Mother Daughter Earth: an Environmental Sustainability Podcast
By Mother Daughter Earth with Gina Woods & Marianna Archibald
Mother Daughter Earth: an Environmental Sustainability PodcastFeb 01, 2021
41. Aligning our purchases with our values — with Maithreyi Ramdas and Deven Nelson from People Heart Planet
In this episode, we have the pleasure of sitting down with an incredible, dynamic duo: Maithreyi Ramdas and Deven Nelson from People Heart Planet! People Heart Planet is an awesome ethical shopping platform that makes it very easy to discover and shop ethical clothing, fashion, and home goods while providing consumers with information about the ethical consumer transformation and lifestyle. Unlike mainstream shopping platforms, they only work with companies and brands that treat people fairly and respect the planet.
Essentially, Maithreyi and Deven do all the legwork for us! They find the brands that we would love to purchase from and make them all available for our perusal on one simple platform. In my mom's own words, "Your website made me want to be a better person and showed me how to do it. I haven’t had a website inspire me this much in years."
Please join our conversation and learn how Maithreyi and Deven met and came up with this wonderful idea, how they find and vet/verify the brands on their website, and why sustainable and ethical consumerism is so important.
We loved our conversation with these two incredible women, and encourage everyone to go check out People Heart Planet!
- Website: https://peopleheartplanet.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peopleheartplanet/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peopleheartplanet/
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
40. Who knew that sustainably-grown rice is so important? — With Mike Wagner from Two Brooks Farm
Rice provides 1/5th of the calories consumed worldwide, more than wheat or corn, and you hardly ever hear about it in conversations about sustainable agriculture. In this episode, we sit down with Mike Wagner, whose family has been farming in the Mississippi Delta for generations. He tells us all about the farming practices he and his family implement to have a small ecological, carbon, and water footprint while maintaining production and quality in a symbiotic and biologically dynamic environment.
He talks about how his fields filter the water they use and create a natural habitat that supports aquatic life. He lets nature take care of nearly all of their tilling needs and the waterfowl provide at least half of their fertilizing requirements.
It was an incredible conversation with a hilarious storyteller, and we learned so much about a topic we hardly knew anything about. We appreciate everything Mike and his family do on a daily basis to help the environment through their farming practices. Since speaking with Mike, my mom and I have both purchased several bags of rice from their website, and I can honestly say it is probably the most delicious rice I've ever tasted! We highly recommend it!
Go visit their website at https://www.twobrooksfarm.com/ (to purchase some rice!) and follow them on social media @twobrooksrice (on IG and Facebook).
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
39. Nature's messages, magic, and healing power -- with Ellen Davidson
Author Ellen Dee Davidson has published two children's picture books, a young adult fantasy, a forest bathing memoir, a chapter in a women's wisdom book, magazine articles, and her new children’s fantasy, WIND. Ellen has spent the last eleven years meditating beneath a few ancient trees, and to her surprise, she discovered that the trees have different personalities and communicate with her in sensation, image, and wordless knowing. She is deeply inspired by the beauty of the forest, and her books are full of the magic and wonder of nature.
In this episode we chat with Ellen about the power of spending time in nature and what we can learn from it. We talk about her amazing books (two of which we have personally read and love), when and how she began receiving messages from trees, the importance and healing power of having a relationship with nature, and how she stays hopeful about the environment.
Visit her website to learn more about her work, buy her books, and listen to her music (Star Tree): ellendeedavidson.com
Below are links to the environmental organizations that Ellen loves and supports:
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
38. Our plants create music!
This episode is a little different, and we had so much fun making it! We hook up our Plant Wave device (www.plantwave.com) and listen to five of mom's plants. We chat about what each of us hears and what we think our plant friends have to say!
Head over to Patreon for a downloadable music file of the full recordings from these 5 amazing plants (we included short snippets of each in the podcast episode). It's great for a little meditation or relaxing session, and we 100% believe that you'll be receiving the amazing plant energy that comes with it.
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
37. Trees playing music and jamming along -- Tom Wall with Cosmic Knot
Tom Wall is a friend of mine and an incredible musician! He's the leader of Cosmic Knot, which is a band on a mission to create a new genre of music: florganoleptic music (a genre of music describing the art of plants playing music with people, with the aid of an electronic device).
In this episode, Tom describes his personal journey that led him to this work, what is was like to play music with plants for the first time, one of his most profound experiences of jamming with a 3,000 year old tree, and how he thinks that planting trees is one of the most important things we could be doing.
In the bonus episode, he shared a video of a private concert where he jams with trees that are clones of ancient Coast Redwoods!
Cosmic Knot links:
- https://www.cosmicknotmusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmicknotmusic/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2MSmEgoxv4b00yAhHd2HGg
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
36. Welcome Back to Season 2!
We're back for our second season, and we're so excited to share new guests and awesome eco-people with you. In this episode we give some updates on what we've been up to and what we're looking forward to!
I talk about my recent tree planting trip to California (AP coverage: https://rb.gy/w1kryo, CNN story: https://rb.gy/l1ickj) and how excited we are to start using our new PlantWave device (https://www.plantwave.com).
Thanks for joining us for a second season!
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
35. Pest control that doesn't harm you or nature - with Lin Ellis
In this episode we talk with Lin Ellis, founder of Eco Friends Organic Pest Control. She and her company advocate for an environmentally-conscious pest control industry that protects their clients and the environment. We didn't realize how much of the wild west this industry still is, and Lin has been at the forefront paving the way for others. We loved hearing about her approach and commitment to a chemical-free way of managing pests, and I can't wait to try the DIY mosquito repellent that she shares with our Patreon community; we were told it works wonders!
Go check out Lin and her company (especially if you live in the Dallas area!): http://www.ecofriendspestcontrol.com/. They're always sharing amazing facts and information about our bug friends, so even if you can't work with her directly, go check out her Pesky Facts!
As we also mention, we're taking a break for the rest of the year. We've loved our first year of podcasting and have met the most amazing people, but it's time for a little reset and R&R for the holidays! We're looking forward to coming back in the new year re-energized and ready to share more amazing eco-people.
