Afleveringen
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I have been thinking a lot about the diversity of sexuality and gender in nature. Wondering about how different animals, plants, and fungi present sexually. How do different species mate? What characteristics are considered belonging to one sex, but in reality, may be shared by many sexes? Many sexes? How many are there? Why do some species have thousands of sexes, and some species only have one?
Maxwell Matchim (they/them) has been asking some similar questions but through a different lens, thinking âabout the ways in which Trans people exist between worlds, much like amphibians. The way in which Trans people change their bodies over time as means of survival.â And with these questions, they have been making a documentary. When my pal Miki told me about this, my first thought was âthis is a conversation I am looking forâ. When I reached out, Maxwell was game and we set up the interview.
We talked about Maxwellâs experience so far in producing the documentary, unisexual Ambystoma salamanders, gynandromorphism (having characteristics of two sexes) in birds, classification of species which might not actually make sense, and so many other queer natural histories and how we might relate to them in the context of the present social political world.
This is a conversation I would love to be having all of the time, looking at the parts of life which just donât abide by the dominant narratives. If youâre into that, youâll like the show.
To learn more:
Understanding Myself as an Amphibian gofundmeMaxwell Matchimâs instagram
Queer Forest Club instagram
Feminist Bird Club instagram
Biological Exuberance by Bruce Bagemihl
Queer Ducks (and Other Animals) by Eliot Schrefer
Evolution's Rainbow Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People by Joan Roughgarden
How Far the Light Reaches : A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler -
When I look into the authors who wrote most of the naturalist, ecology, natural history books on my shelves, I mostly see white people, especially the older books. When I do interviews with folks in the field, I still find a majority of those who I am talking with are white folks. I wholly recognize that is on me in a lot of ways, but I also recognize that historically, access to these fields has been gatekept by and for white folks, mostly men.
When I come across initiatives that challenge that dynamic, I get stoked. When I find out they are taking students out to some of the places I have and continue to go to to learn about the natural world, I get really stoked, so much so, that I reached out to see about an interview.
Alannah Grant and Jonathan Chu are graduate students in Integrative Biology at Guelph. They are also the University of Guelph liaisons for FREED where they lead the organization and fund-raising (amongst other things) for UoG students to participate in FREED excursions. I wanted to ask them about recent movements to bring awareness to and correct the lack of representation of Black, Indigenous, and people of colour in environmental sciences, how they organize themselves, what is working and what they do on these excursions?
I am always excited when the things I love are made more accessible, so more folks can appreciate, participate, teach and learn. We all live on this wild planet and we should all be able to take part in the profound experiences of exploring, examining and connecting with the land, on the land. This is what FREED helps folks do.
To learn more :
FREED website
FREED instagram -
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Ok, so this is weird, but I love death.
Dying, decay, decomposition, breakdown.. synonyms that sort of warm my heart in a strange kinda way. When I think of death I think of nutrients breaking down into small parts, making it easier for other things to consume and to continue to grow and live. I think of how death makes all life possible. How without consuming things like veggies, grains, fruits, mushrooms, and maybe even meats, all things which were once alive, we could never live. I am grateful to death so that I may live. I too am grateful to those things which help break things down. The decomposers which turn trees into soil and enable all the plants to grow, soil bacteria to thrive and create suitable substrates to all the fungal bodies in the dirt.
Todayâs show is all about those fungal forms which help breakdown trees into consumable soil nutrients; white rot and brown rot. I have talked about them before on the show, but I wanted to dig in a little bit more. I hope you enjoy it!
To Learn More :
Field Guide to Tree Diseases of Ontario (pdf)
Polypores and Similar Fungi of Eastern and Central North America by Alan E. Bessette, Dianna G. Smith, and Arleen R Bessette. University of Texas Press, 2021.
Plant Pathology by George N. Agrios. Harcourt Academic Press, 1997.
