlife, their behavior and importance to our world.
Ashleigh fills us in on her role at the zoo as Assistant Curator of Carnivores and the zoo's role in wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and breeding. She has 13 carnivore species under care at the zoo and talks about their roles in field conservation.
Ashleigh's story is an excellent example of turning passion into a fulfilling career. Inspiration for us, young and old, who love wildlife and want to contribute. she is very passionate and it gives me hope that she, and many others like her are helping to save these animals and share their stories with the world.
Special Thank you to Ashleigh and her staff for showing us around the zoo on Earth Day, Patricia Dennis Photography for taking photographs and recording videos of the interview and day and Josanne Virene for her love of animals, support and assistance throughout the day.
A great conservation story! From zero swans to over 200 swans thirty years later! Thanks to one man and his passion, Harry Lumsden.
Our guest today, Liz Benneian, is the spokesperson for the Trumpeter Swan Coalition in Ontario,Canada. She shares the dramatic and soap opera like lives swans live (never a dull moment it sounds!) and how they are continuing to be protected and thrive. She also talks to us about a project that potentially threatened the wintering grounds of approximately 200 trumpeters at LaSalle Park. When I asked her the outcome of this project, her answer included something like...lets just say City Hall doesn't always win! So listen in for the entire story.
Please check out the show notes for beautiful photographs at www.beprovided.com
Visit the Trumpeter Swan Coalition Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/trumpeterswancoalition/
Trumpeter Swan Coalition Website: http://www.trumpeterswancoalition.com
introduction and closing by Dale Willman and music by www.bensound.com
A great conservation story! From zero swans to over 200 swans thirty years later! Thanks to one man and his passion, Harry Lumsden.
Our guest today, Liz Benneian, is the spokesperson for the Trumpeter Swan Coalition in Ontario,Canada. She shares the dramatic and soap opera like lives swans live (never a dull moment it sounds!) and how they are continuing to be protected and thrive. She also talks to us about a project that potentially threatened the wintering grounds of approximately 200 trumpeters at LaSalle Park. When I asked her the outcome of this project, her answer included something like...lets just say City Hall doesn't always win! So listen in for the entire story.
Please check out the show notes for beautiful photographs at www.beprovided.com
Visit the Trumpeter Swan Coalition Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/trumpeterswancoalition/
Trumpeter Swan Coalition Website: http://www.trumpeterswancoalition.com
introduction and closing by Dale Willman and music by www.bensound.com
Bonus Material: Meera Sulaiman speaks about the threat facing Double Crested Cormorants in Canada
“I have a wonderful dream where everyone values the preservation of nature and we are inspired to protect it.”
~Meera Sulaiman-Photographer, Artist, Lover of Wildlife
I had such a great time speaking with this week’s guest, Meera Sulaiman. It was like speaking to a long time friend, we have so much in common. Our conversation went on for well over an hour where we talked about our passions, Meera’s many projects and life. Because I wanted this episode to focus on the conservation of Trumpeter Swans, I edited out a piece of the conversation to include as a bonus track. Bonus track and interview audio can be found at www.beprovided.com/blog
In this bonus track Meera talks about a current threat to Double-Crested Cormorants; they also need our help right now! This is worth listening to to learn more about these birds. If they are all killed off, the ecosystem of other water birds they form colonies with are negatively affected. Another reason why we should not mess with Mother Nature.
Meera Sulaiman is a Sri-Lankan born artist and photographer now living in Ontario, Canada. I was introduced to Meera’s beautiful photographs on Instagram, specifically her photographs of Trumpeter Swans. I knew I had to hear her story and learn more about these beautiful birds.
A few years ago as she approached La Salle Park, she heard loud chaotic trumpeting sounds like many horn musicians each blowing in a different pitch. As she approached the park she realized it was hundreds of Trumpeter Swans. (Meera included this wonder example of trumpeting! https://www.instagram.com/p/BrkfPQhBp8f/ . ENJOY!) Meera’s curiosity led her to form relationships with Beverly Kingdon of the Trumpeter Swan Coalition and Harry Lumsden, leader of Trumpeter Swan restoration in Ontario. She soon found herself immersed in one of the greatest conservation stories in history. For more than 100 years, there were no trumpeters in the area until biologist Harry Lumsden and a group of volunteers began working on restoring these birds back to Eastern Canada in the 1980s. Presently there are an estimated 1000 swan individuals in the province with approximately 130 breeding pairs.
Enjoy Meera’s story and feel inspired by her work to promote the existence of these beautiful swans and other wildlife. In this episode, Meera tells us how she became involved, how she is inspired to educate the world about wildlife, how people can help in any way and what gives her hope. Here is the audio with the bonus track below along with her beautiful photographs. (go to www.beprovided.com/blog to see a gallery of Meera's photographs).
Here is a story by Meera about the swans in the photograph below!
Aphrodite and Ares Family
Trumpeter Swan Family, two adults and their eight offspring after sunset in Ontario, Canada. The two adults in this photograph is known by their tags as 131, the female also fondly called as Aphrodite, and the male R36 fondly named as Ares. Aphrodite is the only Trumpeter Swan on record anywhere that had managed to fledge 10 Cygnets in a single breeding year with her former mate 902, who has since passed away. It was also reported that Aphrodite and Ares got separated at the end of 2017 winter due to an illness with Aphrodite. Aphrodite after being nursed back to health was reported dating few swans that winter, and her partner Ares seemed to have moved on. However, it was reported this year that she is reunited with R36 and is back this year with her new family.
How to find Meera:
- Link to trumpeter swan conservation event pictures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDxqahXoWII
- Website: www.washofblack.com | Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meera.sulaiman/
Hello everyone welcome back to BeProvided Conservation Radio
Our guest today is a good follow from our last podcast interview with Tai Moses of Santa Cruz Raptors are the Solution. We will discuss more humane and ethical solutions to wildlife control.
I will be speaking to Rebecca Dmytryk co-owner with her husband, Duane Titus, of the Humane Wildlife Control, which provides sound, ethical and lasting solutions to wildlife problems.
Rebecca is also the founder and director of a nonprofit, National Association for Wildlife Emergency Services and is the author of the book, Wildlife Search and Rescue: A Guide for First Responders.
Rebecca holding a Dusky-footed Wood Rat which is endangered.
*introduction and closing by Dale Wilman and music from bensound.com
<
Our guest today is Tai Moses, she is the director of the Santa Cruz chapter of Raptors Are The Solution, a Berkeley-based nonprofit that educates people about the ecological role of predators and the dangers they face from the widespread use of rodenticides, or rat poison. She is the author of the memoir Zooburbia: Meditations On The Wild Animals Among Us (Parallax Press, May 2014).
Today our focus of the conversation is around rodenticides, or rat poison, and the problems they are causing with wildlife. Poisons do not discriminate, so when a rat eats poison and a larger animal eats that infected rat, that larger animal is poisoned. Animals such as dogs, cats, foxes, bobcats, owls, vultures and other animals that are poisoned secondarily suffer a long and really sad death.
Tai educates us on how owls and other raptors are natural rat predators. Did you know that a barn owl can kill and eat up to four rats a night? It makes sense that we should encourage these raptors to exist and naturally take care of the rat population.
We also discuss other ways to avoid rat issues in your home and business. Rats, like us, love to be warm so if there are holes in our homes they can get warm in, they will definitely set up shop. So plugging these holes so rats cannot get in make perfect sense and the methods are fairly simple.
Listen in on the show, Tai has given us a great resource of information on this topic. Please contact her through her website with the link above. She has many educational resources to answer your questions.
-
Here is a news article featuring Tai and Santa Cruz Raptors Are The Solution.
-
Below are a couple of pictures: the first a collage of the animals affected by rodenticides and the second a gray fox found dead at this doorstep in Bonny Doon with FOUR different types of rat poison in her system.
This last photo is from Mountain Feed and Farm Supply in Ben Lomond (recipient of Owl Wise Leader Award from Raptors are the Solution) that chooses not to sell rat poison:
I feel so fortunate to speak with and interview so many people in this world doing good. My two guests this week are no exception! These two women are helping to create space for powerful visual storytelling by social impact companies at the third annual Reel Impact Film Festival (RIFF) in San Francisco on December 6th!
Many of our regular listeners will recognize one of our guests, Angelina Mertens. I interviewed her last season as a sustainable bridge builder between private, public and social sectors of companies doing good in this world. We briefly touched on the Reel Impact Film festival on that show, so today our goal is to dedicate this show to it! Angie is the co-founder of the Reel Impact Film Festival along with Paula Saslow. Angie is also the Program Director of One World Training, a for-profit public benefit corporation based in Palo Alto CA that provides training and investment capital to social impact companies in the San Francisco Bay area.