Episode links:
- Plantwave, tune into nature and listen to the music of plants: https://www.plantwave.com/
- CNN Call to Earth Day: https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/call-to-earth/#/
- Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, Nov. 10th Virtual Expedition: https://www.ancienttreearchive.org/25th-anniversary-event/
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
34. Fun & practical eco-minded education -- with Devon Whalen
This story all started when a dynamic family of four created Green Whale in 2020 to help families integrate eco-minded habits and have fun learning about sustainable living. Co-founder Devon talks to us about her Green Whale journey and shares how she uses her formal education in curriculum, instruction, and learning design and over 10 years of developing learning experiences for classroom and out-of-class learning, to offer resources to parents who want to raise kids who care about themselves, other people, and the world in which they live.
She also shares about her husband's passion for giving old furniture new life and keeping it out of the landfill and how Green Whale repairs, refinishes, and otherwise repurposes furniture to create new, quality pieces that make beautiful additions to someone’s home at a reasonable price.
In this week's bonus episode, Devon talks about one of their products called, "Play Your Plate" and how their card decks can be used as a fun way to challenge yourself to both understand your current diet's carbon footprint and try to reduce it. I'll be taking the challenge myself and sharing it on social media!
Devon is so dynamic and knowledgeable, and we loved having her on the show!
Green Whale links:
- Website: https://gogreenwhale.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenwhalellc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenWhaleLLC/
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
33. The eco products that changed our lives
My mom and I are always on the hunt for eco products that we love. We spend a lot of time and resources figuring out which ones are actually good, and we have definitely had some busts along the way. These however are our favorite eco products and the ones we use almost every day! Hope this helps. Let us know which products you like best.
Head over to Patreon this week for a quick video on my mom's two favorite apps to help her connect with nature!
Favorite products: true earth laundry strips, Citra Solv, dryer balls, retractable clothesline, SodaStream, composting tumbler, raised veggie beds, CSA membership, organic products, EcoVessel reusable water bottle, drip coffee maker, recycled or bamboo toilet paper and paper towels, Rocketbook reusable notebook, Grove Collaborative shampoo and conditioner bars, second hand clothes, estate sales, reusable straws, renewable electricity, Greenworks electric lawn equipment, MicroLife organic fertilizer.
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
32. Wetlands as a city's natural water filtration system -- with Linda Dunn
In this episode of Mother Daughter EarthCast, we sit down (in person!) with Linda Dunn, the Education Manager at the John Bunker Sands Wetland Center. We go in depth about the role that their wetlands play in cleaning the North Texas water supply, what educational programs they offer, and the opportunities and challenges involved with replicating this model in other areas. We learn about wetland mitigation credits, phytoremediation, and so much more about the natural water filtration process!
Join us on Patreon (www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth) this week for our bonus episode where we take you along a guided tour of the wetlands with Linda. It's such a gorgeous and peaceful place, and we get an insight into the local wildlife habits and the plants that make the water filtration possible!
Huge thanks to Linda for sharing her valuable time with us. To learn more about the John Bunker Sands Wetland Center and to support all the AMAZING work that they do, visit their website: https://wetlandcenter.com/
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
31. How to create a bird haven in your yard -- with Ron Mills
On this episode of Mother Daughter EarthCast, we chat with Ron Mills, the owner of the East Dallas location of Wild Birds Unlimited. Wild Birds Unlimited is the original and largest franchise system of backyard bird feeding and nature specialty stores with more than 300 locations throughout the United States and Canada. They specialize in bringing people and nature together with bird feeding and nature products, expert advice and educational events.
Ron is incredibly knowledgeable about birds and definitely the biggest bird enthusiast we've ever chatted with. In our conversation with him, we dive deep into the benefits of providing food, water, and shelter for birds in your yard (his answer might surprise you!), what are some simple first steps you can take to start creating a bird haven, what you need to know about the different kinds of bird food, and more!
Join us on Patreon for our bonus episode with Ron where breaks down what an at-home bird consultation looks like and what his top tips are to create an environment that's conducive to bird watching. My mom had one of his consultations, so we can attest that he's the best!
Learn more about all the awesome bird products that Ron sells at wbu.com/eastdallas and visit their social media pages for regular updates https://www.facebook.com/wbudallaseast/ and https://www.instagram.com/wbudallaseast/
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
30. How nature teaches us life lessons
The past year and a half seems to have been one lesson in patience after another, and it made us think about how nature has taught us so many things as well. People ask us a lot about how we communicate with nature and what that is like. In this episode, we dive deeper into what learning from nature is like for us and what it has been sharing lately.
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
29. Don't reinvent, just rewild -- with Matt Stubbs
Matt Stubbs is a Sr. Associate at the Kevin Sloan Studio, an internationally recognized landscape architecture firm based here in Dallas, TX. Matt received his degree in Landscape Architecture from Texas A&M, and he and his colleagues are dedicated to creating spaces where landscape architecture, urban design and the environment meet culture and in turn foster vibrant communities. The Kevin Sloan Studio is at the forefront in our area of addressing environmental concerns through landscaping and has been on our radar for a while now; we're so excited to have Matt on the podcast!
In this episode, we talk to Matt about all things rewilding (or wildscaping). Rewilding is a growing movement that focuses on returning domesticated land back to its natural state, and the Kevin Sloan Studio team members are masters at doing that in an incredibly thoughtful way. Matt talks about a few of the projects they've completed that highlight this landscaping practice and how he goes about thinking about designs that benefit people, the environment, and native wildlife. He has so many nuggets of wisdom to share, one of which was the inspiration for our episode's title: "you don't need to reinvent, you just need to rewild."
If you'd like to get in touch with Matt, you can email him at ms@kevinsloanstudio.com.
Episode links:
- Kevin Sloan Studio website: http://kevinsloanstudio.com/
- Instagram and Facebook: @kevinsloanstudio
- https://rewild.org/
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
28. Transforming a community and repurposing urban dead space -- with Friends of the Northaven Trail
In this episode, we have a great conversation with two Board Members and volunteers with Friends of the Northaven Trail, an organization in Dallas, TX that supports, maintains, and beautifies one of North Dallas’ most popular hike and bike trail.
Dorothy Buechel and Jeff Kitner tell us about how their project came to be, and they describe the amazing partnerships that were made to transform this dead space around power lines into a bustling, and widely used trail. They share how the got the necessary funding, how an innovative program called “Trail Captains” systemized the trail maintenance, and how they engage trail users with fun activities throughout the year.
The Friends of the Northaven Trail is an amazing example of how a community organization can effectively organize to change a neighborhood for the better, and we hope you take away some tips on how you can do something similar in your neighborhood!