Disgustipated by Tool -
This passed weekend I was able to go out tracking with folks at Wiijindamaan where I once again notice the Poplar Vagabond Aphid Gall. And last week, I was having another conversation with folks about the Spruce Pineapple Adelgid Gall. Galls persist through the Winter and into Spring when many of the insects which have created them will begin to emerge.
Since now is the time to be keeping an eye out for the insect emergences, I figured I would share my excitement for these two galls. Not only are they beautiful and unusual, but they also highlight my growing feelings on what I call âbiology 202â, a deep appreciation for the complexity of life beyond our cultural assumptions. Itâll make more sense when you hear it.
To Learn More :
Petiolegall Aphids : Swollen or disfigured leaves of poplars (pdf)
First record of antipredator behavior in the gall-forming aphid Mordwilkoja vagabundaPoplar Vagabond Gall Aphid (Aphididae: Mordwilkoja) video on youtube.com by Carl Barrentine
InfluentialPoints.com entry on Mordwilkoja vagabunda
Life History and Gall Development of Mordwilkoja vagabunda (Homoptera: Aphidae) on Populus deltoides
Life History and Gall Development of Mordwilkoja vagabunda (Homoptera: Aphidae) on Populus deltoides. Part IIâGall Development
The Insects and Arachnids of Canada part 22 : The Genera of the Aphids of Canada - Homoptera : Aphidoidea and Phylloxeroidea : pg 472 (pdf)Influential Points entry on Adelges abietisINTRA- AND INTER-CROWN DISTRIBUTION OF THE EASTERN SPRUCE GALL ADELGID, ADELGES ABIETIS (L.), ON YOUNG WHITE SPRUCE -
Did you know that birds are more closely related to turtles, than turtles are to snakes? I just learned that. Did you know that the scutes on a turtleâs back are made from keratin, the same stuff as our fingernails and Rhinoceros horns? Just learned that one too. Even better, do you know what cloacal breathing is? I bet you do⊠but how does it work? Thatâs some of the interesting stuff I got to ask naturalist, author and educator Kyle Horner recently when we spoke about his new book Turtles of North America out now on Firefly Books.
Itâs a pretty good book, with range maps and conservation statusâ which are more relevant and up to date than many of the older field guides to turtles, and covers more species. It is a book full of photographs which help detail the information written in the species accounts and natural history sections.
And this weekâs show isnât just about turtles! It is a bit of reptilian and amphibian mashup, because for the second part I give a short report back from a recent field trip down to Sudden Tract to check on Spring salamander migration. Tis the season!
To Learn More :
Turtles of North America at Firefly BooksSeagull Is Not a Dirty Word - Kyle Hornerâs Blog
Kyle Hornerâs Instagram -
I just got home from Algonquin Park. I got the privilege to spend the past week tracking Wolves, Moose, Martens, Grouse, Flying Squirrels, and so many other creatures throughout the length of the park. We woke up at 6am every morning and were out by 7, scouting for new trails. When were were through with our day we came back to hit the books and share stories of all that weâd seen. It was magical, inspiring and motivating. Restful as much as exhausting.
One animal I spent some time learning about over the week was the Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus), a small brown finch like bird edged in yellow who flew down on to the new snow, skipped, hopped and flew off again. The Pine Siskin was my focal species for the week. Sadly on our last day, two dead Pine Siskins were found on highway 60, hit by vehicles as they were on the road, consuming the de-icing salts.
I got to hold the birds and take a closer look at their small amazing bodies in the sunlight pouring through the window at the wildlife research station. I measured their feet, admired their plumage, and wondered at how they could survive so long out there in the cold and snow. What were they eating to warm their fragile little bodies through the Winter nights? If they hadnât died on the road, where would they go to in the Spring? I decided on the way home I would do a little research and make the next show all about them.
Hereâs to the Siskins and all theyâve taught and inspired in me.
Sources used in this episode:
Birds of Ontario by Andy Bezener. Lone Pine Publishing, 2000.
Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests by Casey McFarland, Matthew Monjello, and David Moskowitz. Houghton Mifflin Harcout, 2021.