Our second guest is Katie Carey Nivard of Mama Hope, the co-host of the Reel Impact Film Festival. Katie is the Director of Global Partnerships at Mama Hope and is also co-founder of Glorious, a holistic community development organization that invests in the vision of strong women leaders to build sustainable communities. About RIFF: How do social impact organizations (both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations) strategically use short videos and storytelling to share their impact? We’ll explore how film and short videos are used by mission-driven organizations to spread positive messages, drive change, and achieve strategic goals. Need some inspiration in your life? Come out to meet some amazing people and get inspired! These social impact entrepreneurs are taking on some of the world's biggest problems in the most innovative ways. For more information please visit the website: Reel Impact Film Festival. Past RIFF video: https://vimeo.com/197659803/8321df2901 AGENDA 3:30 PM - Green Carpet Networking Reception 4:00 PM - Welcome by ONE WORLD & Mama Hope 4:15 PM - Social Impact Video Storytelling opening interviews with Holly Gordon, Chief Impact Officer, Participant Media Sian-Pierre Regis, Filmmaker, Duty Free Film Moderated by Scott Saslow, CEO & Founder, ONE WORLD 5:00 PM - RIFF finalists video screening round I 5:30 PM - Screening Round Debrief Spotlight Natasha Deganello Giraudi, Creative Director & Founder, Micro - Documentaries Niema Jordan, Producer and Writer, iTVS Moderator: Angie Mertens, Program Director & RIFF Co-Founder, ONE WORLD 6:00 PM - Break 6:30 PM - RIFF finalists video screening round II 7:15 PM - Three workshops Workshop 1: Stop the Pity, Unlock the Potential - A movement to shift the narrative: How can authentic, community-driven storytelling build a media movement? Katie Carey and Katrina Boradtko, Mama Hope Rachel Goble, Founder, Ethical Storytelling Workshop 2: Documentary style promotional filmmaking Gabriel Diamond, Filmmaker, Skoll Foundation Workshop 3: How to create a successful campaign raising money via kickstarter - tricks and best practices Sian- Pierre Regis, Filmmaker, Duty Free Film 8:30 PM - Award Ceremony moderated by Niema Jordan, Producer and Writer, iTVS Elisa Parker, Co-Founder & Producer, See Jane Do Watch our inspiring RIFF2016 video and read our 2017 RIFF blog Tickets and Registration to RIFF: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reel-impact-film-festival-tickets-42653032368
Michael G. Starkey is a conservation biologist, ecological consultant and public speaker working to educate and involve the public in wildlife conservation issues. Michael has a diverse background in the field of wildlife conservation and he has worked as an ecological consultant for environmental consulting firms and government agencies such as the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife. He has worked with a wide diversity of wildlife, including San Francisco garter snakes, giant garter snakes, California tiger salamanders, bats, ringtails, and Yucatán black howler monkeys. Michael has developed and implemented community-based conservation initiatives, which focused on the protection of wildlife populations in Belize, Ghana, and India. Michael is a Co-Founder of Save The Snakes and serves as Executive Director. He uses his knowledge of snake ecology, positive attitude to inspire, and enthusiasm for snake conservation to engage the public with protecting these beautiful animals. Michael has given presentations around the world to inform the public about the threats facing wildlife and to help nurture a society that respects and appreciates nature and wildlife. Listen in on our interview we conducted via Skype to find out more about snakes, how to live peaceably with them and how to help Save the Snakes! Find them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savethesnakes Find them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savingsnakes/ Find them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/savethesnakes
Michael G. Starkey is a conservation biologist, ecological consultant and public speaker working to educate and involve the public in wildlife conservation issues. Michael has a diverse background in the field of wildlife conservation and he has worked as an ecological consultant for environmental consulting firms and government agencies such as the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife. He has worked with a wide diversity of wildlife, including San Francisco garter snakes, giant garter snakes, California tiger salamanders, bats, ringtails, and Yucatán black howler monkeys. Michael has developed and implemented community-based conservation initiatives, which focused on the protection of wildlife populations in Belize, Ghana, and India. Michael is a Co-Founder of Save The Snakes and serves as Executive Director. He uses his knowledge of snake ecology, positive attitude to inspire, and enthusiasm for snake conservation to engage the public with protecting these beautiful animals. Michael has given presentations around the world to inform the public about the threats facing wildlife and to help nurture a society that respects and appreciates nature and wildlife. Listen in on our interview we conducted via Skype to find out more about snakes, how to live peaceably with them and how to help Save the Snakes! Find them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savethesnakes Find them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savingsnakes/ Find them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/savethesnakes
Michael G. Starkey is a conservation biologist, ecological consultant and public speaker working to educate and involve the public in wildlife conservation issues. Michael has a diverse background in the field of wildlife conservation and he has worked as an ecological consultant for environmental consulting firms and government agencies such as the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife. He has worked with a wide diversity of wildlife, including San Francisco garter snakes, giant garter snakes, California tiger salamanders, bats, ringtails, and Yucatán black howler monkeys. Michael has developed and implemented community-based conservation initiatives, which focused on the protection of wildlife populations in Belize, Ghana, and India. Michael is a Co-Founder of Save The Snakes and serves as Executive Director. He uses his knowledge of snake ecology, positive attitude to inspire, and enthusiasm for snake conservation to engage the public with protecting these beautiful animals. Michael has given presentations around the world to inform the public about the threats facing wildlife and to help nurture a society that respects and appreciates nature and wildlife. Listen in on our interview we conducted via Skype to find out more about snakes, how to live peaceably with them and how to help Save the Snakes! Find them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savethesnakes Find them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savingsnakes/ Find them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/savethesnakes
Contemporary Conservationist Dillon Jones is an aspiring conservationist involved heavily in ecological research, wildlife education and reconnecting with the natural world. Dillon focuses research on the ecology of reptiles and amphibians.
Dillon has a great Instagram feed showing his work in the field. This is what inspired me to contact him for the show. Please check it out at https://www.instagram.com/contemporary_conservationist/
During this interview, we discuss how he became passionate about the natural world at the age of thirteen. We also talk about some of his research and what he is doing to educate younger generations. Please tune in on November 6, 2018 (after voting or while waiting in lines at the polls!).
Here are some photos of Dillon with his wildlife friends in the field:
*Introduction and closing recorded by Dale Wilman and music from www.bensound.com (acoustic breeze)
Happy Halloween Everyone!
Welcome to Season Two of BeProvided Conservation Radio! I am excited to begin the season on Halloween with our guest, Elizabeth Fournier, author of the Green Burial Guidebook. A great, less scary topic for this spooky season! In this interview, Elizabeth offers information about how you can have an affordable and environmentally friendly burial and give back positively after death! She also shares that she rescues goats and sheep on her farm in Oregon! I found her book enlightening and informative. It does take you step-by-step through the process so you can plan for a green burial. Her book is now available at Indiebound.org, Barnes&Noble and amazon.com. Also, visit www.thegreenreaper.org for more information about Elizabeth and her book. **Introduction by Dale Wilman and music from www.bensound.com
I met Monika Egerer through Colby Anton (previous podcast interviewee about studying cougars in Yellowstone) , both are PhD candidates in the Environmental Studies at University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC). I am excited to share Monika's work with urban garden ecology because urban gardening can bring quality food and quality of life to neighborhoods where affordable fresh food is not readily available. This is so important in our world of conservation and the world's growing population. Monika's research with Dr. Stacy Philpott's team at UCSC on urban ecology and biodiversity of urban gardens in the California central coast encompasses many fields of study including the human experience. This research is conducted in 25 gardens that vary in local management practices and landscape. The goal is to understand the ecological interactions and processes in urban gardens such as pest control, pollination and climate regulation. Monika is also actively involved with the creation of a film along with Small Pumpkin Production's, Michelle E. Aquilar (and team), called "No Place to Grow" which she talks about in the podcast. This documentary follows a group of Latino farmers who find themselves representing a movement to save green space in a fast growing neighborhood. And did you know that bird loss on the Mariana Islands is leading to the loss of fruit production, specifically chili peppers? Ms. Egerer also discusses her work with this project about how the loss of birds on Guam is leading to this ecosystem service loss because birds are no longer dispersing the seeds. Here is a link to the paper about this topic published in the journal, Ecological Applications this year.
*introduction and closing by Dale Wilman and music provided by www.bensound.com
*Dr. Rodney Jackson and his wife, Darla Hilard with snow leopard cub Jackson. Photo credit: Robbi Pengally.
Today's episode is part 2 of 2 episodes with Dr. Rodney Jackson of the Snow Leopard Conservancy. If you have not yet listened to Part 1, I highly recommend it. In Part 1 Rodney talked about his background and how the Snow Leopard Conservancy came to be. You can find Part 1 here: http://beprovidedconservationradio.libsyn.com/beprovided-conservation-radio.
In this episode I start off the conversation with the question, "what challenges are snow leopards facing today?" We continue the conversation with how the Snow Leopard Conservancy
addresses these challenges. As always, we end the conversation with me asking, "What gives you hope?" So please listen in to hear Rodney's answer.
We are also happy to note that the Snow Leopard Conservancy was awarded the Darwin Initiative in May 2018. SLC was one of 52 projects who will be awarded financial support to enhance biodiversity and drive change to protect the planet's natural environment. So a big CONGRATULATIONS to the Snow Leopard Conservancy and thank you for all the work you do with the beautiful elusive snow leopards and conservation.
Celebrating Snow Leopard Conservancy on July 4th!
*Photo Credit: Karen Czekalski. Rodney in front of a mountain vista taken in Hemis National Park in Ladakh, India in 2013.