Head over to our Patreon page to catch our bonus episode where Jeff and Dorothy give us a behind the scenes on ways to effectively and successfully manage a community non-profit.
Friends of Northaven Trail links:
- Website: www.NorthavenTrail.org
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/FriendsofNorthavenTrail
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/northaventraildallas
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/NorthavenTrail
- Email: info@northaventrail.org
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
27. The beauty of perennial southern bulbs -- with Chris Wiesinger, The Bulb Hunter
Chris Wiesinger is the owner of The Southern Bulb Company (https://www.southernbulbs.com/) in Golden, Texas and co-author of The Bulb Hunter.
In this episode, we have a really fun conversation with Chris about how he got interested in bulbs, the journey of how his name evolved from The Bulb Boy to The Bulb Hunter after being featured in a New York Times article, and how important native, perennial bulbs are to the southern ecosystems. He talks about his experience hunting for bulbs and sharing the love of perennial bulbs through his company. Chris and the team at The Sourthern Bulb Company seek to "recapture something that was once 'lost' to the Southern gardener: bulbs that thrive in warm climates, many of which are heirloom and rare flower bulbs."
We hope you enjoy our conversation with Chris as much as we did!
Episode Links:
- Southern Bulb Company Instagram: @TheSouthernBulbCo
- Chris' blog: https://bulbhunter.com/
- Chris' book, The Bulb Hunter: https://www.southernbulbs.com/the-bulb-hunter-by-chris-wiesinger/
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
26. The magical life of a Monarch butterfly and why they need our help -- with Janet Smith
In this episode, Janet Smith paints an amazing picture of what life is like for a Monarch butterfly, what the state of their population is, why we should be concerned, and what we can do to help them.
Janet is a North Texas Master Naturalist, one of the main leaders of the Dallas County Native Plant Society and one of the most requested speakers on the Dallas County Master Gardeners Speakers Bureau; after speaking with her and experiencing her passion and depth of knowledge firsthand, we can see why!
In this weeks’ bonus episode, Janet goes more in depth about what we can do to help the Monarchs and become Citizen Scientists.
Helpful links
- Citizen Science: https://www.citizenscience.gov/#
- Journey North: https://journeynorth.org/?arb-home
- Dplex Monarch Butterfly discussion list: https://lists.ku.edu/listinfo/dplex-l
- Monarch Watch: https://www.monarchwatch.org/
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
25. Thriving globally with a passion for water conservation -- with Shreya Ramachandran
Shreya Ramachandran is a high school senior and global leader in water conservation. We talk about her passion for water conservation and grey water reuse and what an integral piece of the larger environmental conservation puzzle it is. She touches on how many aspects of sustainability flow back into the need to conserve and protect our water resources. She shares how personally experiencing a terrible drought in California five years ago sparked her interest in water conservation and after a trip to India she realized what a global issue water scarcity is and how similarly it affects people around the world.
She created her non-profit, The Grey Water Project, in 2016 because she wanted to do her part in promoting the safe reuse of grey water and water conservation through outreach, advocacy, policy changes and grey water curricula. Her curricula is available for free and so far has impacted more than 50,000 people in 90+ schools across four countries.
Shreya has some many amazing accomplishments, but here are a few highlights: in 2017, she was awarded the President’s Environmental Youth Award and invited to become a member of the United Nation’s Global Waste Water Initiative, her research received a grand award at the 2019 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, she was named a Top 20 Global Finalist in the 2019 Google Science Fair, and she also received the 2019 Children’s Climate Prize, an international award given to one environmentalist each year.
Go check out her website and learn more about her amazing work!
The Grey Water Project website: https://www.thegreywaterproject.org/home
Ambassador program: https://www.thegreywaterproject.org/programs
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
24. A peek into the magic of American native prairies -- with Matt White
Matt White is the author of Prairie Time: A Blackland Portrait, an intriguing book where he describes connections with native prairies through stories of discovery and inspiration as he searches for their dwindling parcels. Matt White made prairies come alive for us during this conversation! We’ve never met someone so passionate about native prairies and the important role they play; we tend to get inspired by oceans, mountains, and forests, but people don’t place the spotlight on prairies often enough!
Matt talks about how his passion for prairies started with a school project and progressed to him deciding to go out and hunt for prairies on his own to then being inspired to write a book about them. We talk about why we should care about prairies; Matt gives a very unique answer to that and ties it to our nation’s history in such a thought provoking way. He teaches us that several hundred years ago, prairies were actually sprinkled among forests and mountains. Matt also talks about how America has a different idea of what a frontier is: for Americans, frontier is an “empty” space that we migrate to, and the prairies have been considered empty space in our history and they still are. It’s both a prairie lesson and a history lesson all in one!
- Native Prairie Association of Texas: https://texasprairie.org/
- More Prairie Time blog: https://moreprairietime.wordpress.com/
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
23. Solving systemic food issues with crickets -- Rose Wang
Rose Wang is Co-founder of Chirps (eatchirps.com), a Forbes 30 under 30 social entrepreneur, Shark Tank entrepreneur, TEDx Speaker, Echoing Green climate fellow, and is an ELLE Impact award winner.
In this episode, Rose shares how she and her college roommate Laura D’Asaro came up with the idea of shifting the consumer view on eating insects and creating a thriving food system around crickets.
She talks about how the current food system faces systemic problems that make it harmful not only to the environment but also to our health. The amount of water and resources used to make the food we currently eat is astounding and then about half of that food is thrown away. What’s exciting about crickets as a min source of protein is that it can solve many of these systemic problems.
Rose describes how she has always seen education as a main part of her role and it’s how they stumbled upon their favorite group of customers — children! Children don’t naturally have the instinct to be afraid of insects, and they love cricket snacks! She also opens up and shares her personal story about going after what fulfilled her despite all the no’s along the way.
We hear about Rose’s newly released book called Eat Bugs Project Startup and how it came about. Rose, Laura D’Asaro and Heather Alexander transformed the unique Chirps journey into a chapter book to inspire children to follow their dreams and pursue entrepreneurship.
- Chirps website: https://eatchirps.com
- Eat Bugs Project Startup on Amazon: https://urlzs.com/3d3Po
- @eatchirps on all social media platforms
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
22. Expanding our understanding of gardening and the joy that nature brings us -- with Jennifer Jewell
Jennifer Jewell is an author, speaker, radio show and podcast host, and a fellow gardener. She has always been around nature and gardening, and she learned to appreciate plants when she was a young child. Her mother was a professional gardener and florist and her father was a wildlife biologist, so she was always surrounded by plants and nature’s beauty. We talk about how everyone has their unique experience and journey to connect with nature and how great it is that so many things can spark that interest.
