A show about relationships with the landbase, striving to evoke resilience, resistance, and reverence for the land. Interviews with authors, researchers, activists and students of the land.
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Sep 28, 2026 · 53:05
In this wonderful season of harvest and plenty I wanted to share some gratitude for my favorite fruit. Like most everyone, I have long appreciated Apples ( Malus domestica ).…
Sep 9, 2026 · 58:35
Crayfish have fascinated me all my life. My mother told me stories of finding bright blue crayfish in streams as she was growing up. I see them now everyday in the river I live…
Jun 25, 2026 · 57:25
When we see certain things everyday, we start to encounter them with routine and we can sometimes begin to overlook them. They become mundane and the magic is forgotten. This is…
Jun 5, 2026 · 59:23
I have been out with my students a lot in the past month and a half and it seems that every time we go out we are looking to the trees and shrubs that are growing in disturbed…
Apr 20, 2026 · 46:34
After my recent jaunt to go visit some migrating salamanders, I had so many questions. For years I have been making my pilgrimage to visit the salamanders as they make their ways…
Apr 13, 2026 · 52:02
The other day, while out with my students, we came across four basking snakes on the side of a gravel access road cutting through an Eastern White Cedar ( Thuja occidentalis )…
Apr 6, 2026 · 40:41
Two friends and I got in my car on a stormy night to drive 35 minutes through the thick rain to sneak around the woods looking for migrating Salamanders. This wasn’t the first…
Feb 23, 2026 · 43:02
On a very cold day in February, while trailing a Algonquin Wolves ( Canis lycaon ) across the frozen Lake of Two Rivers, South of highway 60 running through Algonquin Provincial…
Dec 29, 2025 · 49:53
It’s always nice to have a few days off during this time of year. While a lot of folks are busy with family, or having cozy times at home, I can wander through the snowy woods…
Dec 15, 2025 · 39:34
Winter Solstice has returned. Technically it’s in a few days but with the longer nights, it’s certainly being felt. This year I have been out tracking, indoor climbing and baking…
Dec 1, 2025 · 47:48
While out tracking in the new snow the other day I came across some relatively small tracks, reminiscent of a Chipmunk ( Tamias striatus) or Red Squirrel ( Tamiasciurus…
Nov 17, 2025 · 51:11
While tracking White-tailed Deer at Mono Cliffs with the Earth Tracks apprenticeship, we saw lots of signs of the rut and the subtle ways deer communicate. We studied three main…
Oct 20, 2025 · 58:43
I have missed a few of the notable migrations this year; Salamanders, raptors, and until yesterday, the Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). The salmon are a unique one on…
Sep 22, 2025 · 45:29
It isn’t often that I get to see bear scat down here in Guelph, but in Parry Sound, there are many Black Bears, and while visiting the Sound for a trailing workshop, we came…
Sep 10, 2025 · 43:04
I am in love with Black Walnut ( Juglans nigra ) and I want shout all about it throughout the late Summer, early Autumn season. They are big, beautiful, and bountiful with their…
Sep 1, 2025 · 56:21
Recently I was talking with one of my adult programs about successional and keystone species. Successional species are those early plants which come into disturbed landscapes,…
Aug 25, 2025 · 43:36
Sisters Alex and Tasha Sawatzky’s knowledge of and growing appreciation for the land they lived on was tangible and real, so how could they tell the stories of the species they…
Jul 29, 2025 · 49:54
Sight is the dominant sense in humans, followed close behind by hearing and perhaps touch. Many of us have cut ourselves off from the natural world by “gating” our senses, only…
Jul 23, 2025 · 44:32
An ancient plant of the genus Equisetum , (the only extent genera of the family Equisetaceae , and only living member of the order Equisetales) , Horsetails are some of the most…
Jun 2, 2025 · 1:00:02
Grey Treefrogs ( Hyla versicolor ) are my favorite frog species at the moment. They are cute little colour changing, antifreeze laden, Lichen-Spirits who really belt it out when…
May 12, 2025 · 49:11
It started with a little hole at the base of an Eastern White Cedar ( Thuja occidentalis ) tree, and a couple of seeds. Who had collected and consumed the contents of the seeds?…
Apr 7, 2025 · 37:24
I have been excited about Song Sparrows ( Melospiza melodia ) for a while. Theirs was one of the first complex songs I learned to identify, and being such a common neighbour on…