I have a treat for you today- a conversation about snow leopards with Dr. Rodney Jackson founder of the Snow Leopard Conservancy. For the past three decades, Dr. Rodney Jackson is the leading expert on these elusive and beautiful cats.
This ended up being a longer than usual podcast episode when said and done and I didn’t want to leave any valuable information out, so I broke the episode up into two parts. Today you will hear Part 1 where Rodney talks about his history in finding his path to snow leopard conservation and snow leopard behavior.
In Part 2, next week, Rodney starts off describing the challenges these beautiful cats are facing and how the Snow Leopard Conservancy is addressing these challenges successfully. Rodney also shares with us, what gives him hope for the future of these cats and other wildlife.
Visit www.snowleopardconservancy.orgto learn more.
Please enjoy this week’s conversation and make sure to download and listen to Part 2!
Listen in this week to find out:
- Where in Hollywood snow leopards have been represented
- Rodney’s path to snow leopard conservation
- How Rodney ended up in the Himalayas
- Some behavior traits of the snow leopards
More information about Snow Leopards and The Snow Leopard Conservancy
2014 Wildlife Conservation Network Lecture on Snow Leopards:https://youtu.be/wskMwyel2SY
Jak Wonderly’s Snow Leopard Expedition: Wildlife Photographer traveled to India in January 2018- Here is his story: http://snowleopardconservancy.org/2018/06/25/searching-for-the-snow-leopard-jak-wonderlys-snow-leopard-expedition/#more-'
*Photo Credit: Robbi Pengally - Rodney Jackson and Darla Hillard with snow leopard cub, Jackson. Jackson was named after Rodney. Jackson is now a beautiful large snow leopard at Project Survival's Cat Haven in Dunlap, CA.
Suzi Eszterhas, our next podcast guest, told me she is no longer a workaholic, but as our conversation progressed, I had to wonder if she was telling me the truth! Suzi has created an internationally recognized name for herself in wildlife conservation photography, particularly baby animals and their families. She leads three group photo tour adventures per year, started a non-profit for young women photographers called Girls Who Click and is an author of several children’s books. In addition to all of that, she co-authors books with conservationists, she speaks at fundraising engagements and writes several magazine articles per year. Suzi is a passion “doer”; she is doing not working. It is rare, but should not be, to turn a passion into a livelihood and still be in love with it. Suzi is a model of what we can become through hard work, dedication and stay true to our passions. I enjoyed our conversation in this podcast. We talked about childhood love of animals and her first adventure to Kenya where she helped raise a Serval cub (the entire story is told in her book, Moto and Me). She tells us about her first camera adventures to how she is now helping young women use cameras to tell their stories. Suzi is an inspiration. I often dream to live the lives of my guests. This is also true with Suzi. Her story resonates with my childhood dreams. I had always wanted to go to Africa to observe and experience the wildlife and culture. Thank you, Suzi, for bringing awareness about conservation and wildlife to so many people. Also, thank you for empowering young women in Girls Who Click to follow their dreams to tell their stories. More information from Suzi's website about the conservation organizations she is involved with: "Recognized as a conservationist in her own right, Suzi is a patron of the Sumatran Orangutan Society and actively supports the Cheetah Conservation Fund, Wildlife Conservation Network, TigerTime (David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation), Sloth Conservation Foundation, Orangutan Foundation International,Center for Animal Protection and Education, and other organizations." Beautiful Photographs Suzi shared with us:
*Intro and Closing by Dale Wilman and music by www.bensound.com
Healing Power: The Human-Animal Bond This week our guest on the show, Susan Janin, is an advocate for all animals from domestic cats to snow leopards in the Himalayas. My interview with Susan, especially our conversation about Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS) gave me a reason to reflect on how my own pets have helped me heal during traumatic times. My two cats, China and Kitty, got me through the sicknesses and deaths of both of my parents who suffered from cancer. My cats Amelie and Matisse got me through my sister's cancer journey and passing. To me, that unconditional love from a pet when you are down is incredibly healing. I honestly believe those troubled times would have been much more difficult without those kitties in my life. Now my mother-in-law is moving into a senior living home. My first question was, "can Sunny move in with you?" Sunny is her yellow tabby who gives Judy, my mother-in-law, unconditional love. It is with great relief to know that Sunny will be her roommate because now, more than ever, she needs his companionship. I am happy to hear there is an organization such as PAWS helping people stay with their beloved pets. Susan is a great advocate for all animals and it is no surprise that her cats are the cat idols and feline ambassadors three years in a row for PAWS. (I have included a couple pictures so you can see how adorable they are!) The photographs below are by Mark Rogers, an animal photographer in San Francisco who volunteers his time and photos for promotion of this cause. If you are not aware of PAWS please visit their website to find out more about them and utilize their resources, http://www.shanti.org/pages/paws_about_us.html. I have also included a link to this video with Susan discussing and demonstrating the importance of animals in our lives. This is a professional video created for PAWS 30th-anniversary showcasing cat idols, Lilly and Sammy. https://youtu.be/Y_G_OIFNe0o
*Introduction and closing by Dale Wilman and music provided by www.bensound.com
I am excited to introduce our guest today, Kathryn Arnold the co-founder, Story Curator and Editor in Chief of Wild Hope Magazine. Wild Hope is a beautiful publication sharing stories from scientists, nature writers, artists photographers, poets, naturalists and citizen scientists all dedicating their lives to help protect our planet. I just received three new issues in the mail yesterday and am excited to sit with some tea and enjoy!
Kathryn created this publication as a true labor of love. Kathryn is not new to the publishing business. Prior to founding Wild Hope, she was Editor in Chief of Yoga Journal and Delicious! Living. She turned her attention to writing about wildlife and nature after being a volunteer for the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA. You can find out more about Wild Hope at www.wildhope.org.
Where to find out more about Wild Hope: www.wildhope.org https://www.facebook.com/wildhopemagazine/ http://www.earthisland.org *Introduction and Closing by Dale Wilman and music provided by www.bensound.com
It was a sunny April afternoon as I approached a tree-lined apartment complex located in San Mateo. I avoided any extra caffeine that morning because my mind was already racing. I was to meet and interview an artist and naturalist I admire, John Muir Laws. In my head were so many questions that I knew I could not fit them all in during the time we had and I didn't want to screw it up!
I got out of the car, grabbed my gear and began to walk toward his apartment. Before I reached his door, I saw John Muir Laws (Jack) focused intently on searching through his car. "Hello! Jack!" I said. "Did you lose something?" He proceeded to tell me that he lost his phone. I used my phone to call his number. Before I could even hear the first ring, Jack is diving into the front seat head first with his feet hanging outside the passenger door. In seconds, he was back on his feet with a big smile holding his phone! At that moment the ice was broken. We both laughed and just started talking about the day, the scope he uses in the field to watch birds and a raven walking about in his lawn. You would have to be devoid of all emotions if not immediately infected by Jack's passion and enthusiasm for nature. He smiles when he talks and uses his hands and body to express himself. His excitement helped transform me from nervous to excited as we began the interview. The interview was very casual as we sat on his sofa in his living room. He sat cross-legged on the sofa and began to talk about anything and everything. He talked about how he was influenced at a young age by his parents to love nature and how his family encouraged him to sketch and observe the natural world. We talked about geology, art, what makes people tick and most importantly, his new journaling program for educators, what gives him hope. My pessimist side was surprised by what gives Jack hope but after hearing him explain, I walked away with hope and tucked away my pessimistic thoughts. Enjoy my conversation with John Muir Laws. I hope that you walk away inspired and infected with his enthusiasm enough to get outside, slow down and observe the natural world you live in. The interview will be published, Tuesday, June 5, 2018, so stay tuned. Resources and More Information About John Muir Laws: Biography from the website: https://johnmuirlaws.com/biography/ Where to find his books: https://johnmuirlaws.com/store/ Classes and Events: http://johnmuirlaws.com/events/ His website is full of free video and blog tutorials such as this https://johnmuirlaws.com/drawing-birds/ so please check it out! BeProvided.com Blog: https://www.beprovided.com/blog/my-afternoon-with-john-muir-laws Images from John Muir Laws Books and website: **Introduction and Closing by Dale Wilman. Music provided by www.bensound.com
Marian Brickner: Wildlife Photographer, Artist and Author
At age 55, Marian Brickner realized she had to do something to stop people from killing each other and anything that looks different. She set out to show the world through photography that, even though we all look different, we are living beings and should be respectful to each other. This goes for humans and all living things, big or small. Marian creates visual stories by capturing the lives and behaviors of insects and animals. Her intention for these photographs and stories are to help people form a better relationship with nature so there will be less killing and more loving. It is no coincidence that she has allen in love with the "make love not war" great ape: the bonobo. (Her favorite subject, Lucy is shown in the next two photographs.) Almost three decades after beginning her quest, Marian has published over three dozen photographic and coloring books (her Amazon link is below). Her photographs have graced the covers on internationally acclaimed textbooks, billboards along the French countryside, National Geographic Kids and Ranger Rick Magazine. Her visual stories are making many people smile. The world is a happier and better place with Marian and her stories. You can find more about Marian Brickner below: http://www.marianbricknerphotography.com/about/ https://www.facebook.com/marian.brickner Her Amazon Store BeProvided Blog Article with Photos: www.beprovided.com
Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom television show during the 1970s inspired so many people I have interviewed, including myself, to fall in love with wildlife. If you aren’t familiar with this show, (maybe you are too young!) it was a show bringing adventure, exotic animals, and different cultures into our American living rooms every week. Marlin Perkins, a zoologist, and his partner, Jim Fowler, also a zoologist, would travel the world to educate us about an exotic animal in a faraway land. (Often, I believe, Jim was usually the one to risk life and limb to get close to some dangerous animal). This show was my gateway “drug” show to reading Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen, watch Born Free over and over and learning to sketch leopards and elephants in great detail. Our podcast guest May 15th, Dr. Andrew Stein, an Assistant Professor at Landmark College, was also influenced by Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom and other wildlife documentaries growing up in central Massachusetts. He didn’t believe he would ever have the chance to visit places in Africa to see big cats, elephants and more. That all changed when entered the School of Field Studies and was able to travel to Kenya. It was in Kenya where he began to see a confluence of his interests with culture, wildlife, and conservation. Now Dr. Stein is one of the leading experts in leopard conservation. His passion drove him to create CLAWS Conservancy in 2014; where CLAWS stands for - Communities Living Among Wildlife Sustainably. CLAWS is collaborating with many communities in Africa and the US where there is potential human-wildlife conflict. His goal is to problem solve with these communities to find a way where wildlife and people can coexist peacefully. Current CLAWS Projects (click on links to find out more): * Pride in Our Prides in Botswana * Scent of a Wolf in Montana * Leopards Without Borders
Also stay up to date on CLAWS news on their Facebook Page and Instagram Page. Below are some field pictures provided by Dr. Andrew Stein. *intro and closing by Dale Wilman and music soundtrack provided from www.bensound.com
Igniting Change With Ash Lauth and Blake Kopcho
On May 8, 2018, Marcia from BeProvided Conservation Radio will publish her recent interview with two campaigners from Ignite Change, a program of the Center for Biological Diversity. In this episode you will learn the importance of activism and grass root campaigning for the environment and wildlife. You will also learn how you can make a difference. There are links to valuable resources below. Our guests for this podcast episode are: Ash Lauth, California Field Campaigner, Photo by USA Today works with the Center's (Center for Biological Diversity) Ignite Change national organizing initiative. She comes to the Center by way of the North Dakota oil boom, where she organized with rural agricultural communities. In her 15 years of campaigning, she's worked to bring 13,000 people to the White House against the Keystone XL pipeline, driven a solar-powered truck the length of the eastern seaboard, passed six county-wide fracking bans, and was part of the Green Corps class of 2010. Ash worked previously as the Center’s clean energy campaigner in the Climate Law Institute. She holds a degree in English and politics from the University of Puget Sound. Blake Kopcho, Oceans Campaigner, works to protect the oceans from offshore drilling, plastic pollution and acidification. Before joining the Center he worked on community-based coral reef conservation initiatives in developing nations and spent several years directing grassroots campaigns to ban plastic grocery bags in local communities in California. He earned a master's in science in marine biology from the University of Auckland, New Zealand and holds a bachelor's of science in aquatic biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Resources: Ignite Change Map to help find groups and campaigns near you: https://map.ignite.biologicaldiversity.org List of Training organizations: http://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SuQ5x_ErjqZGRLXxxrycFx_oDnkr20m76rRBSUivMp4/edit?usp=sharing Offshore resolution site: http://endangeredoceans.org ***Intro and closing by Dale Willman and music by bensound.com
How many of us have followed a path in life because people said: “it is the right thing to do?” I know I did and so did our guest Kerri Wolter. Kerri says as a true animal lover, "this was not really the direction I wanted to take, but my horse needed to eat!" She was speaking about having to take a corporate job to pay bills.The paths we follow that least excite us can sometimes lead us to an unexpected "right" path. Kerri was eventually led to Professor Gerhard Verdoorn, the Head of Vulture Study, Raptor Conservation and Poison Working Groups of Endangered Wildlife Trust; where he appointed her to be the manager of the Vulture Study Group.This fortune allowed Kerri to leave the corporate world to pursue her passion of working with animals. Kerri Wolter is now the Founder and Manager of VulPro. Her vulture rehabilitation center is just northwest of Pretoria in the Magaliesberg Mountain range in South Africa. The goal of VulPro is to release all flight able, fit and healthy birds back into the wild as soon as possible. Conservation at the center is an integrated, multi-disciplinary practice that benefits not only the vultures but the people in areas where they coexist with vultures. Today vultures face an unprecedented onslaught from human activities. They collide with electrical structures causing electrocution and often death. Vultures are also secondary victims of carnivore poisoning.Vultures are also facing a decrease in food available to them due to modern livestock management. Kerri, her staff, interns, and volunteers, are working hard to help vultures survive and coexist with people. My podcast interview with Kerri will be published Tuesday, May 1, 2018. Look for it on iTunes, SoundCloud, show notes, BeProvided.com blog and on Facebook. More information on Kerri and VulPro can be found at the following sites: Website: http://www.vulpro.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VulProAfrica/ Youtube: https://youtu.be/11T2KYsg7Dc
This is a story of what can happen if you have so many air miles accumulated that you can take you and your partner anywhere in the world. In 2000, a lawyer, Alan Feldstein, accumulated so many air miles that he could take his wife and himself anywhere they wanted. Alan and his wife, Diane decided to take their first adventure to Africa. So off they went.
After stepping onto the African soil, Alan and Diane fell in love with Africa and were filled with joy. They soaked in the warmth of the people and their culture, the amazing wildlife and the abundance of natural beauty. I am pretty sure this is where Alan was feeling less like a lawyer and more like an adventurer!
It took a few years, but in 2008 Alan decided to take action on his passion and create Infinite Safari Adventures to lead and guide people in travel throughout Africa. He creates customized adventures all over Africa based on his clients interests. But he didn’t just stop at leading people on travel; he also gives back to the communities and to help wildlife survive. Alan is a photographer, member of the Explorer’s Club and Adventurer’s Club of Los Angeles. He supports Maasai with the help of a beaded jewelry and dog collar programs. He has even helped a Maasai man named Patrick, go back to school that lead to Patrick enrolling in college. This didn’t just benefit Patrick but Patrick’s entire community. Alan also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, is President of the Board of The Bird School Project and is on the Advisory Board of Over and Above Africa.
I love that Alan realized his passion, ended his career as a lawyer and created Infinite Safari Adventures. His clients come home intoxicated with a profound love of Africa, its people and its wildlife. His involvement and knowledge in conservation help educate his clients on how to be good stewards to the planet and respect the natural world we live in. I am grateful for this.
Enjoy Alan’s story and our conversation in the podcast! Alan also shares a lovely video that gives me joy with the elephants he mentions in the podcast. The video can be found below:
Web Site - www.infinitesafariadventures.com
Blog - www.blog.infinitesafariadventures.com
You Tube for Elephant Video - Infinite Safari Adventures - Elephant Drinking Video
Facebook - Infinite Safari Adventures - Facebook
Trip Advisor - Trip Advisor
Alan and I after the interview!
During last week's mist net and bird banding field trip with Point Blue Conservation Science at the Palomarin Field Station facility just north of San Francisco, Marcia had the pleasure to hear the stories from four interns in the conservation science field. Marcia thought these stories were great to hear. She is sharing them with you in today's episode, with the goal that these young passionate people will inspire you to know there is hope in future generations protecting our planet.
Enjoy today's show hearing how Chad, Krista, Christian and Francoise became involved with conservation science and our passionate about inspiring others to share their love and knowledge of the natural world.
Music by bensound.com, Introducation and Closing by Dale Wilman
Spring is the busy season for the avian ecologists and interns of Point Blue Conservation Science working at the Palomarin Field Station just north of Sausilito, California. Point Blue Conservation Science has been at the forefront of protecting nature for over half a century. The Palomarin Field Station is one of the premier national locations for long-term studies on birds and their habitats and training of the next generation of conservation scientists.
I was able to visit with staff members and interns of Point Blue at the station on a gorgeous April Saturday morning. The woods were filled with the singing of very active songbirds getting ready to migrate or nest.
As I got my equipment ready to record the visit for the podcast, a few smiling interns walked by empty handed and then disappeared into the brush. People who works outside like this always look so happy and carefree, it made me smile. A few minutes later the interns re-appeared holding a white cotton bag they said contained a Ruby Crowned Kinglet that had flown into their mist nets, which you will hear more about in the podcast audio. Mark Dettling, the Point Blue avian ecologist was handed the bag and he clipped the bag onto a strap across his chest and began to warm up his hands for handling the bird for the bird banding process. Lishka Arata, the Outreach and Education Coordinator for Point Blue was also present and assisted Mark in explaining the procedure.
The interview started with the bird banding but instead of beginning the audio there, I decided to put the bird banding explanation toward the end of this episode and lead with Mark and Lishka’s introductions. After the introductions, Mark and Lishka took me outside to walk to the net locations so I could get a better understanding of what the process and their research. We began at the closest mist nets and then walked the property around the station to several other mist net locations. My goal with the field trip was to take you, the listener, through the process in hopes you get the desire to visit the field station or a similar station near you to learn more about birds and how this research can give insight into the health of environment, how it is changing and how the birds, animals and plants are adapting.