She discusses how important a connection to the joy of nature is in her life and that (in her opinion) nature’s best hope is us changing our minds about what is valuable. She talks about how gardening calms and fulfills people and provides a positive mindset with which you can better interact with your world.
Jennifer gives a wonderful piece of gardening advice, especially for people who are new to gardening or thinking about starting, which is to remember that gardening is not a destination, it’s a relationship. It’s like any relationship in your life, and it’s going to take practice. There is no perfect garden and there’s no finished garden.
If you haven’t already, you should definitely check out Jennifer’s book The Earth in Her Hands: 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants where she highlights women whose work is expanding what we understand gardens and gardeners to be. The women in her book have taken their different passions and leveraged them to improve the world, and reading about each one of them is a true joy!
Jennifer's links:
-- Website: www.cultivatingplace.com
-- Instagram: @cultivating_place
-- Cultivating Place Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cultivating-place/id1116782774?mt=2
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
-- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
-- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
-- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
21. Park deserts and the importance of creating access to green space -- with Elysse Alvarado
Elysse is a fellow Dallasite and has a passion for creating equitable and resilient communities. She graduated with a degree in International Relations and she loves to travel and learn about new cultures. From her career experience, she learned that nothing in urban planning happens by mistake, and she is passionate about creating more opportunities for community connection and engagement in urban areas that had historically been underserved.
Elysse talks about the importance of having access to green space within walking distance of your home and how this is not only an environmental issue but also a social and health issue. If we live in a dense neighborhood with many apartment buildings and dwellings, it’s imperative to have access to a place outdoors to relax and be physically active.
The Trust for Public Land’s Green Schoolyards or the Texas Trees Foundation Cool Schools Program aims to increase Dallas’ access to public parks and green spaces by converting school playgrounds into dual-puporse areas: playgrounds during school hours, and community parks in the afternoons and on weekends.
If you’d like to get involved and help out with the amazing work that the Trust for Public Land is doing here in Dallas, Elysse is available to talk! Reach out to us at info@motherdaughterearth.biz and we’ll put you in touch with her.
Links:
-- Elysse’s LinkedIn page (https://www.linkedin.com/in/elyssedeliaalvarado/)
-- The Trust for Public Land (https://www.tpl.org/)
-- Texas Trees Foundation: Cool Schools Program (https://www.texastrees.org/projects/cool-schools/)
Mother Daughter Earth links:
-- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
-- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
-- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
20. Life from a tree's perspective -- with Melina Sempill Watts
Mom has been wanting to chat about her birds, so she shares a little bit about the bird paradise she has created in her yard over the past four years. We also released the first episode of our bird course on Patreon, so go check it out! (https://www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth)
Today we talk with the amazing Melina Sempill Watts, the author of Tree. When Melina was 7, she and her family moved to Topanga, California and she describes the magical experiences she had as a child of taking in nature (with sounds, smells, and colors), becoming friends with the plants in her area, and internalizing the rich story that their interrelated lives told. Melina even helps me see my connection to nature as a child in a completely different way.
She goes on to share such a powerful story of an individual blade of grass giving her energy when she was feeling at her lowest. This experience was something she took with her the rest of her life and it ultimately inspired her to write her book, Tree.
She talks about how the idea to write Tree came to her and then what the process was like to produce a book from the perspective of a 229 year old California Live Oak. She gives an amazing comparison of how communicating with trees and plants is just like learning a foreign language, and she provides some amazing and practical ways that people can start opening up and communicating with the plant world.
-- Buy Tree on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tree-Melina-Sempill-Watts/dp/0997692111/ref=sr_1_2?crid=22AI4EKZVO9YY&dchild=1&keywords=tree+melina+watts&qid=1612791135&sprefix=tree+by+melina%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-2
-- Visit Melina's website: https://www.changetheworld-books.com/
-- Visit Melina's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MelinaSempillWattsConsulting/
Mother Daughter Earth Links
-- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
-- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
-- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
19. Seed libraries: swapping, saving, and growing veggies from library seeds -- with Vanessa Conley
Vanessa Conley is the Programming Specialist for the Dallas Public Library (DPL) and part of the awesome team who spearheads DPL’s seed library. The seed library for DPL started about four years ago thanks to a couple of staff members who based the idea off of the Richmond Public Library program (http://www.richmondgrowsseeds.org/).
Dallas uses the self-serve model and anyone can come in and take the seeds that they need — you don’t even have to check them out. They also offer veggie growing and seed saving courses. One of their class series is called “Grow With Us;” every Monday they bring guest speakers who talk about everything from container gardening to how to select seeds and read seed packets.
Episode links:
- http://dallaslibrary2.org/
- http://grownorthtexas.org/
- Blog post detailing how to build your own veggie beds: https://www.motherdaughterearth.biz/post/100-day-challenge-87-build-your-own-veggie-beds
For this week’s bonus episode, Vanessa dives deep into seed saving and how we can all become seed saving pros!
Mother Daughter Earth Links
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
18. The latest eco news stories you should know about -- with Grant Brown from Happy Eco News
Grant shares about a presentation he gave to a group called Ocean Bridge (https://bridge.ocean.org/) recently about his journey from eco-anxiety to eco-activist.
He is also looking for guest writers for Happy Eco News (happyeconews.com), which is a great opportunity! If this is something that interests you, email Grant directly at grant@happyeconews.com or reach out to us and we can put you in touch with him.
The Ailuna app (www.ailuna.com/)is also launching this week and Grant is collaborating with them as well. This app is essentially a way to gamify the process of creating better eco-habits, so check it out! Small incremental changes add up to big societal changes.
