The sea is rising, and I have a lot of questions. Questions about sand movement, seawalls, nature-based climate solutions, ecosystem engineer plants, sand dunes, climate literature, and how we can harness the power of our collective imaginations to adapt to a changing world together. Join me and environmental reporter Rosanna Xia at Point Dume in Malibu as we discuss my many questions and explore a beach that's been reimagined with the future in mind. Links: ⁠Become a Heyday Member⁠...

It's fall! And all around the country, tidy piles of raked leaves rest on the corners of lawns, ready to be bagged up and thrown away. But throwing away leaves means throwing away free mulch and fertilizer. It also means throwing away habitat and belching methane into the atmosphere. Join me and National Wildlife Federation naturalist David Mizejewski as we discuss the benefits of leaving the leaves, the harms of removing them, and the kind of abundance we can buoy right outside our...

How is the story of tule elk tied to the story of California? What’s the difference between a grazer and a browser? Why do tule elk have such big feet? How much grazing is the right amount of grazing? Why do elk bugles sound like something straight out of a horror movie?   Come with me and Orlando Rocha as we strike out in search of tule elk in the Grizzly Island Wildlife Area, and then join me and Tom Batter as we discuss the ecological importance of tule elk along with the ties between...

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...

Some animals plod across roads without hesitation. Others dart across quickly, while still more freeze at the sight of an oncoming car. A final group avoids roads altogether. Four distinct approaches, yet roads can have devastating impacts on animals regardless of their type of response.  Thankfully, wildlife crossings can help.  Join me and award-winning author Ben Goldfarb as we explore a fragment of old growth oak woodland, discussing how roads impact the environment and imagining a...

What are your top ten favorite California native species?  Join me, Griff Griffith, and Michael Hawk as we joyously compile our collective top ten list (a veritable menagerie meets botanical garden) and discuss how we can help each species.  Don’t forget to follow Nature’s Archive and Jumpstart Nature wherever you’re listening now.   Learn more about the great work Jumpstart Nature is doing on their website.  The cover photo is by Charles Hood, who is generously allowing me to use it for...

Are coastal wetlands the same thing as estuaries? What about salt marshes? How can some plants grow in saltwater? Can I use them to salt my french fries? What’s an endangered river? Why do some birds build floating nests? Why should I visit nature that’s close to home?  Join me and Empress Holliday as we explore the Tijuana Estuary to admire plants, gush over birds, and discuss everything from blue carbon to baby halibut. Helpful Links: ⁠Divided Together Podcast⁠ ⁠Tijuana Estuary (TRNERR)...

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...