Mar 24, 2025 · 48:15
I have found sign of three dead White-tailed Deer in the past three weeks. One, killed by Coyotes. Another, hit by a vehicle, found on the side of the highway. And also, I found…
Mar 17, 2025 · 48:47
Fishers aren’t known as an urban adapted species. They tend to avoid our built up landscapes and prefer landscapes of mature forests comprised of appropriate denning habitat such…
Feb 24, 2025 · 56:07
As I mentioned on the previous show about the Lynx trailing trip, I was planning on heading up to Algonquin Park to trail Moose, Algonquin Wolves, Martens, Snowshoe Hare, Flying…
Feb 17, 2025 · 39:30
I have had a lot of conversations with biologists and ornithologists over the years, trying to learn about how different animals sleep. Are the functions of sleep in humans…
Jan 27, 2025 · 50:41
I just got home from an amazing week away up North in Elk Lake, Ontario, Robinson-Huron treaty territory, trailing Lynx with Earth Tracks. It was an amazing time and I had a ton…
Jan 6, 2025 · 36:21
I was out for a walk along the Eramosa River in Guelph with a pal on New Years Day, when she lifted a log and showed me some strange white patches along it. We both recognized…
Dec 18, 2024 · 43:18
It is nearing the Winter Solstice once more. Only days to go, and that means with the dark nights growing longer, I am spending a little more time indoors. I have been baking,…
Dec 4, 2024 · 33:12
I spent the day out tracking, first with a class backtracking a Red Fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) and examining the track patterns and interpreting their gaits, an afterwards, alone,…
Nov 18, 2024 · 36:58
In 2017 I interviewed Arlene Slocombe for the second time but the first time it was recorded. She was telling the story of a successful event, “Waterstock” where thousands of…
Nov 11, 2024 · 42:38
In the later part of the Summer, I was walking with my friend and colleague Tamara when we came across some scat with Apples ( Malus domestica ) in it. I can’t remember what…
Oct 29, 2024 · 42:28
Listening to the land, in a very tangible way, can lead to some pretty special moments. Whether it is Black-capped Chickadees ( Poecile atricapilus ) scolding an Eastern Screech…
Oct 14, 2024 · 1:04:11
Aside of our human cultural space there is the broad other-than human animal place. A world we exist along with, and yet are still achingly removed from. This wilder edge is…
Sep 30, 2024 · 54:54
As Julie Beeler writes, it wasn’t until 1969 that fungi were taxonomically separated from plants and recognized as inhabiting their own kingdom. There is so much that we do not…
Sep 25, 2024 · 42:06
While teaching up at the Lodge at Pine Cove this past weekend we came across lots of tracks and sign. Tons of Sawfly (wasplike insects) cocoons, some leaf miners, galls a plenty,…
Sep 9, 2024 · 36:18
For the last couple of years, I have been going to Pawpaw Fest which my friend and neighbour Matt Soltys organizes. Matt Soltys, for those listeners who don’t know yet, is The…
Sep 2, 2024 · 58:40
Jewelweed ( Impatiens capensis ) is a very common, very attractive and conspicuous species on the landscape. We see them often and are probably pretty familiar with the flowers,…
Aug 12, 2024 · 41:42
As an aspiring wildlife tracker I want to know about the signs that animals leave behind. Due to my annoyingly excitable curiosity this includes all animals, and all types of…
Aug 5, 2024 · 1:08:11
While looking into possible Red Wolf ( Canis rufus ) genetics found in a Coastal Louisiana Coyote ( Canis latrans) populations, biologist Dr. Joseph Hinton set a trap. Sadly,…
Jul 8, 2024 · 44:09
Every year I get the privilege of co-leading a spiritual retreat weekend with the wonderful Greg Kennedy at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre . This year we revamped the “Trees” retreat…
Jun 24, 2024 · 55:56
I have been feeling a little bit distant lately. Like some sort of anxious attachment distant. Avoidant even. While trying to not be too clingy or handsy with the land, I have…
Jun 10, 2024 · 39:18
In the midst of a lowland forest at the edge of town, out for a slow walk with a pal, we heard the calls of Cedar Waxwings ( Bombycilla cedrorum ) and started looking for them.…
Jun 3, 2024 · 51:42
For the past few years I have been going out at night in May to record the calls of American Toads ( Anaxyrus americanus ) and Leopard Frogs ( Lithobates pipiens ) by the Eramosa…
May 20, 2024 · 55:16
The Eramosa River Valley is the place where I live, play and work. Having spent roughly the last 20 years along the banks of the river, sitting, running, riding, and learning…