December 2020’s Top 5 Happy Eco News Stories
1. Scientists in Costa Rica are growing new corals to save reefs (https://happyeconews.com/2020/12/07/scientists-in-costa-rica-are-growing-new-corals-to-save-reefs/)
2. 14 Countries Commit to Ocean Sustainability Initiative (https://happyeconews.com/2020/12/13/14-countries-commit-to-ocean-sustainability-initiative/)
3. First fully carbon-neutral cargo flight set to take off from Frankfurt airport (https://happyeconews.com/2020/12/03/first-fully-carbon-neutral-cargo-flight-set-to-take-off-from-frankfurt-airport/)
4. Historical! Amsterdam first city world wide that wants to ban fossil fuel advertising (https://happyeconews.com/2020/12/25/historical-amsterdam-first-city-world-wide-that-wants-to-ban-fossil-fuel-advertising/)
5. Pollinator-Friendly Solar Could be a Win-Win for Climate and Landowners, but Greenwashing is a Worry (https://happyeconews.com/2020/12/10/pollinator-friendly-solar-could-be-a-win-win-for-climate-and-landowners-but-greenwashing-is-a-worry/)
And as we've said before, sign up for the Happy Eco Newsletter! We can't recommend it enough! It's the best way to start your Monday morning on the right foot! Sign up on their website: www.happyeconews.com. You can also follow them on Instagram @officialhappyeconews (www.instagram.com/officialhappyeconews).
Mother Daughter Earth Links
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
17. What are nurdles and how can we help? -- with Jace Tunnell
We certainly weren't aware of the environmental dangers of nurdles, in fact we didn't even know what nurdles were until we visited with Jace Tunnell, the Director of the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas, Texas. What Jace and his team of volunteers are doing to clean up our beaches and waterways and make sure that our marine life has a safe, clean place to live and thrive is inspiring!
What ARE nurdles? Nurdles are small plastic pellets and the basis for everything that’s made out of plastic. Because they’re so small and lightweight, many of them don't even make it to plastic manufacturing plants. They get swept away by wind and rain and make it into our waterways where they negatively impact wildlife (birds, fish, turtles, etc.) and absorb harmful chemicals.
Nurdle Patrol (https://nurdlepatrol.org/Forms/Home/) was created in 2018 when there was a spill of plastic pellets that was showing up on the beach along the Gulf of Mexico. Jace and his team quickly realized that state agencies didn’t have the resources to clean up these nurdles or monitor the spread of plastic pellet contamination. So they started asking volunteers to take samples when they were at the beach and began mapping the concentrations of these pellets. Nurdle Patrol has been expanding ever since.
Jace describes how easy it is to collect nurdles and help Nurdle Patrol add more data to their concentration map. Nurdle Patrol has also created a platform that makes it super easy and user-friendly to upload your data and information. Go to the Nurdle Patrol website to get involved! They’ve created all the tools necessary to learn how to do a survey and enter your data. They also list specific ways you can help on their Solutions page (https://nurdlepatrol.org/Forms/Solution/index.php).
In this week's bonus episode, Jace gives us a sneak peek into the Nurdle Patrol startup kit that organizations receive to help them collect and monitor nurdles on a regular basis.
Additional links:
- Microplastic & Nurdle Literature on UT Marine Science Institute website: https://utmsi.utexas.edu/blog/entry/microplastic-nurdle-literature
- The Great Nurdle Hunt: https://www.nurdlehunt.org.uk/
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
16. Gina and Marianna reflect on 2020 and discuss where they're focusing their eco-journeys in 2021
We’re excited for the new year and sticking strong with our optimistic view for 2021!
This episode is all about reflection; we’re taking time to think about 2020 and what we’re excited about taking with us into 2021. One of the things that mom did and loved in 2020 was to improve bird feeding game! She tells us about her recent bird excitement and how happy she is about all the bird feeding effort she put into her yard last year.
We have also put a lot of though into our message this coming year and what we want to focus on. We’re very passionate about sustainability and all that goes into living a mindful life, but we’re focusing our efforts this year to hone in on what we think is at the core of everything we've learned along our eco-journey.
- The importance of connecting with nature, how easy it is, and how it anchors a sustainable lifestyle. If you focus on fostering a relationship and friendship with nature, then everything else will start falling into place.
- Our daily choices might seem small and insignificant, but they all add up and can bring about BIG changes. So don’t fall into the trap of thinking that your daily choices and changes are insignificant. Celebrate your big and small wins, because it all adds up!
- Never stop learning, and that goes for sustainable practices as well.
And of course, stay positive and motivated!
We also share a couple of things that we’re focusing on this year in our personal eco-lives.
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
15. How we can save the world using ancient tree genetics -- with David Milarch from Archangel Ancient Tree Archive
David Milarch, Co-Founder of Archangel Ancient Tree Archive (www.ancienttreearchive.org), is a third generation nurseryman with over 40 years of experience in propagation and reforestation and has a vision of replanting the earth with the genetics of the world’s remaining ancient forests.
In this episode, David shares what he and his team are doing to propagate, reforest, and archive the world's oldest trees. They're doing this so we're able to restore our forests using clones of Champion Trees, that have shown they are capable of surviving thousands of years, in order to improve the ecofunction of the world’s forests and give us the best shot of combating climate change.
In the U.S. alone, we have cut down 98% of our old growth forest; Archangel Ancient Tree Archive (AATA) is creating a kind of Noah's Arc for trees so their genetics live on in these environmentally uncertain times. They have already cloned about 130 different species of trees and they continue to expand their work around the globe; they're even helping tree species with assisted migration to ensure their survival.
David tells us how he and his team of climbers collect and clone ancient tree cuttings, and how they came up with a process to clone trees that are thousands of years old, which scientists said was impossible. David shares how his son Jake and his climbing colleagues even developed a rope elevator so visitors and non-climbers can go up 250 feet up and experience what it’s like to be in an ancient Redwood!
If you haven't already, you should definitely read Jim Robbins' book about David Milarch and his work. The Man Who Planted Trees: A Story of Lost Groves, the Science of Trees, and a Plan to Save the Planet is such an inspiring read. My mom and I both read the book in a day, and we even talk about in Episode 9: Our 2020 Must Read and Watch List.
- Visit the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive website: www.ancienttreearchive.org
- Donate to AATA: https://www.ancienttreearchive.org/donate
- Watch David's TEDxJacksonHole talk on Ancient Trees For The Future: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y069UFbk11s
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
14. Grant Brown is back with the top 5 positive eco news stories you should know about
Grant Brown, founder of Happy Eco News and a previous podcast guest (episode 3) is back due to popular demand! He updates us not only on a recent personal identity shift toward "eco-activist" and what that was like for him, but also on the most popular Happy Eco News stories that everyone should know about.
Here's a rundown of the top news stories and the article links if you want to read more.