The Birderâs Handbook by Paul Ehrlich, David S. Dobkin and Darryl Wheye. Simon & Shuster, 1988. -
Itâs that time of year again, when the animals are getting out and getting down. While driving home the other day I drove past a forest where I had once trailed a part of courting Coyotes (Canis latrans) and realized that now is the time we will be seeing these courting behaviours. I had written about them before, but it was worth revisiting as it will likely be coming up on the land, and in my classes.
As I had written before:
âGetting the chance to follow along and watch the intimate lives of other animals can feel a little awkward in the retelling. I donât want to come across as voyeuristic but instead as being witness to the possibility of a litter of new life. Coyotes are often a maligned species, where the conversation surrounding them is often of management and control, loaded with tones of fear and frustration. But following these two highlights an individuation and animism we donât afford Coyotes very often. I hope only to remind of the struggle to survive, adapt and thrive amidst the persecution they endure. Reflecting on the day, I feel like itâs a study in the mess of courtship which many of us can relate to, and it feels like the news I wish we saw more of: first kisses, late night dinner parties with old friends, meeting a newborn family member. It is the joy of being and relating to others in deep meaningful ways in a world which often separates and isolates, harms and hinders. Itâs romantic as hell, and I love itâŠâ
To Learn More :
Examining Coyote Courting Behaviours : Tracking at Bellâs Lake
Tracking Journal : December 25, 2020
Behaviour of North American Mammals by Mark Elbroch and Kurt Rinehart. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.
The Natural History of Canadian Mammals by Donna Naughton. University of Toronto Press, 2012. -
We had just crossed over from the thick White Cedar forest into a little more spacious deciduous forest, when, in a very unassuming tone, a friend called us over to check out some tracks. I donât know if he realized at first how cool the trail he had just found was, but as we stepped off of the path and looked down at the tracks everyone leaned in a little closer, and our voices started to ring with a little more excitement. Our colleague had found a Fisher trail.
Once again I have been inspired by the Fisher to dig a little deeper into their ecologies, behaviours and the signs they leave behind. There is always so much to know that another show about them, relating another story of following the Fisher trail seemed worthwhile.
To Learn More :
Natural History of Canadian Mammals by Donna Naughton. University of Toronto Press, 2012.Mesopredator release facilitates range expansion in fisher by Dr. Scott LaPoint.Ep. 180 : Winter of the Fisher
Ep. 211 : Fisher Researcher Dr. Scott LaPoint
Tracking Journal 2021.11.27 (mostly about trailing a Fisher at the same location as the entry above) -
s we get ready for the longest night of the year, itâs also a time to celebrate traditions and set our sights for the new year with the rebirth of the Sun.
Making radio for me also holds traditions embedded within the episodes. Every Solstice I dig into the archives and pull out a rebroadcast which was originally aired December 21st, 1985 at 10:30pm on the BBC. And now, for the 6th year in a row, I get to broadcast one of my favorite pieces of radio. Step aside War of the Worlds or Gunsmoke (both of which should be listened to at least once in your life), Alison McLeayâs âSolsticeâ, is the best radio I have ever heard. A guided journey beyond our contemporary world of christian Christmas consumerism and looking deeper to reveal the ancient earth based practices and traditions where so many of our modern traditions arise from. Along the way we meet a rattle wielding Shaman, a witch, a hunter, a Raven, and a Wolf who help guide us back to the origins of Yule.
Hereâs hoping for a solstice of peace, rest, and joy⊠some hard things to find these days.
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You know when there is someone kicking around the party whom you recognize, maybe even say hello to, but you just donât know that well? Or perhaps you two have been acquainted for a while but something comes up and that gets you talking a little more intimately? I feel like that with Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor). I wanted to try my hand at foraging and creating some medicine, but really I needed to read up on what others have sorted out before I prepare anything for ingestion. To learn more, listen to the show.
Here are the sources I read from:
National Audubon Society Mushrooms of North America. Knopf, 2023.