During this show you will hear ambient sounds such as some Townsend Warblers and other birds we encountered. You will also hear us slushing through mud puddles, breathing a little hard as we walked uphill and wind in the microphone. I hope you can get a feel for the walk, maybe close your eyes and listen and concentrate on the sounds of the outdoors. Enjoy the show and the photos of our trip in the show notes.
More pictures of the bird banding and mist nets can be found at www.beprovided.com.
Music by bensound.com and Introduction by Dale Wilman and Photos by Duperron Photography
I am re-publishing this podcast from last year for a couple reasons: One, I have lost my voice and have had the flu for the past couple weeks and have fallen behind in interviews! Two, the Spring Wildlife Conservation Expo is just around the corner on April 21, 2018. If you love wildlife and nature and meeting amazing like-minded people, you should attend the Expo!
Location: 4200 Farm Hill Blvd (Canada College Theater), Redwood City, CA
Ticket and expo information can be found at www.wildnet.org
But here is a highlight of the amazing speakers and conservationists you can expect to see at the Wildlife Conservation Network Spring Expo...
- Luwi Ngulukla - Wildlife Crime Prevention in Zambia
- Jane Horgan - Cheetah Conservation Botswana
- Rosamira Guillen and Hosanna Vega - Proyecto Titi in Columbia (conservation of the adorable cotton-top tamarins)
- Frank Pop and Dr. Lucy King (Introduced by Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton) - Save the Elephants (Kenya)
There will also be various vendors and conservationists with tables outside of the lecture halls. Also, please look for our friends at the Cheetah Conservation Fund (www.cheetah.org) table!
Charlie is the Board Chair for the Wildlife Conservation Network. He retired early as a successful Stanford-educated entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. He founded software company Rubicon Technology in 1989 and sold it in 1994. His retirement lasted six days, until he launched full-time into applying his business acumen and experience to wildlife conservation. In the 1990s, Charlie helped the Cheetah Conservation Fund and the Snow Leopard Conservancy grow into world-class conservation programs. In doing so, he recognized the opportunity for a new model of wildlife conservation, and in 2002 he co-founded the Wildlife Conservation Network to identify, qualify and invest in the best and brightest conservationists around the world. The synthesis of creativity and practicality in Charlie's approach has inspired thousands of passionate donors, as well as a rising generation of conservation pioneers.
Information on upcoming WCN Expos:
https://wildnet.org
Contact Charlie at: Charles@wildnet.org
Angelina Mertens is referred to as a “Sustainable Bridge Builder!” She helps bridge the private, public and social sectors with the work she is doing. She also creates the bridge between California and Namibia for the Cheetah Conservation Fund.
I first met Angie through volunteering at the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia where I worked briefly with her sister Tess. As I got to know Angie over the past year, I found that she is not only spearheading the Northern California CCF Chapter and overseeing their donor relations, volunteers and events; Angie is the Program Director of ONE WORLD Training and Investments (ONE WORLD). ONE WORLD is a for-profit public benefit corporation that provides training and investment capital to social impact companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. She also is the co-founder of the Real Impact Film Festival (RIFF) with Paula Saslow. ONE WORLD and RIFF are both based in Palo Alto, CA.
In this podcast Angie shares her experiences as how she became a bridge builder for these three organizations. Her skills and passion help create a space for people to express their passion, share their stories and grow.
Resource Websites:
Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF):
- Upcoming spring events:https://cheetah.org/events/
- Volunteer locally: https://cheetah.org/you-can-help/volunteer/
- Working guest/internship at CCF: https://cheetah.org/you-can-help/internship/
- Visit CCF - Ecolodge: http://www.cheetahecolodge.com
- Kids for Cheetahs: http://cheetah.org/you-can-help/humans-for-cheetahs/kids-for-cheetahs/
ONE WORLD Training & Investments:
- events: https://www.oneworld.training/events/
- social impact portfolio: https://www.oneworld.training/portfolio/
Reel Impact Film Festival:
- https://www.oneworld.training/about-riff/
- Past RIFF winners: https://www.oneworld.training/riff-winners/
Meet Colby Anton, PhD candidate at the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC). Marcia interviewed Colby Anton at the beautiful UCSC campus to talk to him about his work with cougars and wolves in Yellowstone National Park. (This is Colby in the photo by Justin Duffer:NPS with his four legged workmate. Not a bad work setting at all!)
In this episode we learn about:
- It is important to ask questions about the world around you, to be more mindful of how things work and how they behave
- If you put your mind to it, you can work in any discipline to help in the field of conservation
- The importance of team work
- Cougars and wolves are more afraid of us then we know
- New and old technologies to study cougar and wolf behavior and physiology
- What keeps Colby going back for more!
This was a fun interview, Colby is a great storyteller and is very passionate about the work he is doing. I learned a lot! Thank you for listening!
Pictures of Colby's Workplace! (I am so jealous!):
cougar at Yellowstone
Picking up deceased and frozen wolf at Yellowstone to study
Colby after skiing in -20 degree F weather to pick up deceased wolf in Yellowstone with his amazing team.
Meet the two men behind the Bird School Project located in Santa Cruz, California; Darrow Feldstein and Kevin Condon.
Darrow and Kevin founded the Bird School Project in 2014. Both found a lasting connection to the natural world after attending a backpacking course for new students enrolled at University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC). After graduating they combined their lessons in experiential education and environmental sciences to dedicate their time and efforts to educating school age children and their teachers about nature, beginning with observing birds. They make learning about natural science fun through experiential learning; getting people outside to observe nature, ask good questions and journal about their experiences.
Since inception, the Bird School Project has taught lessons in approximately 39 public and private schools, worked with over 5900 students and have trained over 25 interns and volunteers. You can learn more about the project at: www.birdschoolproject.org
Other resources discussed in this episode:
- Bird School Project on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/birdschoolproject/
- Children's Nature Network: https://www.facebook.com/childrenandnature/
- Next Generation Science Standards: https://www.nextgenscience.org
This episode is about a personal story of human-wildlife conflict mitigation. Meritho Juma Katei grew up as a traditional Maasai in Tanzania. As a child he thought of lions and carnivores as his enemy because they would eat his family's livestock. As he grew up, his mother would teach him how to love life and nature; including people and animals!
During his secondary education he visited a national park and was able to see lions living peacefully and see that they too are only trying to survive and protect their families. He knew then, he wanted to continue his education to study wildlife behavior. He is now working with the Korongoro People's Lion Initiative in northern Tanzania educating his communities and other communities like his on how to live peacefully and coexist with lions.
Learn more about his story in this podcast!
Learn more about the initiative and Ngorongoro Conservation area he speaks about here: https://kopelion.org/ngorongoro-conservation-area/
Join Marcia as she speaks with Ashley Stone of the Bonobo Project and the upcoming events for the Second Annual World Bonobo Day.
With the 2nd Annual World Bonobo Day around the corner, please join us in celebrating bonobos on February 14. We have some awesome and creative events so that anyone and everyone can join the effort to build awareness for bonobos and make Feb 14, 2018 the largest worldwide celebration of bonobos to date!
The Top 6 Easiest Ways You Can Celebrate Bonobos
between now and Feb 14
…but if you only can only do one thing, please do #1 for maximum bonobo exposure!!
- Before February 14, please sign up on our Thunderclap to create a worldwide Boom for Bonobos! It’s simple and easy to do with one click! Click here: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/67079-world-bonobo-day to sign up on Facebook, Twitter and/or Tumblr. You can sign up on multiple accounts to multiply your impact! This will drive folks to join #2 below. Our goal is 500 – please sign up TODAY, share with your friends and ask them to join the movement too!
-
At 1pm (PST) on February 14, David Garibaldi will be painting bonobos on Facebook Live from his studio in Sacramento, CA. PLEASE watch, share, like and comment to help us spread awareness for bonobos – and you could win some cool prizes too! Below is a bonobo that David just painted this week...in about 8 minutes with mostly his hands!! https://www.facebook.com/garibaldiarts
-
Go to www.bonobos.com to purchase a specially designed, limited edition t-shirt available beginning on February 14th – all proceeds from the sale of this shirt will go to The Bonobo Project,100% of which will go to our on-the-ground bonobo conservation partners in Congo.
- Donate directly to our World Bonobo Day Crowdrise Campaign, where your donation will be tripled by matching grants and 100% of which will go to our on-the-ground bonobo conservation partners in Congo. Our current partnerships include Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary, the Wamba Committee for Bonobo Research (WCBR) and Bonobo & Congo Biodiversity Initiative (BCBI). Any amount helps us to reach our $30,000 goal! https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/world-bonobo-day-2018
- Shop at The Bonobo Project for unique “I Bonobo You” shirts, hats, gifts and more. You can help spread awareness for bonobos by wearing our original bonobo swag! https://the-bonobo-project-shop.myshopify.com/
- Finally, please feel free to use our World Bonobo Stamp/Seal as you see fit on your social media pages to help spread awareness for bonobos and World Bonobo Day.
