Backyard Ecology™

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Episodes

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Backyard Ecology™

Nature isn’t just “out there” in some pristine, far-off location. It’s all around us, including right outside our doors. Hi, my name is Shannon Trimboli and I’m here to help busy homeowners in the eastern U.S. create thriving backyard ecosystems they can enjoy and be proud of. Join us as we ignite our curiosity and natural wonder, explore our yards and communities, and improve our local pollinator and wildlife habitat. Learn more at: https://www.backyardecology.net/podcast

Episodes

Conserving our Southeastern Grasslands with Dwayne Estes

Many of us grew up hearing about the decline of the old growth forests and their impacts on neotropical songbirds and other wildlife. I think this was especially true for those of us who grew up here in the eastern U.S. However, the story that hasn’t been told as well is that of the southeastern grasslands and how they have declined. Yes, I said “southeastern grasslands” because historically, much of the southeast was a diverse patchwork of grassland communities, not a continuous forest like it ...

Jan 07, 2021•54 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast

Native and Non-native Earthworms in the Eastern U.S. with Mac Callaham

Hi Everyone! Today we are talking with Mac Callaham who is a Research Ecologist with the Southern Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service. Mac’s focus is on invasive species, with a specialty in soil animals, especially earthworms. Like many people, I grew up thinking that earthworms were a good thing and a natural part of our ecosystem. However, that’s not completely true. In North America, many of our earthworms were wiped out during the Ice Age either directly from the glaciers or because...

Dec 31, 2020•53 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast

Moths in the Winter with Shelby Fulton

Hi, Everyone! In today’s episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast we are talking with Shelby Fulton who is a terrestrial biologist with the Kentucky Nature Preserves. Our conversation focuses on moths and how they survive the winter. We also talk about how diverse moths are and ways to observe them during the winter. The number of different moth species is astonishing. For example, there are over 2,500 different species in Kentucky alone. Many species of moths are extremely small – almost too sma...

Dec 24, 2020•32 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast

An Introduction to iNaturalist with Maddy Heredia

Hi Everyone! On today’s episode of Backyard Ecology, we talk with Maddy Heredia who is the outreach specialist and a biologist with the Kentucky Nature Preserves. Maddy and I first met when she was in college and volunteered on a citizen science / community science program that I was leading. Today we turned things around as she taught me a little bit about iNaturalist, which is a program that I knew about in the broad sense, but have never really used myself. I had a lot of fun recording this e...

Dec 17, 2020•36 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast

Milkweeds in Urban and Suburban Monarch Waystations with Dr. Adam Baker

Hi Everyone! Today we are talking with Dr. Adam Baker who recently completed his PhD studying monarch butterflies and their use of monarch waystations in urban and suburban areas. His research has led to some important and easily applied strategies that any of us can use in our gardens. First, Adam looked at existing monarch waystations. He wanted to determine if monarchs used monarch waystations and if there were any key characteristics that might make one monarch waystation more successful tha...

Dec 10, 2020•50 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast

2 Million Blossoms and Dr. Kirsten Traynor

Hi Everyone! On today’s episode of Backyard Ecology we talk with Dr. Kirsten Traynor, a research associate at Arizona State University and the editor of 2 Million Blossoms , a quarterly magazine dedicated to protecting our pollinators. Our conversation takes a curvy, twisty path that covers multiple different topics including what led her to start the magazine, some of the articles in the magazine, a discussion of some of the crazy interactions between plants and their pollinators, some of her c...

Dec 03, 2020•34 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast

Introducing the Backyard Ecology podcast

Many people believe that nature is only “out there” – in national parks, other large chunks of pristine land, or some far-off exotic place. For a long time, I did too. But the truth is that nature is everywhere and there are still plenty of discoveries to be made about the common species inhabiting our yards and communities. In addition to my love of learning about plants and animals, I also have a passion for teaching and sharing my love of nature with others. Backyard Ecology is one of the man...

Oct 27, 2020•4 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast