Dr. Amanda Sesser, the Coordinator of the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) Partnership, discusses the need for inclusive design and decision-making processes that involve diverse stakeholders and empower communities. By bringing together various sectors of society, such as transportation, energy, and conservation, sustainable landscapes can be co-designed, created, and managed for people, planet, and prosperity. The episode emphasizes the need to balance human well-being and...

Willem Ferwerda, founder of the international non-governmental organization Commonland and former Director of IUCN Netherlands, dives deep into the innovative landscape restoration approach he developed, known as the 4 Returns framework, discussing its potential to inspire hope and drive sustainable change across large landscapes.

Alex Wright is a Landscape Science Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Science Applications Program in the Midwest region. In that role, he facilitates partnerships and develops tools to help coordinate voluntary conservation actions and investments across the Midwest vis a vis the Midwest Landscape Initiative. The discussion revolves around the collaborative efforts of the USFWS, state fish and wildlife agencies, and other interested parties to collaborate in the...

Hugh Possingham, Professor of Mathematics and Ecology at the University of Queensland, Australia, shares his expertise in biodiversity conservation, spatial planning, and decision science in protected area networks and Marxan, a spatial prioritization decision support tool.

Special guest Pat Comer, Chief Ecologist (retired) for NatureServe, shares his insights about conservation planning at ecoregional scales, conducting landscape assessments, and their role in landscape conservation design (LCD).

Dr. Ronald J. McCormick, a field naturalist and systems ecologist, shares insights on complex systems theory, including its application in landscape conservation design (LCD). The discussion provides practical advice for stakeholders interested in LCD—highlighting conceptual modeling as a valuable step and stressing the importance of boundaries within any model used for decision-making processes. The episode serves as a reminder that successful landscape conservation hinges not only on...

Steve Markason, Founder/Principal of the Teton Wildfire Mitigation Team, shares insights on balancing the ecological benefits of wildfires with the risks they pose when out of control. He also touches on historical data, like the increase in wildfires since 1983 and how peak fire seasons are shifting earlier due to climate change. We aim to help listeners understand strategies for living with wildland fires while designing communities that can withstand them. Steve brings extensive experience...

In this episode of Designing Nature's Half: The Landscape Conservation Podcast, hosts Rob Campellone and Tom Miewald welcome Doug Parsons, Director of America Adapts Media and host of America Adapts: The Climate Change Podcast. They delve into the world of climate adaptation and how it intersects with landscape conservation and design.

In This Episode: Guest: Robin West, retired Regional Chief, National Wildlife Refuge System Robin shares climate change-related insights obtained over the course of his 35-year career in Alaska and across Hawaii and the remote Pacific Islands. Key Discussion Points: [14:53] Landscape Impacts Due To Climate Change:  Receding sea ice and its impacts on polar bears and local communities, Spruce bark beetle infestations in forest habitats, drying lake impacts on waterfowl, and more. [20:13]...

Designing Nature's Half: The Landscape Conservation Podcast, hosted by Rob Campellone and Tom Miewald, is a platform dedicated to facilitating learning and inspiring action to combat the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. Through conversations with experts in landscape conservation and design, this podcast aims to empower landscape partnerships to think about, design, and implement actions that further sustainability and resilience.

Join us as we delve into the evolving world of conservation, where we explore the shift from siloed planning and management to an innovative, collaborative approach to designing sustainable and resilient landscapes. Subscribe to Designing Nature's Half: The Landscape Conservation Podcast.