Today’s episode is interesting and inspiring; it is about a new online tv series created by our guest Jonathan Barron. He created, narrated and wrote the music for Johnny Ocean and Me, the collective title of three TV series: Johnny Ocean in the English language, Juanito Oceano in the Spanish Language and Johnny Da Hai in Mandarin Chinese. Jonathan was not only able to discover his passion but took action on making his dreams come true. We can do anything if we set our minds to it and work hard.
Jonathan’s online TV series, Johnny Ocean and Me, seeks to teach children about the ocean and marine life using the three languages mentioned. English, Chinese and Spanish are the three most prominent languages in the US and the world.
Johnny Ocean and Me is now available to watch online! Here are the links!
English Pilot Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOoD13mF4EY
Spanish Pilot Video
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3kVRYwj-ezA&feature=youtu.be
Chinese Pilot Video
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=60aYXFHXqK4&feature=youtu.be
Like us and Share from our Facebook
https://m.facebook.com/JOceanandme/
Website
www.JohnnyOcean.com
Jonathan is a man of many talents and experiences. Here is a link to Jonathan's music site: http://www.jonathanbarronmusic.com. Please check it out!
Jillian Estrada, the Preserve Manager and Conservation Coordinator for the Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee (DTPC) explains why we should all care about the desert tortoise and her love for nature and Africa adventures in our upcoming podcast on Tuesday, December 26th. You can find out more about the DTPC’s work, events and how you can help at www.tortoise-tracks.org. If you are in the area in the springtime or summertime, plan a visit to the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area (DTRNA) and take advantage of the interpretive center and self-guided trails. More events are also regularly updated on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DTPC.Inc/ What is a desert tortoise you ask? A desert tortoise is a land dwelling turtle that weighs 10-17 pounds on average as an adult with a domed shell size of 20-36 centimeters wide. Their hind legs look like little elephant legs and their front legs are shovel-like and are used for digging. They can live up to 50-80 years in the wild and some in captivity have lived to as long as 100 years. Desert tortoises don’t reach sexual maturity until around 14 years old. Females deposit anywhere from 4-12 eggs in spring to Early Summer. Unfortunately, approximately 2% of eggs hatched will turn into adult turtles. They provide food for many predators such as ravens, coyotes, hawks, eagle, fox, mountain lions, ground squirrels and even fire ants. One of the many reasons that make a desert tortoise worth saving is that it is a bellwether species; it provides early warning signs of environmental danger or distress. When there are low numbers of desert tortoises in an area where there once were many, you can expect to see a decline in the number of burrowing owls and other predator species. This will all change the biodiversity of an area. Burrowing owls and other animals rely on the burrows dug out from desert tortoises for protecting and nesting. Other predator species rely on the desert tortoise for food. Also, the desert tortoise diet relies a lot on native grasses, succulents and flowers. If these plants are not present due to drought conditions or some other environmental effect (or from vehicles and too much foot traffic causing erosion), the desert tortoise cannot sustain itself. Please share the word and help us protect the Desert Tortoise, it is currently listed as threatened.
Veronica Yovovich is a wildlife biologist whose research focuses on understanding and preventing conflict between livestock and carnivores. She recently completed her Ph.D. in the Environmental Studies Department at U.C. Santa Cruz, and is currently the Wildlife Conflict Specialist and Science Program Director at the Mountain Lion Foundation. She has spent the last decade studying different carnivore species in a variety of land use settings across the American West. Her experiences have repeatedly illustrated the importance of keeping livestock safe so that both ranchers and predators can remain a viable part of the West’s working landscapes.
Marcia and Grey interviewed Veronica for the podcast at the beautiful Swanton Pacific Ranch located just north of Santa Cruz, CA.
It was a great opportunity to hear about Veronica's passion for the natural world and carnivores.
A quote from the show giving us hope and inspiration: "There's definitely a cultural shift toward recognizing that different groups need to come together..." Through her workshops she is finding that people are recognizing that we are all on the same team (government, communities, conservation organizations, ranchers, etc) and that the need to work together there is a national or worldwide movement.
Link to Mountain Lion Foundation: http://mountainlion.org/about.asp
Some photos of Veronica out in the field doing the work she loves!!
Doug Smith grew up on a farm outside Cleveland, Ohio, which his father purchased, not to farm but to educate youth about nature and outdoors. Like many midwest parents I know that had children during the same time as Doug's youth, they gave him freedom to roam and explore the natural world. His first love were birds but he enjoyed every aspect of the woods from trees to salamanders. Around the age of thirteen, he became interested in wolves and wanted to get more involved with research. At the age of fifteen, he decided to just write a number of wildlife biologists to see if they would let him work with them. Unfortunately, likely due to his young age, he was turned down with many rejection letters. But he persevered and didn't give up. More letters were written and sent again at the age of eighteen. He thought all it would take is just one response that said "yes" to get his foot in the door. Then, it happened, he did get that one response and found himself working with researchers studying a group of captive wolves in Indiana. The doors began to open for him; later that year he found himself working on the wild wolf study in Isle Royale National Park located in the middle of Lake Superior. He ended up working with this project for almost 15 years. Now, since the 1990s he has been the lead wildlife biologist for the wolf re-introduction program at Yellowstone National Park. The message in this little story about Doug Smith is perseverance is key when pursuing your passions. He wrote many letters and received many rejections, BUT he didn't give up. Now he has a job he is passionate about and we all benefit. Doug is featured on BeProvided Conservation Radio's podcast on Tuesday, December 12, 2017. Please listen in to hear his story of how he got to Yellowstone. We talked about the re-introduction of the wolves and the current status of Yellowstone's ecosystems and surrounding areas due to the re-introduction. We also discussed the irrational, but deeply embedded fear, humans have of wolves. Doug Smith is the co-author of Decade of the Wolf with co-author Gary Ferguson. This is a beautifully written book (you do not need to be a scientist to read this!) In this book you will not only get immersed in the lives of the wolves that were re-introduced, you get to know personally the scientists who are faithfully researching and following them through their lives. Note: In the podcast we talk about a movement of people understanding bird calls as warning signals when outside hiking. I didn't mention the name of the book in our conversation. That book is What the Robin Knows by Jon Young. It is a great book and a must read for any bird and wildlife lover. Links: Yellowstone National Park: https://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm Wolf Management Website (Yellowstone National Park): https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/wolfmgnt.htm and https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/wolves.htm Below are pictures of Doug Smith during the collaring of a Delta Wolf at Yellowstone National Park. Photos were provided by Doug Smith.
Morris Animal Foundation: Helping animals have healthier lives
This week our podcast is with Dr. Kelly Diehl, DVM (Doctor of Veterinarian Medicine) of the Morris Animal Foundation. They are the foundation providing scientific research to help save our domestic animals, such as cats, dogs and horses, to wildlife around the world. Kelly’s passion and love for animals really shows in this interview making her a great spokesperson for the foundation and I enjoyed our conversation a great deal. I believe it is important to know the major leader in protecting our animals health, especially since most of us animal lovers have cats, dogs, horses, or any other domesticated friend.
In this interview you will learn:
- what drove Kelly to become a veterinarian and how she got involved with the MAF
- about the founding of MAF and what their mission was formed
- about how Dr. Mark L. Morris Jr, the founder's son was the first to educate people on the importance of nutrition for dogs, cats and other animals
- that their supported scientists helped to develop the first vaccine for deadly illnesses such as canine parvovirus, feline leukemia and the Potomac horse fever
The Morris Animal Foundation was founded in 1948. Since that time they have invested in more than $100 million dollars toward 2,400+ studies addressing the emerging and established health challenges of a variety of species. Dr. Kelly Diehl gives us some examples of a few of these studies so we can get a scope of the research they fund.
We would love it if you could listen in! We know when you do listen in, you will love the show. If you like what you heard, please share with the other animal lovers in you life! It’s just good to know the people out there who have the back of your loved animals.
#morrisanimalfoundation #MAF #helpinganimals #podcast #conservation
How to look up Morris Animal Foundation:
Website: http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morrisanimal/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Morris_Animal
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morrisanimalfoundation/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/morris-animal-foundation/
I spoke with Ashley Stone, founder of the Bonobo Project for our podcast. I learned a lot about bonobos and during my research and with speaking with Ashley. I also fell in love with these animals. In every picture you see of two or more, they are playing, hugging, having sex and always in phyical contact with each other. They are referred to as the "Make Love Not War" great apes (no they are not monkeys). Out of all the great apes, which include humans, they have never been known to kill one of their own kind. Definitely on the opposite spectrum for violence than humans. I think everyone should know about bonobos because we have a great deal to learn from their behavior. Facts of bonobos: * They are a matriarchal society * They are the most peaceful of the great apes * They are humans closest living genetic relative * They are greatly in danger * There are only ~15,000 left in the wild
Contact Ashley Stone if you or your classroom is interested in presenting a bonobo or Congo project at: ash.stone92037@gmail.com
*photos provided by The Bonobo Project
December 4th is International Cheetah Day! It is the birthday of Khayam, a cheetah that Dr. Laurie Marker, Founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), re-wilded to Namibia from Safari West in Oregon in the late 1970s. Through trial and error, she taught Khayam how to hunt. During these early visits to Namibia, Dr. Marker spoke with farmers and local community leaders and learned that cheetahs were being killed. Farmers viewed them as pests. She came back to the United States to find out what "they" (people in conservation) are doing to help cheetahs. To her surprise, no one was doing anything. So because of Khayam and her first trip to Namibia, over time the Cheetah Conservation Fund was created.