Polypores and Similar Fungi of Eastern and Central North America by Alan E. Bessette, Dianna G. Smith, and Arleen R Bessette. University of Texas Press, 2021.
Medicinal Mushrooms : The Essential Guide by Christopher Hobbs. Storey Publishing, 2020. -
If you didnât know already, I work at an outdoor school doing place-based, or nature-based education. Through this work I have come to know many people who have challenged and supported me to grow and to learn more about the complex relationships that exist within this field of work. How do we aim to teach about a land which has been occupied through theft, displacement, war, and genocide? How can we say we work towards loving relationships with ourselves, with each other and the land when this is the past and present reality of the place we inhabit and the position of the states we are governed by?
I got to talk with a mentor, friend, and elder in my community, Lisa Donahue, about how we can struggle to do the work of bringing folks outside and teaching them alongside the land when the context is rife with harm. As always, Lisa shared from the heart with precision, passion and a poignant reckoning of the ongoing need to work towards justice, peace and good relations. I am so grateful for her wisdom, her humility and her care.
I wanted to have this write up yesterday, but my heart is so weighted with sorrow over the ongoing genocide in Palestine, here in Canada, and the other ongoing wars and injustices throughout the world right now. I had to take an extra day to collect my heart and thoughts.
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My room, my house, my bags are all full of books, twigs, fruits, feathers, seeds, nuts, and bits of mushrooms this time of year. So too my stomach, my dreams, and my heart. My bedroom is littered with naturalist books and books of fairy tales and myths which I pull out and read before I turn out the light. I love the folk tales because if you read them in the right light, they share stories of relationships with the land from before christian colonization. For me, of european descent, this gives insight to how my ancestors may have gotten to know the places they lived and who they depended on to live good lives in relation with the lands they lived with.
I have shared stories of snakes, or the Winter solstice, or wildflowers throughout the years of doing this show, but never have I told a story about mushrooms. Until recently I only knew one or two, but recently I read a new one, a magical one, which I have really come to love. So on this weekâs show I share the story of the âBerry-sisters and the Mushroom-brotherâ from the book Echo of the Green Mountains : Ukrainian Folk Tales as well as read a little about the internationally praised edible mushroom Boletus edulis.
This episode might be well suited for a cup of tea. But Iâll leave that up to you.
Image : Boletus edulis LC0371.jpg by Jörg Hempelâ . 2014. Image. Wikimedia.org. (CC BY-ND 3.0)
To learn more :
Echo of the Green Mountains : Ukrainian Folk Tales by Serhiy Vladov and Mary Skrypnyk. Dnipro Publishers 1988.
National Audubon Society Mushrooms of North America. Knopf, 2023. -
Every big mast year for Black Walnuts (Juglans nigra) I like to harvest a ton of them and then process them for both the husks and the nutmeat inside. While the nutmeats are very troublesome to access it is getting easier as I learn which tools are better than others, and the food value is totally worth it. As for the husks, itâs pretty easy to rip or cut them off of the nut. This year, as in previous years as well, there has been a small ethical dilemma which has come up when using the husks for dye. Nestled in the husks are small larvae of what I believe to be the Walnut Husk Maggot Fly (Rhagoletis suavis) which is a fruit fly I donât know much about. But because I love Walnuts, I figured I should learn.
And thatâs what this weekâs show is all about. A fruit fly who loves Walnuts⊠Canât live without âem. Sometimes I feel that way, too.
To learn more :
Walnut Husk Fly How to Monitor and Manage Walnut Husk Flies
Decomposition: fly life cycle and development times
University of California IPM page on Walnut Husk Fly -
ï»żA week ago, I got to join the Field Botanists of Ontario on a field trip to the Dufferin County Forest Main Tract site for a mushroom I.D. walk. We saw all sorts of different mushrooms and had a ton of fun.