1. IKEA to open first ever second-hand store this year (https://happyeconews.com/2020/10/14/ikea-to-open-first-ever-second-hand-store-this-year/)
2. The World’s Largest Wind Turbines to Be Used for North Sea Project (https://happyeconews.com/2020/10/07/the-worlds-largest-wind-turbines-to-be-used-for-north-sea-project/)
3. Impossible Burger Sales Replace 72% Of Traditional Burger Sales (https://happyeconews.com/2020/10/05/impossible-burger-sales-replace-72-of-traditional-burger-sales/)
4. Infographic: Top Green Behaviors To Reduce CO2 Emissions (https://happyeconews.com/2020/10/17/infographic-top-green-behaviors-to-reduce-co2-emissions/)
5. China’s carbon target moves big economies into radical climate consensus (https://happyeconews.com/2020/10/12/chinas-carbon-target-moves-big-economies-into-radical-climate-consensus/)
Happy Eco News has also started collaborating with Ailuna (an app that helps you develop environmental habits) and will be providing them with positive environmental news stories! Find out more information about the Ailuna app on their website: www.ailuna.com.
And as we've said before, sign up for the Happy Eco Newsletter! We can't recommend it enough! It's the best way to start your Monday morning on the right foot! Sign up on their website: www.happyeconews.com. You can also follow them on Instagram @officialhappyeconews (www.instagram.com/officialhappyeconews).
Mother Daughter Earth Links
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
13. Why composting is so important and how an innovative startup is making it easy - with Lauren Clarke from Turn
Lauren Clarke is the Founder and CEO of Turn, a Dallas/Ft. Worth based environmental startup that benefits businesses and households while reducing their environmental impact through composting. Lauren has a very unique and diverse background with degrees in Violin Performance from the University of North Texas, Strategic Communications from Columbia University, and Culinary Arts from El Centro College! Her love for cooking and gardening grew into a passion for composting. She realized that food waste is a major problem and compost is such a valuable resource for our soil and gardens, so she created an environmental services business around it!
Lauren is also a certified Master Gardener with Texas A&M AgriLife (Class of 2013) and a certified composting specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife. She is educated as a compost facility operator with the US Composting Council, and she is also a Certified Culinarian with the American Culinary Federation.
Lauren launched Turn on Earth Day 2018 with a residential pilot in one Dallas zip code. Their vision is to help consumers and businesses rethink and reuse their urban natural environment. Two years later, they’ve expanded their doorstep service to 17 Dallas zip codes and opened over a dozen mobile drop-off stations around the Dallas metroplex, including several in partnership with Whole Foods Market. Turn collects organics from their members (through a subscription-based model) and transport it to local farmers and other partners who can responsibly recycle it.
Lauren and the Turn team also educate and consult on sustainability practices related to the food cycle. Check out the Turn website (https://www.turncompost.com/classes) for a list of available classes. And if you’re looking for a fun session around composting for your business, organization, or class, get in touch with Lauren (even if you’re not in the Dallas area)!
In this week’s bonus episode, Lauren shares some fun and informative stories about how she has turned (no pun intended) her entire yard into an edible landscape and how she has embraced chickens as important members of her family!
Turn links:
- Visit their website: www.turncompost.com
- Check them out on Instagram: @turncompost (www.instagram.com/turncompost)
- Visit their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/turncompost
- Check out Turn’s partners, Farmers Assisting Returning Military: www.farmingveterans.org
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
12. Connecting fitness, nutrition, and environmental conservation with a uniquely creative approach to wellness — with PJ Beaven
PJ Beaven has developed a fitness and wellness program unlike any other called ZooFit. Using her 15-years experience as a zookeeper and animal trainer, she implemented the principles of positive reinforcement and conservation to make people’s healthy habits empowering, engaging, and impactful. Her motto is "eat clean, live green, train positive." ZooFit turns fitness into something you can cherish -- an enjoyable activity that helps save the planet! Through her program, PJ teaches people that we can connect to the earth in a healthy and positive way.
After being a zookeeper for 15 years, PJ realized what a toll that had taken on her body and recognized that she needed to start taking care of herself so she could continue to take care of the animals that she loved so much. She applied all the animal training methods she had acquired over the years (positive reinforcement, enrichment, breaking larger tasks down into small steps) to shape a health-centered lifestyle that worked for her. She also learned that the key was to make it fun! She created games and her own workout equipment to make fitness and her personal well-being an engaging and empowering experience.
She then adapted everything she had created and learned and started teaching this unique wellness approach to her clients; she made the connection between health and environmental conservation a major part of her program. PJ drives home the message that everything that we do (the way we eat, how we move, what daily choices we make) have an impact on the planet. Given this, you wonder why we don’t already talk about conversation in tandem with fitness and health. This is the genius connection that PJ made and used to create ZooFit.
Check out this week’s bonus episode on Patreon (www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth) where PJ shows us how to make one of the delicious recipes from her book!
How to connect with PJ
- Visit her website: www.zoofit.net/
- Buy her book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3f05BTd
- Check out her Instagram page: @zoofit1 (www.instagram.com/zoofit1/)
- Check out her Facebook page: @zoofit (www.facebook.com/zoofit)
- Watch her videos on YouTube: ZooFit (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO5UtCPD_w8UNas0LmBz5EQ)
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth/)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
11. Essential oils as a way to bring nature into your home and transition to a toxin-free lifestyle -- with Emily Mascarenhas
In this episode, we talk to the person who sparked our interest in essential oils: Emily Mascarenhas. She’s a mom of four, health and simplistic parenting coach, is currently training as a cacao facilitator, and has been with DoTerra for five years. In this episode, Emily shares her essential oils journey with us, describes how they have transformed her life, and talks about all the impactful ways that she has been able to integrate essential oils into her day to day.
Her journey with oils began when she became a mother and started having an interest in true health. She wanted to bring more nature and less chemicals into her home to protect her children, and it sparked a lifelong adventure of learning and discovering all the amazing things that essential oils can do. She quickly realized that the power of essential oils ran much deeper than just a making your pillow or bathwater smell nice.
In her journey of learning about essential oils, Emily also realized how unregulated the market is and how much the quality of products can vary. She found that many of the essential oils being marketed as natural actually contained lots of chemicals that people didn’t realize. She talks about how 80-90% of the essential oils you find on the market today are adulterated in some way.
Emily is such a wealth of knowledge, and we hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did!