Cheetahs need our help. As with all other species fighting extinction, the problem facing the cheetah is complex and multifaceted. However, most of the reasons for the cheetah’s endangerment can be grouped into three overarching categories:Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradationHuman-wildlife conflictIllegal wildlife trade. CCF is working hard to save this species. Every little bit helps save the cheetah. Here's how you can help:
- Learn more about cheetahs
- Wear something cheetah like on December 4th and with everyone Happy International Cheetah Day
- Listen to BeProvided Conservation Radio's interview with Dr. Laurie Marker!
- Talk positively about cheetahs on social media #SavetheCheetahs, #IntlCheetahDay
In honor of the upcoming International Cheetah Day on December 4th, we are releasing some of our archived Cheetah Conservation Fund interviews for the next two weeks.
Today our special guest is Ashley Flaig a veterinary nurse and lead cheetah keeper at the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia. I had the pleasure to interview Ashley during my visit as a working guest volunteer at CCF in February. I was honored to go out with her on some rounds to check on the cheetahs that will be released one day and feed and exercise the older cheetahs that cannot be released. Watching and helping her work, I could feel her passion and love for these beautiful cats.
Ashley is from Florida and has been at CCF for almost 10 months now. Her love for nature and conservation started young when she became active in the Outdoor Recreational Center. She earned her Bachelors degree in Biology and a minor in Environmental policy. During her internships she developed a love and passion for wildlife and soon found herself working with big cats. During this time she met Charlie, her first cheetah love. After graduation she was hired as a lead feline keeper and intern coordinator at the Panther Ridge Conservation Center. This experience sparked her interest in zoological medicine and so she pursued her Veterinary Nursing certification and now here she is working with cheetahs at CCF.
Recent blog written by Ashley about the loss of Mendel https://cheetah.org/blog/12327/ - RIP Mendel
More on Ashley: http://cheetah.org/ashley-flaig/
More on CCF: http://cheetah.org
Rebecca moved to Botswana to work at Mokolodi Nature Reserve. Upon discovering that there was no conservation going on for the regularly persecuted and endangered cheetah in 2002 she decided to initiate a program to protect this threatened cat species. As CCB’s co-founder and longest standing member, Rebecca is the cornerstone of CCB and the project’s success is a tribute to her passion, determination and her holistic and practical approach to conservation.
In today's episode we will cover:
- Rebecca's personal story and how she got involved with Cheetah Conservation
- How Cheetah Conservation Botswana was founded
- How cheetah conservation has helped a single mother of three thrive and support her family successfully
- CCB's holistic approach to conservation
More great information about Cheetah Conservation Botswana:
http://www.cheetahconservationbotswana.org/who-we-are.html
https://wildnet.org/wildlife-programs/cheetah-botswana
This week is all about bats! We are celebrating bats today with Amanda Bevan of the Organization for Bat Conservation located in my home state, Michigan. Grey and I spoke with Amanda via Skype.
Amanda shares her story about her first bat encounter while in Indonesia and how that experience changed her outlook about bats. Amanda’s life was also changed drastically with the big brothers big sisters program when her big sister influenced her to get outside in nature. We also learned how bats are incredible bug eating machines and pollinators. So listen for more bat stories and fall in love with these tiny animals and absorb Amanda’s enthusiasm!
https://batconservation.org
In this episode you will hear:
- 3 very good reasons why we should love bats
- About new technology that can help locate and identify bats
- The best time of year to keep or trim palm fronds
- About why white nose syndrome is so devastating to the bat population
- About what gives Amanda hope to continue with this work she loves!
Enjoy!
I first heard of Amanda Loller and Bat World Sanctuary in an interview on Mongabay (a great conservation resource). She was talking about Bat World Sanctuary's bat rescue efforts after Hurricane Harvey in Texas. I knew we needed to speak with her about this. Bat rescue news after big storms was something I have never heard of and though people should be made aware of all animals affected by such things.
In this episode, Amanda speaks to us about how she became an animal rescuer. She first rescued and helped a chicken heal and thrive under her care as a young girl.
Amanda also dispels many common bad myths about bats such as:
- bats are blind
- bats are dirty and have rabies
- they love to get tangled in hair
- bats love to bite people
You will also learn amazing bat facts such as:
- bats make up 1/4 of all mammal species
- farming industry can save up to one billion dollars in pesticides due to insect eating bats
Bat World Sanctuary has a great website: https://batworld.org. Here you will find resources for bat conservation and videos of rescued bats.
Marcia and Grey interviewed Ken in home in Santa Cruz to discuss the importance of the removal of invasive, non-native plant species. We also learn how one man can create and lead an amazing team of volunteers to do this hard but necessary work. This shows one person can make a BIG difference.
I hope you enjoyed Part 1 of Ken Moore’s interview that gave a personal history of how he became the weed warrior and how he fell in love with nature! In today’s show, Part 2, Ken talks more about the creation of the Wildlands Restoration Team. A team that is 100% volunteer based. They literally hand picked invasive species like scotch broom, pampas grass and English ivy until they were no more in areas around the Santa Cruz Area.
Ken also emphasizes how this work must continue and offers resources for anyone interested in carrying out this hard, but necessary work. Invasive species are detrimental for the growth of the native grasses that should be growing. Not allowing native plants to get through, affects the entire ecosystem as Ken explains, we lose biodiversity.
Please visit Ken’s volunteer page: wildwork.org – maybe you will be the next person to kickstart the weed warrior movement!
Other Resources:
Invasive Plant Species Council: http://www.invasiveplantcontrol.com/about.html
California Invasive Plant Council: http://www.cal-ipc.org/solutions/management/
Marcia and Grey speak with Ken in his beautiful home in Santa Cruz to discuss Ken's 50 years and more involvment with eradicating invasive plant species. He shares some great volunteer stories and his own personal story of how he began to appreciate the natural world.
More information on the Wildlands Restoration Team: http://www.wildwork.org
Video with Ken showing how to eradicate an invasive acacia properly: https://vimeo.com/96632623
Marcia and Grey interview Mike Splain in the Ventana Wilderness Alliance office in downtown Santa Cruz, California.
Mike Spain's Bio:
A native of Maryland, Mike Splain relocated to California in the 1990s and has since pursued wild lands conservation as a supporter, volunteer or staff member for various advocacy organizations, including Forests Forever, Sierra Club and the California Native Plant Society. He holds a BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz and currently serves as Wilderness Chair of the Sierra Club, Ventana Chapter. Mike began volunteering with the Ventana Wilderness Alliance in 2003 and became the organization’s second Executive Director in 2012. He lives with his wife Gabrielle and dog Pepper in the mixed evergreen forest of Bonny Doon, CA.
VWA website:http://www.ventanawild.org
How to support VWA: http://www.ventanawild.org/join-vwa/join-renew-donate
Charlie is the Board Chair for the Wildlife Conservation Network. He retired early as a successful Stanford-educated entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. He founded software company Rubicon Technology in 1989 and sold it in 1994. His retirement lasted six days, until he launched full-time into applying his business acumen and experience to wildlife conservation. In the 1990s, Charlie helped the Cheetah Conservation Fund and the Snow Leopard Conservancy grow into world-class conservation programs. In doing so, he recognized the opportunity for a new model of wildlife conservation, and in 2002 he co-founded the Wildlife Conservation Network to identify, qualify and invest in the best and brightest conservationists around the world. The synthesis of creativity and practicality in Charlie's approach has inspired thousands of passionate donors, as well as a rising generation of conservation pioneers.
Information on upcoming WCN Expos:
https://wildnet.org
Contact Charlie at: Charles@wildnet.org
Marcia and Grey speak with Chris Wilmers about his love for the large predators such as pumas, lions and wolves. We discuss his current projects with SC Puma Project and how people can get involved.
Chris Wilmers is a professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz and lead investigator for the Santa Cruz Puma Project. The Puma Project is a research effort to better understand the impacts of human development on the behavior, physiology, ecology, conservation and management of pumas (aka mountain lions).
Dr. Wilmers' lab group at UCSC is generally focused on understanding how global change influences animal behavior, population dynamics and community organization. They emphasize combining quantitative field techniques to better understand the ecology of the wildlife so as to better inform their management and conservation. In addition to the Santa Cruz Puma Project, the Wilmers lab group is involved in research, management and conservation efforts of large predators and/or their prey in Northern California, Yellowstone, Kenya and South Africa.
Resource Links:
Lab Web Page: http://wildlife.ucsc.edu
Puma Project: http://santacruzpumas.org
African Lion Project: http://africanlions.org
Jennifer is a Fine Art Conservation Wildlife Photographer and founder of Experience Wildlife Photography living in California. She specializes in creating meaningful images that convey a message of hope for the natural world. Jennifer feels strongly that by sharing these images of beautiful animals in their environment, she can inspire others to protect their own environment. She is also a member of the North America Nature Photographers Association ethics committee in which she promotes the ethical practice of photographing wildlife.