Scattered in the back of the Main tract there are many American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) trees. Some tall, some small, but they are there amidst the Red Oaks (Quercus rubra) and Sugar Maples (Acer saccharum). If you look close at the branches of these Beech trees you'll find little white fluffy insects dancing about in huge colonies. These are the Wooly Beech Aphid (Phyllaphis fagi) and they are there sucking sap out of the Beech tree. Now when any animal consumes their fill of whatever it is they are consuming, they must release the waste, and so too with the Aphids. This waste, called Honey Dew, is dropped and as it falls lands on the leaves, branches, and ground below. When this happens, the spores of the Honey Dew Eater (Scorias spongiosa) come around and land on the Honey Dew and begin their life cycle.
This weeks show I share some of what I have been reading about in regards to this community but specifically focusing on the life cycle of the Honey Dew Eater fungi.
To learn more :
Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada by George Barron. Partners Publishing/Lone Pine 2014.
Ascomycete Fungi of North America: A Mushroom Reference Guide by Michael Beug, Alan E. Bessette, Arleen R. Bessette. University of Texas Press, 2014.
National Audubon Society Mushrooms of North America. Knopf, 2023. -
Lichens been a draw for me for the last few years. When it comes to a diversity of lifeforms coming together in a fungal structure to draw down nutrients from the atmosphere, to beautify a landscape, to feed some of the largest land mammals down to sheltering some of the smallest arthropods, Iâm hooked.
For many of us, the problem has been where to start, how to get into the lichens, how to identify them and how and where do we learn what roles and functions these forms of life have on the land?
In comes Dr. Troy McMullin, lichenologist with the Canadian Museum of Nature, author of dozens of papers on lichens, describer of 10 species new to science, and author of the new book Lichens : The Macrolichens of Ontario and the Great Lakes Region of the United States out on Firefly Books.
A hefty book full of colour photos, illustrated glossary, detailed keys to the 113 genera found in Ontario and some adjacent states, this book is helpful for beginner lichen lovers and for the professional lichenologist. Not only that, Troy came on to talk about his career learning about these unstudied organisms, why they are so important to him and how they can help us understand the changes we are seeing in the climate.
Itâs not everyday you get to talk with one of the foremost researchers in a field. I am so grateful for the chance. I got to ask a bunch of questions which I have been wondering for a long time.. some of which are answered fully in the book, some of which it took a conversation with the author. Thanks again, Troy!
To learn more :
Lichens : The Macrolichens of Ontario and the Great Lakes Region of the United States
Troy McMullinâs page at the Canadian Museum of Nature -
Last Thursday a call came over the radio at work. âI just want to let everyone know that there are two Walking Sticks mating on the tentâ. I canât really remember what I was doing with the students at the time, but we all dropped everything and made our way, some faster than others. I had seen a couple of Walking Sticks over the Summer, but realized, while jogging through the forest on my way to see these two going at it, that I knew very little about the life cycles, ecology and overall natural history of this species or the order as a whole. I figured I should observe the mating pair carefully, and then research a bunch when I get home.
The species native to my area of Southern Ontario, known as the Northern Walking Stick (Diapheromera femorata), has been making many appearances in my life over the past few years but I still know so little about them. Inspired by the most recent sighting mentioned above, I decided to learn a little bit more about them.
Big thanks to Jen for letting everyone know the Walking Sticks were there.
Resources I pulled from for this episode:
Insects : Their Natural History and Diversity by Stephan A Marshall. Firefly Books, 2006.
Insect Enemies of Eastern Forests by Frank Cooper Craighead. US Department of Agriculture, 1950.
Princeton Field Guides Insects of North America by John C. Abbott and Kendra K. Abbott. Princeton University Press, 2023.
The Complete Insect by David A. Grimaldi. Princeton University Press, 2023. (highly recommended!)
Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates by Charley Eiseman and Noah Charney. Stackpole Books, 2010.and a blog post of my own : Tracking Journal for 2021.08.15
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Animal Forms is a project is all about empathy, about remembering how to be in connection with the other-than-human world. As Miki asks, âaims to explore how we (humans) can imagine ourselves in the place of the other people we share our planet with. How might our thoughts and actions change if we practiced seeing the world through another's eyes?â
Miki Tamblyn has created a project where folks can practice being an other-than-human animal. What does that look like? We are invited to sit in the woods by ourselves with a mask, a journal and pen, a camera, and a mirror and take on being the animal whose face we put on.
