The Wandering Naturalist

Latest Episodes:

Episode 296: Native American Games in Minnesota - Reimagined Ojibwe Games Nov 04, 2026

Show notes

Tony Drews taught Native students in the Anoka-Hennepin school district about Ojibwe culture and language for years. He discovered how teaching students with Traditional Ojibwe games created a unique connection and excitement in the students. He went on to found Nashke Native Games which works to teach Ojibwe language through games and joy. Tony shares the work he did with Elders to find ways to teach games in the modern day, while still honoring the cultural practices of the original games, and why teaching these games is so important to him.

Episode 295: Native American Games in Minnesota - Dakota Games Nov 04, 2026

Show notes

Jeremy Red Eagle, Dakota and Nakoda, wanders with us to discuss his almost two decades of work teaching Dakota games to youth. He shares his story of what led him to travelling the country to learn Native American games, why it is so difficult to learn about these games, and why he thinks these games make a difference in his students' lives.

Episode 294: Native American Games in Minnesota - Lacrosse Nov 04, 2026

Show notes

Lacrosse is an Indigenous game with different versions played throughout North America. John Hunter joins us to discuss the history of lacrosse and what he hopes for the future of the sport. He is a Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska descendant and White Earth Nation descendant living in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. He is a Muscogee Creek Nation citizen through his paternal grandmother's (Alexander) family. After playing modern lacrosse in high school and college, he founded Twin Cities Native Lacrosse, a non-profit dedicated to teaching youth how to play traditional lacrosse.

Episode 293: Assorted Corvids - Crows and... Swans? Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, artist Missy Dunaway discusses her work on The Birds of Shakespeare, a series of paintings and essays that will cover every bird mentioned in Shakespeare's works! This episode looks at how birds are used symbolically by Shakespeare, and the reputation corvids had back in the Bard's day.

Episode 292: Assorted Corvids - Generational Grudges Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

We are thrilled to have Dr. John Marzluff, author and professor of wildlife biology at the University of Washington join us on the podcast. Dr. Marzluff shares stories of grudge holding crows, people's strange stories of interacting with corvids, and, best of all, how you can befriend your backyard corvids!

Episode 291: Assorted Corvids - A Battle for the Crown Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

Everyone has been wondering: "What's the best corvid in Minnesota?" Well, we are going to try and answer that question in this episode! Ellen has assigned teams and we are going to bring out the best facts we have about blue jays, Canada (gray) jays, crows, and ravens. Which bird will win? Natural sounds provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.

Episode 290: Life is a Flyway - Local Impacts Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

For the final episode on the Mississippi Flyway, it's time to zoom in with John Lindstrom from Ducks Unlimited. The flyway is thousands of miles of habitat, but here in the park district, Ducks Unlimited has partnered with Three Rivers to improve Lake 2 in Carver Park Reserve. We cover the many steps a restoration project like this takes, and how it's helping our local migrants.

Episode 289: Life is a Flyway - The Economics of Birds Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Wayne Thogmartin from the US Geological Survey joins us in this episode to discuss the economic impacts of birds along the flyway. We cover the prairie pothole region and what threatens it, as well as the many different ways migrating birds impact people.

Episode 288: Life is a Flyway - The Mississippi Flyway Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

The Mississippi flyway is the name of the route migratory birds take following the Mississippi, Missouri, and Lower Ohio Rivers in the US. In this episode we chat with our coworkers Adrian Iacovino and Michelle Bierma from Mississippi Gateway to talk about all the activity on the river!

Episode 287: River Otters - Bringing Otters Back Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Carrol Henderson is Minnesota's first Non-game Wildlife Program Supervisor. He defined what this position is in Minnesota and nationally. He joins us to talk about one of his favorite projects he worked on, bringing river otters back to the Minnesota River Valley. He shares stories, the challenges and successes, and how the public helped make this a success.

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