Jennifer and I both volunteer for the Cheetah Conservation Fund Nor Cal Chapter. If you don’t know, CCF is a non-profit dedicated to the conservation of cheetahs founded by Dr. Laurie Marker in Namibia. We have an interview with Dr. Marker and several others from CCF already on iTunes.
But Jennifer and I were talking during our last meeting about the importance of sharing stories of hope and how powerful her wildlife images are for doing this. So I am happy she agreed to be on the show today so we can talk about her work and hear her story.
Fred is a rare species in this area for that he is a native Californian. At least in Silicon Valley I don’t meet very many native Californians. Fred grew up in the San Fernando and Kern River Valleys.
He has an amazing amount of education and teaching experience. Fred received a BA in biology at Northridge State University and a MS in biology and education at the university of Chicago. I love that campus!
After which he taught science in Bakersfield and Pacific high schools in the late 60s. He then taught Ecology and Natural history at UCSC where he also served as Program Coordinator of biology and environmental studies for USCS extension.
And because he felt the need for more education, he earned a PhD form SC Paideia where he worked with Page Smith on San Lorenzo River restoration and human ecology.
He still continues to teach UCSC environmental studies, natural history and field study classes at the San Lorenzo River and SC Mountains.
Fred is also an organizer for the SC Mountains Institute and is a Board Member of the SC Mountains Bioregional Council.
please click on this link to watch Fred and his wife's beautiful video about the Fall Creek watershed: https://youtu.be/IPbsDq-uWLk
Listen in on the bonus audio for the sounds of various birds living in the Santa Cruz Mountains Redwoods!
Grey and Marcia interview Portia Halbert about her work with CA State Parks at Natural Bridges State Park.
Meet Portia Halbert, she is an Environmental Scientist with the Santa Cruz District of California State Parks. In our next BeProvided Conservation Radio Podcast, Portia tells us what it is like to manage 70,000 acres of parkland in the Santa Cruz District. Her and her team are responsible for managing and restoring native habitats. She also tells us what it is like to be a member of the statewide burn crew that helps reintroduce fire to the landscape. She also helps protect sensitive species such as the California red-legged frog, San Francisco garter snake and the Marbled Murrelet pictured above.
Ms. Halbert is also the Vice President of the Santa Cruz Mountains Bioregional Council.
Link to SC Mountains Bioregional Council: http://www.scmbc.org
SC District California State Parks: https://www.parks.ca.gov/
Like many of us passionate about wildlife, Gautam left a perfectly good job of 20 years as an IT consultant with Accenture to devote his life and career to seek out alternative approaches to support wildlife conservation. He is now combining his passion with his technical experience in the creation of The Internet of Elephants, a social enterprise located in Nairobi Kenya. He is collaborating with technologists, conservationists, educators, game designers and strategists to help create a stronger connection between people and wild animals.
Links: * Internet of Elephants website: www.internetofelephants.com * Safari Central website (where you can download the app): www.safaricentralgame.com * Facebook page if people want to be part of the community: https://www.facebook.com/safaricentralgame/
Podcast Links:
http://beprovidedconservationradio.libsyn.com
Want to go on safari and learn about conservation in Namibia join us! Below is the Conservation Safari Information:
www.beprovided.com/conservationsafaris and http://beprovided.com/dailyitinerary/
Asher Jay is an international adventurer and public figure whose compelling paintings, sculptures, installations, animations, ad campaigns, and films all have a single purpose: to incite global action on behalf of wildlife conservation.
Asher's travels to the frontline have made her witness and story-teller, combatting illegal wildlife trafficking, promoting habitat sanctuaries and illuminating humanitarian emergencies. Her core message, again and again: biodiversity loss during the Anthropocene – the Age of Man.
“ART HAS A UNIQUE POWER TO TRANSCEND DIFFERENCES AND CONNECT WITH PEOPLE ON A VISCERAL LEVEL – AND COMPEL ACTION.”
Much of her best-known work spotlights the illegal ivory trade. In 2013, grassroots group March for Elephants asked her to visualize the blood ivory story on a huge, animated digital billboard in New York’s Times Square. Viewed by 1.5 million people, the internationally crowd-funded initiative aimed to provoke public pressure for revising laws that permit ivory to be imported, traded and sold. Asher also participated in the Faberge Big Egg Hunt in New York, where her oval ornament helped raise money for anti-poaching efforts in Amboseli.
A nomadic globe trotter who fell in love with New York while studying at Parson’s New School of Design, Asher Jay is determined to motivate you to understand you have real power in determining nature’s fate, and your – our – wild future.
“Conservation can no longer afford to be marginalized,” she asserts. “Today, we need everyone.”
Asher Jay's Website: www.asherjay.com
Great Videos on Asher Jay and her work:
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/explorers-project/141002-explorers-jay
Today our special guest is Paige Seitz, she is the livestock guarding dog coordinator at the Cheetah Conservation Fund. I was able to interview Paige outside the café of the CCF Center, so you may hear some people, birds and clanging of pans in the background! I enjoyed getting to know Paige and I fell in love with dogs and goats she cares for. There was a litter of puppies that I got to know and love. The week after my departure they were successfully released to their new farm homes.
Paige has been with CCF for three years and I don’t think she is leaving anytime soon! I would stay if I could! In this interview she will tell us her story of how she came into this field of work and talk about the success of the guardian dog program. I know you will find this show interesting, inspiring and informative!
More on Paige: https://cheetah.org/about-us/staff/paige-seitz/
More on CCF: http://cheetah.org
Jen Michelsen serves the San Lorenzo Valley Water District as Environmental Programs Manager, a position she has held since 2014. Jen also serves as a director on three boards, including the Santa Cruz Mountains Bioregional Council, Safe Water International, and Fire Safe Santa Cruz County Council and is a member of the Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network. Prior to joining SLVWD, Jen spent 10 years serving the County of Santa Cruz, Environmental Health Department, in the Water Resources Division.
Jen’s experience includes 18+ years of water resource management, long range water sustainability planning, water quality, environmental compliance, watershed management/stewardship, fish & wildlife species richness abundance studies, community engagement, water conservation, and habitat restoration. Jen began her career serving in the Peace Corps in Guatemala, working on water quality issues in a rural indigenous community.
Jen holds Bachelors of Science, Biology, with an emphasis in Natural Resource Conservation, from the Sacramento State University.
Jen is also a mother of a clever 2.5 year old girl who loves animals. She spends weekends camping, hiking, and birding with her family. Jen has traveled to over 20 countries, loves learning, reading, scuba diving, backpacking, yoga, cultural diversity, and fresh clean water.
contact Jen with questions at: jmichelsen@slvwd.com and check out the San Lorenzo Valley Water District website at www. slvwd.com
Brett Byers talks about tropical rainforest conservation and management. Learn how deforestation and poor forest management is contributing to global warming. Learn how tropical rainforests, say in the Amazon, effect weather patterns here in the US.
Brett has been a venture capitalist for the past 20 years, and became concerned with global warming several years ago. He has focused on the role of tropical forests in global warming, serving as a Rainforest Trust board member for several years and promoting their large-scale conservation efforts. He co-authored a peer-reviewed Nature Climate Change paper demonstrating how tropical forest conservation and restoration could be as significant to mitigation of climate change as alternatives to fossil fuels over the next several decades. Via the Million Acre Pledge, he is working to motivate those with substantial financial means to make large-scale, results-oriented commitments to direct conservation.
Other resources:
halfthesolution.com
In today's episode, Grey Hayes and Marcia Sivek speak with Dr. Betsy Herbert about her life dedication to forest conservation, specifically redwood forests around the Santa Cruz Mountain Area. Betsy also shares discoveries made about environmental issues while spending a year traveling across the world. We had a great conversation near the shore of the Pacific at Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz, CA.
I love this paragraph below from one of Betsy's blog posts because there is an urgency right now to help protect wild nature. (http://www.betsyherbert.com/newsarticles-blog/)
"As an environmentalist, I’ve always held to the notion held by deep ecologists that wild nature, as it evolved through the eons, needs to be preserved as the foundation for life on the planet. Wilderness areas (Earth’s least disturbed places) are a priceless storehouse of our planet’s biodiversity. We need to protect wilderness — or else humans, along with other species that we share the planet with — will perish."
Here are more resources Betsy refers to during this conversation:
Global Forest Watch Interactive Map: http://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/3/15.00/27.00/ALL/grayscale/loss,forestgain?tab=analysis-tab&begin=2001-01-01&end=2016-01-01&threshold=30&dont_analyze=true
Berta Careers - Goldman Environmental Prize recipient in 2015: http://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/berta-caceres/
The Santa Cruz Mountains Bioregional Council: http://www.scmbc.org - This is a great non-profit with a mission that encourages the preservation and enhancement of regional biodiversity over time through education, the dissemination of accurate scientific informal and assistance in the planning, coordination, and implementation of conservation efforts.
Read More articles by Betsy in her monthly column, Earth Matters, in the Santa Cruz Sentinel: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/environment-and-nature/20170615/earth-matters-travel-pastime-provides-clues-to-the-state-of-the-world