We sat down at the site of the project, along the Eramosa River in Guelph to discuss inspiration, project formation, overall response to the project and its goals, as well as the experience of embodiment of another form of life.
There was really so much to say, but youâll have to listen to hear it all.
To learn more :
Animal Forms page
In depth look at Joanna Macyâs Council of All Beings -
In some circles, reciprocate is the new âsustainableâ, a hot word which implies a lot but isnât always doing what we might imagine. But how can we try to actually live up to, and create the reciprocity, the giving back and forth, to that and those who give us so much?
For me, Moth Garden feels like a project trying to demonstrate reciprocity in a real, tangible, replicable ways. Christina Kingsbury and Lisa Hirmer have been researching, planting, growing and shaping a garden with an intention of creating sensory worlds for/of the more-than-human, nourishing spaces planted with food, shelter, and room for transformation and rest; planted for often maligned and misunderstood members of our broad interspecies communities.
With Moth Garden, Lisa and Christina are shifting the focus of attention to not singly acknowledge the diurnal, sun loving species, but to also welcome and include to the night flying beings through all life stages. Our gardens are so often, pretty much nearly always, built for the human eye, to be celebrated during the day, full of sun. Now this garden is still very attractive to my human eye, and obviously requires the Sun, but how does it move away from those conventional relationships and move towards new ones with the night, with other animals, with other senses?
How beautiful and full of care and consideration reciprocity can be.
Big big thanks to the moths, the bees, the plethora of tiny lives that live within and visit this garden. Thanks to the plants which sprout, shoot, blossom and bloom. Thanks to Lisa Hirmer and Christina Kingsbury for creating this space for us to visit.
To learn more :
www.mothgarden.ca
Heather Holmâs book Pollinators of Native Plants -
A couple of days after my recent interview discussing Mulberries with Matt Soltys, the Arboretum at the University of Guelph shared a couple of posts on instagram about the Red Mulberry Recovery Program where researchers are looking into how to identify, propagate, and eventually distribute Red Mulberries (Morus rubra) to their partners (mostly conservation organizations). They are also trying educating the public on how the White or Asian Mulberries (Morus alba) can be detrimental to conservation of the Red Mulberries. Immediately I wrote to them to try and set up and interview.
Some of the same questions from the first interview came up, and some new ones as well, but mostly I wanted to hear about the Recovery Program and see how it was being put together, why this conservation of Red Mulberry biodiversity is so important, the effects of a changing climate on Red Mulberries, and how the conservation efforts of the University of Guelph Arboretum can mitigate the harms of human caused habitat loss and fragmentation.
Gratefully Sean Fox, senior research associate at the Arb, took the the time to get into the complexity and nuance of dynamic movements of species and how we can take actions towards conservation of a species which is endemically endangered.
Itâs great to have a resource like the Arboretum so close so I can both talk to and learn from the folks doing the research and conservation work, but also to wander and explore the grounds (for free) and learn through my own observation. Itâs a great place.
To learn more :
University of Guelph Arboretumâs Red Mulberry Conservation ProgramUniversity of Guelph Arborteum's instagram
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I have had a long curiosity regarding Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata) ever since I had heard of them. Perhaps the most toxic plant on Turtle Island/North America. Of course I would be enamoured! I misidentified them for a couple of years thinking I knew who they were, but it wasnât until the past four or five years that I began taking a closer look, seeking them out, learning the lore, and reading the sometimes sparse literature on the plant. This show is an effort to collect my thoughts and learning, and to make the recent blog post, which has lots of good photographs to assist with proper i.d., more accessible to those who donât want to read it all but would rather listen to it instead.
It seems my series on plants is growing every week. I promise to get back to some interviews soon, but this one is pretty important to me.
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