In this stimulating conversation with Regenerative Land Designer and Educator Javan Bernakevitch, we discuss life design and why it's important. According to Javan, if we don’t design our lives, someone else will. What are the signs of an undesigned life? Some of them include: not knowing what you’re good at, a lack of direction, being directed by past events, problems saying no, and having a hard time making decisions. In this interview, we talk about practicing values-based decision...

Join us on a journey to India to explore the inspiring Beejvan project, a remarkable two acre demonstration farm and community-based initiative in Karjat, Maharashtra, India. In this interview with co-founder Sanjana Krishnan, discover how Beejvan is revitalizing the land, promoting biodiversity, and empowering the local community. Sanjana was inspired to start Beejvan when she returned to Karjat a, a place she had loved as a child, to find that the rivers had dried up, soils were depleted,...

Episode 169: Is Permaculture the best option that we have to meet the demands of an unpredictable future? In this lively conversation with Rosemary Morrow, Margie Bushman, and Wes Roe, we discuss the potential Permaculture holds in restoring degraded ecosystems around the globe.  Rosemary Morrow is a Permaculture designer, teacher, and earth restorer. She is the author of numerous publications including Permaculture Teaching Matters and The Earth Restorer’s Guide to Permaculture. Rosemary is...

What does water want? What happens when we allow water to be water? Author Erica Gies explores the concept of Slow Water in her new book Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge.  Slow Water approaches are unique to each place and work with natural systems. Slow Water is key to greater resiliency and offers multiple benefits including reducing floods, droughts, and wildfires. The Slow Water movement asks where our water comes from and examines the impact that our water...

Learn how to garden like nature from writer, horticultural consultant, and educator Dr. Lee Reich. We start with an audio tour of Lee’s award winning “farmden," which is more than a garden and less than a farm. Packed with plants, including Paw Paws, Hardy Kiwi, Gooseberries, Figs, and Filberts, Lee uses his land as a test site for showcasing his gardening techniques. After 40 years of tending the land, Lee not only grows healthy fruits and vegetables, but also lots of fertile soil and...

Episode 166: Did you know that oceans make life possible on our planet? Even if we live far from the coast, our lives are influenced by the ocean. Oceans generate oxygen, capture carbon, shape weather, and provide habitat for countless creatures.  To learn more about these vast, yet fragile bodies of water that make our planet unique, beautiful, and able to support life, I speak with world renowned ocean scientist and explorer Dr. Sylvia Earle. In this inspirational interview, Sylvia shares...

Episode 165: This special episode introduces the Regenerative Media Alliance, a project I have been working on for quite some time with fellow podcast producers Oliver Goshey and Scott Mann. The Regenerative Media Alliance or RMA is a cooperative group for podcasters and media creators working in the Permaculture, sustainability, and regenerative fields. Podcasting can be a bit lonely. If you're like me and you produce your podcast in your "Shoedio" (also known as a bedroom closet),  you...

Episode 164: Are you a fan of Raptors or birds of prey? Members of this large group of magnificent birds include hawks, eagles, falcons, and owls. For many of us, seeing raptors in cities and in the wilderness is awe-inspiring.  To learn more about these amazing birds, I am joined by Lisa Owens Viani and Allen Fish, co-founders of the nonprofit Raptors Are the Solution (RATS).  We begin by chatting about the wonders of raptors and why Lisa and Allen have devoted so much of their lives to...

Episode 163: What if you could replace your monocrop grass lawn with a “solar powered regenerative system that stores carbon while creating habitats”? You can! Learn how in this informative episode with Owen Wormser. Did you know that the average lawn is a a biological desert that needs vast amounts of resources to stay alive? By replacing your lawn with a meadow, you can sink carbon, retain water, provide habitat, attract pollinators, create beauty, and save money.  Owen fills us in on how...

Is the future nuts? According to our guest Michael Judd, it definitely is, but in a good way! Michael shares his vision of a bountiful and food secure future where nut tree orchards and farms abound. Resilient perennial crops with a multitude of ecosystem services, nut trees improve soil health and stability, provide habitat for animals, increase diversity, and offer nutrient rich food. Learn about the promise that these trees hold for our nutty future.

Growing an herbal apothecary garden at home is fun and easy. Learn how to start your own in this informative interview with longtime organic farmer Alena Steen. We begin the episode by talking about the benefits of growing medicinal herbs and then move into the nitty gritty of soil preparation, watering, and harvesting. Alena explains the concept of "benevolent neglect" and talks about how this type of growing can actually increase the medicinal qualities of herbs.  Alena shares some of her...

Lonny Grafman has worked with hundreds of communities around the globe assisting them with projects across a broad spectrum of sustainability. In this inspiring episode Lonny reflects on his decades of work and shares his knowledge and experience about how to support communities in increasing their resilience. Lonny is the founder of the Appropedia website and author of the books To Catch the Rain and the forthcoming To Catch the Sun. 

Step into the vibrant and beautiful world of living color with natural dyer, designer, artist, and educator Sasha Duerr. Sasha takes us on a journey from Soil to Studio. We learn how creating and working with dyes made from plants, seaweed, and other natural materials can increase our ecological and botanical knowledge, foster collaboration, and have a beneficial impact on ecosystems. 

Longtime organic farmer Mark Sturges believes that when we create a better habitat for beneficial insects, we create a better habitat for ourselves. Mark is a master compost maker whose compost is filled with life. When Mark creates compost, he encourages the "whole neighborhood" to move in. The cast of characters in Mark's neighborhood are vast and include beetles, rotifers, fungi, nematodes, springtails, enchytraeids, and Beauveria bassiana- an insect "eating" fungi.

Are you excited to start a garden, but don't have a yard? In this fun and informative interview with plant lover and regenerative farmer Acadia Tucker, we learn how to start a verdant and productive container garden at home. Acadia tells us why she feels it's important to grow at least some of our own food and how this simple act can positively impact the world.  

Learn how your clothing choices can change the world in this episode with writer Elizabeth Segran. Did you know that the fashion industry is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gases? About 100 billion articles of clothing are manufactured yearly. This massive overproduction has a detrimental effect on land, waterways, and workers. Whether you’re a fashion follower or a thrift store shopper, you’ll learn about the fashion industry’s impact on the environment and how we can change our...

When medicinal at risk plants need help, United Plant Savers (UPS) comes to the rescue! Known as the "consciousness of the herbal products industry" because of their work with at risk medicinals, UPS staff and members have their feet on the ground and their hands in the soil protecting and growing these healing plants. 

Put down that shovel and start a no-till perennial garden! Permaculture Designer Morag Gamble shares her tips about how to create an abundant and thriving organic oasis. We focus on building fertility through feeding the soil, why perennial plants are a good choice for any garden, and how to grow living mulches. Working with the principles found in nature, you can start and maintain a beautiful and healthy organic garden that benefits not only you and your family, but also the wildlife in...

Louie Schwartzberg talks about his new film Fantastic Fungi that highlights the fascinating and often hidden world of the fungi beneath our feet. Louie also talks about what he's learned from his forty years of filming flowers, how pollination is the love story that feeds the earth, and why it's time to change our narrative about nature-  from survival and competition to partnership, cooperation, and interconnectedness.

What if we could heal broken ecosystems, toxic landscapes, and poisoned water?  My guest today is Dr. John Todd, ecological designer and author of the new book, Healing Earth- An Ecologist's Journey of Innovation and Environmental Stewardship. John boldly travels to places that others try to avoid: toxic waste sites, oil spills, leaking landfills, and damaged waterways. Using the tools of nature to remediate these areas, John and his colleagues do good things in bad places.

Join us for a mind and heart expanding conversation with Dr. Monica Gagliano about her research in plant cognition and her direct experiences with the botanical world. A pioneer in the field of Plant BioAcoustics, Monica's peer-reviewed work has furthered the concept of plant sentience. Monica's experiences with plants have altered her life, her research, and are the subject of her new book, Thus Spoke the Plant.

Incredible Edible's co-founder Mary Clear tells the story of how she and her friends turned their worry and fear into action by planting food in public places. With a motto of, "If you eat, you’re in," Incredible Edible turns neglected, unloved places into beautiful food-giving gardens, complete with signs that say  "Help Yourself!"

Sanandi Farm is an organic, biodynamic, Permaculture farm located near Valle de Bravo, Mexico. In 1998, two brothers, Dieter and Andreas le Noir, purchased the land and began the work of regenerating the health of the soil. Sanandi is now a beautiful farm with a thriving medicinal herb pharmacy and line of herbal remedies. Communications Director Yolanda Suarez del Real shares with us the story of Sanandi, the importance of biodiversity, and why she believes that agriculture holds a key to...

How can we mend our broken relationship with the Earth and create a world where people and land are good medicine for each other? In this interview, plant ecologist, author, and professor Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer talks about what she has learned from plants, plant intelligence, and how the simple and profound act of paying attention to the living world can change our lives.