Emily’s links:
-Instagram: @bloomingandglowing (https://www.instagram.com/bloomingandglowing/)
- Website: www.bloomingandglowing.com
- Email: emily@bloomingandglowing.com
- One of Emily’s favorite books: Earth is Hiring: The New way to live, lead, earn and give for millennials and anyone who gives a sh*t by Peta Kelly
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
10. Behind the scenes of what it's like to own, drive, and cross-country road trip in an electric vehicle -- Jennifer Stagnaro and Sharon Yoh
Mom and I have always wanted to drive electric vehicles (EVs), but after talking to two of her friends for this episode, getting an EV shot way up the list of priorities! Jennifer Nance Stagnaro and Sharon Crutcher Yoh share all the details about what it’s like to own, drive, and cross-country road trip in an electric vehicle. Sharon and Jennifer both own EVs and Jennifer was even the CMO of ChargePoint a few years ago and shares some insider perspectives on the electric vehicle charging market.
They both talk about why they decided to switch to EVs in the first place, what they love about them, some of the tips they’ve learned along the way, how much it costs them a month to charge and maintain their cars, and what the transition has been like.
Sneak peek… my mom maybe cries in this episode!
Tune into this week’s bonus episode on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth) where we have a very candid conversation with Sharon and Jennifer about why they do or don’t identify with the term environmentalist and how their journey (specifically as a baby boomer) has been in the eco world.
- Check out Riley’s Instagram: @roadtripping_with_riley
- Plugshare (https://www.plugshare.com/): app that Sharon used when she road tripped across the country in her Tesla
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
- Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (https://www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth/)
- Visit out website: https://www.motherdaughterearth.biz/
9. Our 2020 must read and watch list
We have been thinking about how important it is to vote in this coming election in the United States. We realize each person will be choosing their elected officials upon the topics that are important to them. If (like us) the environment is one of your major topics of interest, check out the League of Conservation Voters (lcv.org) which gives you helpful environmental voting history for your elected officials so we can be influential in holding our representatives accountable.
We also deep dive into what our favorite environmental books and films are right now. We've had time to explore some of the new documentaries on Netflix and read some new books, and we talk about what all we have learned from them and why they are a must read or watch!
- David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet
- Kiss the Ground
- My Octopus Teacher
- The Man Who Planted Trees: A Story of Lost Groves, the Science of Trees, and a Plan to Save the Planet
Mother Daughter Earth Links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
8. How loving life and having fun is the key to a sustainable way of caring for our planet -- Suze Wood (Ethical Cheerleader)
Suze Wood is one of the most inspiring people we've met and even makes mom tear up during this interview!
In this episode, Suze talks about how she loved the world and exploring it when she was young and found the it such an amazing place. She remembers naturally wanting to take care of it because she was so in love with life! Then she grew up and inherited a list of shoulds and shouldn’ts in regards to how you should live. She went from enjoying being alive and naturally wanting to take care of the planet, to feeling like it was something she SHOULD do (just like she should work hard at school or fit in with her peers). She started carrying a burden and a heavy sense of responsibility of needing to do the right thing.
Then on a six month traveling experience, it was like she was a kid and she fell in love with the world all over again. She realized THAT was how she wanted to live; in a state of fun, curiosity, and love for life. She wanted to take care of the world again because she loved it. She discovered that if we love doing something, we’re going to naturally keep on doing it. This internal motivation is always more successful than an external one. It also makes it so much more attractive to other people and encourages them.
We also touch on how many of us have forgotten how to have fun, the fact that living ethically can be uncomfortable, and how Suze lets her values drive the causes she supports. It's an interview filled to the brim with amazing insights. Our time with Suze has truly changed the way my mom and I view the world. We hope you get as much out of it as we have.
To find out more about Suze,
- Follow her on Instagram: @ethicalcheerleader (www.instagram.com/ethicalcheerleader)
- Check out her website: https://ethicalcheerleader.com/
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
7. Building your plant success and knowledge with an independent garden center -- Rusty Allen from North Haven Gardens
Rusty Allen is the Education & Outreach Coordinator for North Haven Gardens (NHG) and a long-time Mother Daughter Earth friend. In this episode, he talks about why independent garden centers (IGCs) are so important to you and your community, and how different they are to big box stores. He describes why sourcing your garden's plants from an IGC is such a rich and supportive experience and how helpful it is to have a whole team of knowledgeable plant people working alongside you!
Rusty talks about the courses and written material that he develops for North Haven Gardens customers and how helpful it is to have gardening reference guides. He also talks about NHG's relationship with local farmers and how NHG even grows their own certified organic veggies under their Blue Label Farms line (www.bluelabelfarms.com).
If you follow Mother Daughter Earth on Instagram, you've probably seen us mention NHG and how much we love them. They are our go-to for all things gardening and a huge part of our support system. NHG is a family owned garden center that has been in the heart of Dallas, TX for 69 years and has created a dynamic community of plant lovers. If you live in the North Texas area, we can't recommend them enough.
In the bonus episode, Rusty walks us through the main steps you should take when landscaping a garden bed, where you should start, and the important things to keep in mind that will really help you succeed.
North Haven Gardens links:
- Website: www.nhg.com
- Instagram: @northhavengardens (www.instagram.com/northhavengardens)
- Facebook: @NorthHavenGardens (www.facebook.com/NorthHavenGardens)
- Check out one of our first videos where we interview Rusty about how to properly choose and care for a Christmas Tree (great blast from the past): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPnMHMYbsjI&t=3s
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Follow us on Instagram: @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth)
- Visit our website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
And please don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review our podcast! Especially as we continue to grow, it really helps us get out there and share our amazing guests with more people. Thanks again for tuning in!
6. Moving forward from eco-anxiety and learning to live in the grey with Maggie Kao
In this episode of Mother Daughter EarthCast, Marianna and Gina have a candid conversation with Maggie Kao about sustainable living and how it isn’t a one size fits all solution. Maggie shares how she went from living in eco-anxiety and self-judgement to self-acceptance and recognizing that no one is perfect.
Maggie talks about her realization that having a black and white mentality when it comes to an eco-lifestyle wasn’t a sustainable way to live and certainly wasn't the type of lifestyle she wanted to lead. She describes her journey from thinking of herself as a failure if she didn't do things "perfectly" to understanding that as we learn, grow and change, our lifestyle and eco journey change with us.
