#10 - Matt Ritter (Botanist, Author, Professor) - On Botany, Teaching, and Cultivating Curiosity

In this episode of the Bub on Purpose Podcast, I speak with Matt Ritter. He is a botanist, an author of many books, and a professor at Cal Poly University. His books range from his Climate Fiction book Rain Walkers, to another titled CALIFORNIA PLANTS: A Guide to Our Iconic Flora and he even has written a children’s book, which is coming out in 2021, called Something Wonderful.

Matt was my brother Scout’s favorite professor at Cal Poly, so he joined me on this podcast. In our conversation, Matt shares a bit on how he became so interested in plants and the natural world, as well as his personal philosophies for passionately living a fulfilling life.

I came across this quote from William Mcdonough before the conversation that really should be quite humbling for anyone, and acts as a unique connector between Matt’s world of Botany and one of my world’s, designing objects: “Imagine this design assignment: Design something that makes oxygen, sequesters carbon, fixes nitrogen, distills water, accrues solar energy as fuel, makes complex sugars and food, creates microclimates, changes colors with the seasons and self-replicates.... why don’t we knock that down and write on it?” William McDonough

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Matt Ritter.