May 6, 2024 · 51:21
This past weekend I got to participate in my second track and sign evaluation with Tracker Certification North America and one of the most interesting things I learned was some…
Apr 15, 2024 · 49:29
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…
Apr 8, 2024 · 49:16
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…
Apr 1, 2024 · 46:30
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…
Mar 25, 2024 · 41:26
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…
Mar 11, 2024 · 35:45
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 turtle’s back are made from…
Feb 19, 2024 · 54:47
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…
Jan 29, 2024 · 39:08
It’s 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…
Jan 15, 2024 · 47:40
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…
Dec 18, 2023 · 40:14
s we get ready for the longest night of the year, it’s also a time to celebrate traditions and set our sights for the new year with the rebirth of the Sun. Making radio for me…
Dec 11, 2023 · 38:59
You know when there is someone kicking around the party whom you recognize, maybe even say hello to, but you just don’t know that well? Or perhaps you two have been acquainted…
Nov 13, 2023 · 53:17
If you didn’t 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…
Oct 30, 2023 · 39:05
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…
Oct 23, 2023 · 45:44
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…
Oct 9, 2023 · 39:34
A 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…
Oct 2, 2023 · 48:04
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…
Sep 18, 2023 · 49:13
Last Thursday a call came over the radio at work. “I just want to let everyone know that there are two Walking Sticks mating on the tent”. I can’t really remember what I was…
Sep 4, 2023 · 41:04
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, “aims to explore how we (humans) can…
Aug 21, 2023 · 42:43
In some circles, reciprocate is the new “sustainable”, a hot word which implies a lot but isn’t always doing what we might imagine. But how can we try to actually live up to, and…
Jul 31, 2023 · 50:53
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…
Jul 24, 2023 · 1:00:08
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…
Jul 10, 2023 · 35:22
The Serviceberry ( Amelanchier spp. ) is a widely distributed edible fruit tree which fills my heart as much as my belly. It’s just sweet enough, with berries just big enough,…
Jul 3, 2023 · 55:47
Mulberries are a well known and popular wild urban edible that a lot of foragers come to know early in the development of the craft. They are easily identifiable, taste great,…
May 29, 2023 · 47:24
In the previous post I mentioned that I had been watching a specific Chokecherry ( Prunus virginiana , or the Anishnaabemowin name asasawemin ) looking at Eastern Tent…
May 15, 2023 · 33:26
The car broke down on our way to visit my mum. My brother and I got out of the car, and while he researched how to change the alternator, I went behind the vacant garage where we…
May 8, 2023 · 55:32
Lately a lot of folks I know have been finding Morels ( Morchella spp. ) in and around the city where I live. Possibly one of the most prized edible fungi on the planet, everyone…
Apr 24, 2023 · 46:14
I was out with a couple of friends the evening before. We’d been thoroughly engaged listening to the painfully loud calls of the Spring Peepers ( Pseudacris crucifer ) when I…
Apr 17, 2023 · 42:14
Cardinals, Blue Jays, Robins, Mourning Doves, Mallards, Black-capped Chickadees. Quite common and familiar birds most folks seem to know. One of the reasons is that they have…
Apr 10, 2023 · 53:55
Red-tailed Hawks ( Buteo jamaicensis ) are always exciting to see. However ubiquitous or plentiful they may be on the land, it is always a gift to observe them circling and…
Apr 3, 2023 · 40:22
When you want to get to know someone, you listen to the stories they have to share. We might ask some questions once in a while, but mostly we watch and listen and that’s how we…
Mar 20, 2023 · 56:38
Recently while tracking a Fisher ( Pekania pennanti ) in Algonquin Park we encountered a large galloping trail that had a long stride length of 106 cm (41¾ in). This was about 28…
Mar 13, 2023 · 44:10
Over and over on this podcast (and through the blog) I have spoken to the need to be outdoors and the value for us emotionally, physically, spiritually and socially in…
Mar 6, 2023 · 54:03
