The Wandering Naturalist

Latest Episodes:

Episode 50 - Are you my Mother? The Parental Spectrum of Nature May 06, 2020

Show notes

Join Angela and Brandon as they celebrate Mother's Day by discussing the spectrum of parental care found throughout the animal kingdom. Some animals have little if anything to do with their offspring other than laying eggs. Other animals can be as involved with raising young as humans. It all depends on the species and their life strategy.

Episode 49 - Swan Song to Trumpets of Success – Current Swan Research and Rehabilitation Apr 01, 2020

Show notes

Trumpeter Swans are now a common sighting in the metro area of Minnesota but still little is understood about their movements and habitat selection. David Wolfson, a current Ph. D. student at the University of Minnesota, is studying Trumpeter Swans through solar powered GPS neck collars. The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center (WRC) of Minnesota located in Roseville sees more than 13,000 wildlife patients annually. Trumpeter Swans are included in their long list of patients, ranging from powerline collisions to lead poisoning. Join us as we learn more from Medical Director and Senior Veterinarian, Dr. Renee Schott, on the challenges in treating swans and what you can do to help protect them.

Episode 48 - Swan Song to Trumpets of Success – A Historic Timeline Apr 01, 2020

Show notes

John Moriarty, Senior Wildlife Manager at Three Rivers, helps Angela and Brandon visit the important timeline of events that starts with the disappearance of Trumpeter Swans from Minnesota but ends in reintroduction success. Learn more on this historic rehabilitation and how Three Rivers started it all.

Episode 47 - Swan Song to Trumpets of Success – Trumpeter Swan Basics Apr 01, 2020

Show notes

Join Angela and Brandon to learn more about North America's largest waterfowl, the Trumpeter Swan. Learn interesting facts and basic biology behind these birds including how to identify them from other swan species.

Episode 46 - Under Pressure: Urban Sprawl - 80/20 Mar 04, 2020

Show notes

Steven Hogg explains what the 80/20 policy of Three Rivers Park District is, why it is so important for managing the habitat of our park reserves, and how GIS is used to track it.

Episode 45 - Under Pressure: Urban Sprawl - To Develop or Not to Develop? Mar 04, 2020

Show notes

How does the Park District decide where to put a trail and where to preserve habitat? How do we decide how each park will be developed? Join us as we talk with Johnathan Vlaming, Associate Superintendent and John Moriarty, Senior Manager of Wildlife to find out.

Episode 44 - Under Pressure: Urban Sprawl - A Spectrum of Parks Mar 04, 2020

Show notes

Luke Skinner, Associate Superintendent of Three Rivers Park District, joins us to discuss how the park district has created a spectrum among its parks of parks primarily for recreation, to parks with large tracts of recreated habitat to find the balance between recreation and preservation in our parks, as well as some of the background of how those decisions are made.

Episode 43 - The Rivers that Shape Us… The Mississippi, Dams, and Birds Feb 05, 2020

Show notes

Join us as Nick Beaufeaux, Maintenance Chief for Elm Creek Park Reserve and Mississippi Gateway Regional Park, discusses why Three Rivers Park District operates a dam and how t is being used to stop invasive species. National Park Service ranger Sharon Stiteler talks to us about why the portion of the Mississippi River through Minneapolis is a National River and Recreation Area and why it is important to migrating birds.

Episode 42 - The Rivers that Shape us… The Mississippi and How Geology Shaped its Use Feb 05, 2020

Show notes

Matt Cassidy, Program Specialist with Minnesota Historical Society joins us to discuss how the geology of the Mississippi River has shaped the way humans have used the river for the past 10,000 years.

Episode 41 - The Rivers that Shape Us… The Mississippi and its Geology Feb 05, 2020

Show notes

Join us as we discuss one of the rivers Three Rivers Park District is named after, the Mississippi River! Ashley Smith, Interpretive naturalist at Mississippi Gateway Regional Park, teaches us how to read the story of the Mississippi's past. Learn how volcanoes, earthquakes, glaciers, and even a tropical vacation all helped to shape the Mississippi River.

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