What makes California such a great spot for snake diversity? Where does antivenom come from, and why is it so expensive? Can you really inoculate yourself against snake venom? How did evolving alongside snakes impact who we are as humans today?  Join me and Michael Starkey, founder of Save the Snakes, as we get a close look at California snakes and then sit down to discuss bright blue snakes, snakes with legs, snake myths, evolutionary arms races, babysitter snakes, and how this diverse...

Greetings from the break between podcast seasons! Find out what I've been up to and where I'm headed next. More to come soon! Links: Podcast Feedback Form. A 5-min. way to help a ton and be entered into a drawing! Yay! Seaweed Class! Use code GOLDEN to get 20% off Allison's two-part course. Patreon: Support the show and get perks! My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com Find me on Instagram @goldenstatenaturalist. The theme song is called "i dunno" by grapes. Find the Creative...

How do sea stars move around? Why am I jealous of giant green anemones? When's the best time to go tide pooling? Why is life so hard in the in the place where the ocean meets the land? How have so many creatures adapted to thrive in this strange place where two worlds meet? Join me and Michelle Kunst as we explore the intertidal zone on the Northern California coast and discuss the incredible diversity of life that can be found there. Links: Trinidad Coastal Land Trust Seaweed with...

Indigenous people have lived in the place now known as California since time immemorial and are still here today. In this episode, join me and Frank Lake as we discuss mutualistic relationships between Indigenous Californians and the land, traditional burning, oak orchards, the powerful ways Indigenous and Western knowledges can come together, common misconceptions about pre-colonial California, reciprocity, and how we can move from a mental model of scarcity to cultivating a shared...

Have you ever noticed a bee that looked a little…different? Maybe it was a bit fuzzier than a typical honey bee, or maybe it was obsidian black, bright orange, startlingly large, or as tiny as a gnat. Chances are, if you’ve seen a bee meeting any of these descriptions, you observed one of Earth’s 20,000 species of native bees (with around 1,600 of those species living in California).  Join me and National Geographic Explorer, TEDx speaker, and community scientist Krystle Hickman as we head...

Author, artist, poet, and eco-philosopher Obi Kaufmann doesn't want to craft a better argument. He wants to tell a better story. But what does that kind of story look like? How do we begin to convey the incredible complexity of a place like California? How do we avoid unproductive divisiveness, embrace a better worldview, and move forward together in healing the land? Join me and Obi in a field of wildflowers on Mt. Diablo as we discuss humanity’s relationship with the earth, Mt. Diablo...

Happy New Year! 🎉 This episode has a great story, so I added a new intro to tell you about it. Here are the links mentioned in the new intro! 7 Ways to Connect with Nature zine by Kate Rutter Find Kate on Instagram @katerutter. VALENTINES (Sorry for shouting. I'm SO excited about these.) Collab with six wonderful CA artists. Thank you for supporting me and CalWild by purchasing Valentines! Patreon. This is another great way to support your local indie podcaster, and patrons get 10%...

Have you ever wondered why we bring a toxic, parasitic plant indoors during the holidays...and then kiss under it? Or what ecological role this plant plays? Come with me and Dr. Joshua Der as we discuss the ecological importance of mistletoe, its evolution, the vast array of wildlife it supports, and of course, the ancient folklore that led to all those stolen smooches. Helpful Links: Dr. Der's Publications Mistletoe Folklore My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com Support GSN on...

When was the last time you felt truly connected with a place? Was it somewhere rugged and wild, or was it on a leaf-strewn suburban block? What did you notice? What questions popped up in your mind? What gave you that sense of connection?  In this episode, join me and Justin Garwood in a Northern California temperate rainforest as we discuss how each of us can connect more deeply with the natural world, glaciers in California, an abundance of tadpoles, when to go off trail (and when not to),...

The Klamath Mountains, straddling the California-Oregon border, are a hotspot for biodiversity. But what drives the species richness of the region?  Come with me and Michael Kauffmann to a moss-covered edge of the Klamath mountains as we discuss ancient rocks, carnivorous plants, temperate rainforests, why people are a vital part of the story of place, and why the Klamath Mountains are bursting with a truly stunning array of beings and relationships.  You can find Backcountry Press...

Is seaweed a plant? Is it ok to eat straight out of the ocean? What kinds of creatures rely on seaweed? How does kelp fight climate change? Join me and Allison Poklemba on the Humboldt coast as we descend into the intertidal zone to taste seaweed fresh from the ocean and discuss all of the questions above and more.  Helpful Links: Allison's Seaweed Resources Backcountry Press Instagram: @backcountrypress Dandelion Herbal Center IG: @dandelionherbalcenter Beach wheelchairs California...

At the height of the last ice age, California condors could be found all across North America, and since time immemorial, these birds have held special cultural and spiritual significance for a number of Indigenous groups. But by the late 1980's, the last wild condor had been captured and brought into a captive breeding program. They were extinct in the wild. So what happened to these enormous scavengers to diminish their range so dramatically? How much progress has been made by the...