Tracker Certification North America is an evaluating body in the field of wildlife tracking and trailing, and so much more. They host evaluations which double as in depth…
Feb 27, 2023 · 58:46
Cop City is an urban warfare training facility being built on the South side of Atlanta. To construct this sprawling $90 million compound stretching 85 acres, developers are…
Jan 30, 2023 · 59:31
Dani Kastelein-Longlade and Amina Lalor along with with guest artists Katherine Rae Diemert and Brenda Mabel Reid have created an inspiring and beautiful exhibition, Journey With…
Jan 16, 2023 · 41:32
Without much snow so far this winter, my tracking has been shifting towards other sign out on the land. Lately this has been signs on plants, scats, rubs, with a focus on…
Jan 9, 2023 · 37:49
I have a big affinity for the suburbs (I know, it’s weird), and the Eastern Screech feels like a suburban bird. They hang out along the riparian corridors with the tall older…
Dec 19, 2022 · 42:00
“Wither, wither, black flowering night. May your dark juices bleed, burn up like a pool on the summer plain, shrivel like a stain upon sand, dwindle to a basalt pebble, tiny as a…
Dec 12, 2022 · 37:27
It started with a suggestion that I could learn a little about how to differentiate between Canada Yew ( Taxus canadensis ), Eastern Hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis ), and Balsam Fir…
Dec 5, 2022 · 39:27
Many of us have been there. You find a nest, you look inside, and there huddled amid the grasses, vines and twigs are small nearly naked nestlings. Maybe the nest isn’t familiar,…
Nov 28, 2022 · 51:33
“ Fewer ramps per pound means more ramps in the ground ”. Ramps? Wild Leeks? Allium tricoccum ? Whatever you call them, they are a type species for foraging and everyone wants to…
Oct 31, 2022 · 38:07
This episode is a bit of a vulnerable one. I talk about some profound lessons which really impacted me, and shook some of my self image. I also feel a bit exposed by…
Oct 24, 2022 · 42:38
Tis’ the season to be considering the concepts of death and decay. We can smell it in the cool wet woods, and we can see it draped across the doorways along our streets. Skeletal…
Oct 17, 2022 · 42:14
“One of the things we tend to do culturally, the framework is to separate humans from the earth and to see them as two separate entities, rather then seeing that as an…
Oct 10, 2022 · 38:13
It’s easy, pretty accessible and turns out to be a lot of fun and often full of learning. A sit spot, or magic spot, or secret spot or whatever else you might call it is simple.…
Sep 26, 2022 · 36:16
After a delay of a week, Justin Kestler and I got to talk about his new book The Hair Scale Identification Guide to Terrestrial Mammalian Carnivores of Canada . This concise book…
Sep 12, 2022 · 50:11
Gallformers.org has been referred to me by a few friends over the past few months as they helped me to identify some unknown galls I have found in the field. I have written about…
Sep 5, 2022 · 42:26
“It was a clear night, and the stars were as visible as they get around this area within the city. I made out Polaris and the Big Dipper earlier while looking for a place to…
Aug 22, 2022 · 43:46
I am overwhelmed sometimes by the sheer diversity and quantity of Spider species I encounter. So many! I take a ton of photos and bring them up on my computer hoping to try and…
Jul 4, 2022 · 54:28
Daniella Roze lives this stuff. Seriously. She has spent years living off grid in a small community of folks learning how to live in closer connection with their land base out…
Jun 27, 2022 · 47:36
What is scat? Well, in the great words of a creative crew of naturalists*, Starts with “S” and it ends with a “T” It comes out of you and it comes out of me I know what your…
Jun 13, 2022 · 45:36
Jenna Rudolph has been running an nature school on unceded territories on the West coat of the continent. What does it mean to support students in developing connections to a…
May 23, 2022 · 45:30
On July 24, 2017, Jessica Reznicek admitted to engaging in acts of sabotage to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, a 1,886 km long (1,172 miles) underground oil pipeline running…
May 9, 2022 · 51:29
Baptiste Morizot has changed the way I look at the world. He has offered a depth to the nuance of my relationships by giving them words and concepts to draw from. He examines in…
May 2, 2022 · 48:40
Every year I bring the recorder out listen to some of the other-than-human animals in our shared spaces. I then come home, dreamily relisten to the recordings and then set them…
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