Maggie now thinks of things as a system when making choices and decisions, and she talks about the importance for her to support companies and small businesses that are doing the right thing. She also talks about her unique "Meet Me in the Middle" travel experience and blog where she and her boyfriend traveled their separate ways around the world along different routes to eventually meet in the middle and how empowering it is to travel alone.
One of the lessons she learned from traveling: when you approach conversations with other people about sustainability from a standpoint of curiosity, people are much more receptive and even willing to consider different ways of living. It's not our job to push our values on other people.
Links to Maggie's online articles and social media platforms
- Maggie’s article on Moving Forward From Eco-Anxiety: https://medium.com/@maggie.bee/moving-forward-from-eco-anxiety-ca92c7e6fcdb
- Maggie’s profile on Medium: https://medium.com/@maggie.bee
- Instagram: @maggies.thoughts
- Mom’s favorite reindeer photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4Ze_y5F9ha/
In Maggie's bonus episode, she shares awesome tips on how she travels around the world with sustainability in mind and how much more deeply she has been able to experience different places and cultures this way.
Mother Daughter Earth links
- Join our Patreon membership: www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
- Instagram @motherdaughterearth (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth/)
5. Zander Sebenius -- How to reframe and improve climate change communication
Zander Sebenius is the Director of Strategy and Operations for Potential Energy Coalition (www.potentialenergycoalition.org) and one of Marianna's best friends from her time at Harvard. Zander tells us about his background in clean tech, marketing, and product research and how he is now using his educational background and previous experience to find ways to make climate change communication more effective.
He shares his insights on what the research shows regarding the best ways to reframe the narrative around climate change and what they are doing to bring new voices to the environmental movement. He also sheds light on how important it is for us to just talk about climate change and normalize that conversation. He shares why self-silencing is detrimental to environmental movement and why you shouldn't be afraid of climate change "backlash" when speaking up.
Go to our Patreon page (www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth) to tune into Zander's bonus episode. He shares his favorite "Marianna stories" from their time at Harvard together, an amazing tip for seeing how your elected official ranks on environmental issues, what program and policy he thinks should be put in place to address CO2 as a pollutant, what it was like growing up with a master negotiator and how he applies those skills to the cleantech world, and how he choses to live his life with the environment in mind and "automate" some of his eco-habits.
-Zander's book recommendation: Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America by Thomas Friedman (https://amzn.to/3jcf3nF)
- Yale University scientific paper on how people often misperceive other people's beliefs about global warming: Beliefs about others' global warming beliefs: The role of party affiliation and opinion deviance (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027249442030044X#!)
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Join our membership: https://www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth/
4. Marianna and Gina - A behind the scenes, mother-daughter conversation about eco-imposter syndrome and how we're all qualified to share our story
Marianna surprises her mom with an on-air conversation to chat about something she has been thinking about lately: imposter syndrome in the environmental world. She shares how she has observed many people not talk about their own eco experiences because they're afraid someone will call them out for not living the "perfect" eco lifestyle or not knowing the "right" answer.
Marianna get personal and shares how she sometimes feels unqualified to share a sustainable lifestyle with people because she knows hers is far from perfect. You get an inside perspective into conversations with this mother-daughter duo. No planning for this one! Just real conversation.
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Join our membership: https://www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth/
3. Grant Brown -- A passion project of spreading positive environmental stories to inspire hope and change
Grant Brown, the founder of Happy Eco News, talks about how a family trip around the world sparked his passion project of sharing positive environmental stories with his audience. He is dedicated to spreading the message that there is positivity in the world and so many people doing amazing things to help the planet. He founded Happy Eco News as a way for people to overcome eco-anxiety and instead be inspired to incorporate positive change in their lives.
Grant shares the main trends he has noticed in the environmental movement: banks divesting from fossil fuels, global increase in clean energy, social change and the rise of young people, and the importance of the millennial vote.
He also talks about how important it is to vote with your wallet and how doing the right thing environmentally only strengthens a business' brand value.
On a more personal note, we look forward to the weekly email that we get from Happy Eco News every Monday, and having that reliable source for positive environmental stories has been a game changer! We definitely recommend signing up for the Happy Eco News newsletter (https://happyeconews.com/). You can even become a contributor (https://happyeconews.com/join-us/)!
Other ways to connect with Happy Eco News:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happyeconews6/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/HappyEcoNews
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happyeconews/
Most importantly, share the Happy Eco News stories with your family and friends and spread the eco-positivity!
Grant's book recommendation:
- Youth to Power by Jamie Margolin (https://amzn.to/35nxVMA)
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Join our membership: https://www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth/
2. Mike Serant -- The importance of organics as an ethos and seeing gardens as healing centers
Mike Serant is the founder of MicroLife Fertilizer, the second oldest organic fertilizer producer in the United States, and is a guru on all things organic. He shares how selling synthetic fertilizers led him to adopting an organic lifestyle after he realized his products were the ones making his plants sick and understood the connection they had to his own health.
Mike provides an insightful and practical was of grounding your transition to an organic lifestyle through organic gardening and landscaping and touches on the importance of maintaining a healthy gut microbiome in order to preserve a robust immune system. He talks about how time in nature also boots our immunity and heals our physical bodies.
Episode Resources
MicroLife Fertilizer website (https://www.microlifefertilizer.com/): lots of information on organics and link to sign up for the seasonal MicroLife newsletter
Love Mother Nature webinar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taP6gabvRns&t=5s): 35 minute webinar led by Mike Serant and hosted by OHBA (Organic Horticulture Benefits Alliance)
OHBA website (https://www.ohbaonline.org/): a community focused organization dedicated to educating all individuals, gardeners, homeowners, landscapers, schools and truth seekers on the real world application and benefits of organics.
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Join our membership: https://www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth/
1. Hosts Marianna and Gina -- The birth of Mother Daughter EarthCast, their personal eco journeys, and their connection with nature
Welcome to Mother Daughter EarthCast! In this first episode, the mother-daughter duo share their personal stories and passions around sustainability, conscious living, and how Mother Daughter Earth was formed. They talk about how nature plays a role in their lives, how they fostered that connection, and what living sustainably really means to them.
Get to know the founders of Mother Daughter Earth (a brand dedicated to environmental education and facilitating a sustainable lifestyle) as they set the foundation for their new podcast, and most importantly have fun and enjoy!
Mother Daughter Earth links:
- Join our membership: https://www.patreon.com/motherdaughterearth
- Website: www.motherdaughterearth.biz
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motherdaughterearth/