Have you ever wondered about things outside your window--the things that go bump in the night? Or, actually, things that flutter, flap, tread softly, swim, or bloom in the night? Because there’s a whole nocturnal world out there that most of us are missing, and it’s actually not as hard or as scary as we might think to go out and see it for ourselves.  In this episode, switch on your headlamp, and come with me and Charles Hood to the Cosumnes River Preserve, where we discuss vampire bats,...

When was the last time you looked closely at the living things right outside your front door? Have you ever gotten lost in a daisy, zoomed in on a burr clover, or watched a ladybug on a rose bush? Join me and author-illustrator Marni Fylling as we take a walk to explore the nature in her neighborhood. Along the way, learn how you can connect more deeply with the nature where you live and even cultivate more habitat that can welcome a greater diversity and abundance of life in your own...

Coast redwood trees reside in a category all their own. Not only are these the tallest trees in the world, but they grow in unique ecosystems–quiet, foggy places with ferns and redwood sorrel spilling everywhere you look onto the trail. In these forests, the sound of running water is never far away, and the redwoods themselves are by far the most prominent tree species, the warm hue of their bark dominating the landscape as they tower over the evergreen huckleberries and red-flowering...

Have you ever looked at a piece of art that altered your perspective? Or one that challenged your thinking? Or maybe you’ve studied a piece that taught you something new. How can art impact conservation efforts? How can it help break generational cycles of disconnectedness from the natural world? Why does art matter in a time of rapidly changing climate and habitat loss?  Join me and artist/scientific illustrator Jane Kim in the Ink Dwell Studio as we discuss nature blindness, the...

Have you ever wondered if the plants growing along your favorite trail or outside your door are edible? Or what kinds of flavors might not be available at the grocery store? Many of us aren't familiar with the tastes of the places where we live, even though there are wild foods growing all around us. Join me and author, educator, and forager Mia Andler on a walk beside the Truckee River to learn about the wild foods of California and beyond. Links: Mia's website Mia's Books...

Do bats live close to my house? Why are they important? Do they have rabies? How can people help take care of urban wildlife? How can we involve more people in conservation and community science, particularly people from historically excluded groups? Come with me and Miguel Ordeñana to Griffith Park in Los Angeles, where we discuss all of this and so much more. Links: Bat Motherhood Benefits of Bats CDC Page on Human Rabies National Science Foundation STEM Diversity Report...

Have you ever wondered what kind of wildlife lives right in the middle of your city? Or why some animals thrive in cities while others don't? And how did a mountain lion end up in Los Angeles, anyway? Join me and Miguel Ordeñana, the scientist who discovered mountain lion P-22 living in Griffith Park in LA as we discuss these questions and so many more. Links: Keeping Cats Indoors Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing Safety in Mountain Lion Habitat P-22 sightings during my visit to...

Hey friends! There's sooo much going on with the pod, so I wanted to check in and give you a quick update, including a little about the upcoming episode on urban ecology and some exciting interviews coming up for Season 3! I'll be back with a full episode soon! In the meantime, check out any past episodes you may have missed, revisit a favorite, or just get some sun on your skin! See you soon! You can find me on Instagram and TikTok @goldenstatenaturalist My website is...

Have you ever wanted to grow your own native plants? Where can you get California native seeds? Should you sow them directly in the ground or start them in pots? Is there anything you should do to the seeds before planting them? What time of year should they be planted? How should the soil be prepared? What are some common mistakes to avoid? What are some good plants to start with? Is this the end of the lawn as we know it? Join me and restoration ecologist Dr. Julia Michaels as we...

What is an amphibian, anyway? Are they leading double lives? What's the difference between a newt and a salamander? A frog and a toad? What kinds of amphibians live in California? Why are California newts so toxic? How do they always, always find their way home?  Join me and Gary Bucciarelli as we explore a stream in the Santa Monica Mountains, finding plentiful frogs and newts as we discuss the questions above and many more.  Links:  Map of Amphibian Diversity  Arboreal...

Did you know that California's Central Valley once contained a vast inland sea and was home to camels,  400 lb. saber-toothed salmon, and tiny four-tusked mastodons? Or that, just a couple of hundred years ago, it was a network of wetlands, peat bogs, riparian forests, and shallow lakes? So how did this place that was once so defined by an abundance of water become somewhere marked by water-related controversy?  Come along with me and Ellen Wehr as we discuss the history of this remarkable...

What's the problem with yellow hills? How do you trick a seed? What are the neighbors angry about? Where do restorationists get all those seeds? What's the difference between ecological restoration and restoration ecology? What does reconciliation have to do with it? How can we keep the world brimming with strange and beautiful creatures? Join me and Billy Sale, Restoration Project Manager at the California Botanic Garden, as we poke around a native plant nursery and discuss all of these...