Golden State Naturalist

How do sea stars move around? Why am I jealous of giant green anemones? When's the best time to go tide pooling? Why is life so hard in the in the place where the ocean meets the land? How have so many creatures adapted to thrive in this strange place where two worlds meet? Join me and Michelle Kunst as we explore the intertidal zone on the Northern California coast and discuss the incredible diversity of life that can be found there. Links: Trinidad Coastal Land Trust Seaweed with Allison Poklemba Orange Cup Coral California Deep-Sea Corals Southern California Tide Pools My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com Follow me @goldenstatenaturalist on Instagram and TikTok The song is called "i dunno" by grapes and can be found here.

Indigenous people have lived in the place now known as California since time immemorial and are still here today. In this episode, join me and Frank Lake as we discuss mutualistic relationships between Indigenous Californians and the land, traditional burning, oak orchards, the powerful ways Indigenous and Western knowledges can come together, common misconceptions about pre-colonial California, reciprocity, and how we can move from a mental model of scarcity to cultivating a shared abundance that leaves no one behind.  Frank Lake California Indian History Curriculum Sue-Meg State Park Slavery in California Lightning safety tips My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com Support GSN on Patreon Follow me on Instagram

Have you ever noticed a bee that looked a little…different? Maybe it was a bit fuzzier than a typical honey bee, or maybe it was obsidian black, bright orange, startlingly large, or as tiny as a gnat. Chances are, if you’ve seen a bee meeting any of these descriptions, you observed one of Earth’s 20,000 species of native bees (with around 1,600 of those species living in California).  Join me and National Geographic Explorer, TEDx speaker, and community scientist Krystle Hickman as we head outside to find native bees and discuss the widely varied social lives of bees, bee architecture, whether or not honeybees are an invasive species, buzz pollination, where to find native bees near you, the potential of native bees in agriculture, and the importance of these beings not just to humans, but to entire ecosystems. Follow Krystle @beesip on Instagram Krystle's website Native Bees of the Western United States (cards) ♥️ ⁠Valentines (including a native bee by Krystle)⁠ ♥️ My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com Find me on Instagram @goldenstatenaturalist ⁠Article⁠ on honey bee pollination outcomes compared with native bees. The song is called "i dunno" by grapes, and the Creative Commons license can be found here.

Author, artist, poet, and eco-philosopher Obi Kaufmann doesn't want to craft a better argument. He wants to tell a better story. But what does that kind of story look like? How do we begin to convey the incredible complexity of a place like California? How do we avoid unproductive divisiveness, embrace a better worldview, and move forward together in healing the land? Join me and Obi in a field of wildflowers on Mt. Diablo as we discuss humanity’s relationship with the earth, Mt. Diablo daisies, ways in which meaning is co-constructed, biodiversity, what a myth really is, very quiet lions, how we relate to place, and how telling a better story about this land we love, this place now known as California, might just help humans come together to care for it. Links: Obi's website The California Field Atlas See Obi speak Heyday Membership (add the word GOLDEN to the "How did you find us" section to receive a free bandana designed by Obi!) Valentine Set + Mini Art Collection by GSN. Check out Obi's card! 10% of profit donated directly to CalWild. My website Follow me on Instagram and Tiktok @goldenstatenaturalist The song is called "i dunno" by grapes. The Creative Commons license can be found here.

Have you ever wondered why we bring a toxic, parasitic plant indoors during the holidays...and then kiss under it? Or what ecological role this plant plays? Come with me and Dr. Joshua Der as we discuss the ecological importance of mistletoe, its evolution, the vast array of wildlife it supports, and of course, the ancient folklore that led to all those stolen smooches. Helpful Links: Dr. Der's Publications Mistletoe Folklore My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com Support GSN on Patreon. Find me on Instagram and TikTok @goldenstatenaturalist

When was the last time you felt truly connected with a place? Was it somewhere rugged and wild, or was it on a leaf-strewn suburban block? What did you notice? What questions popped up in your mind? What gave you that sense of connection?  In this episode, join me and Justin Garwood in a Northern California temperate rainforest as we discuss how each of us can connect more deeply with the natural world, glaciers in California, an abundance of tadpoles, when to go off trail (and when not to), and what it means to be a naturalist no matter where you may find yourself.  Links: Bird species name changes The ten essentials Grizzly Glacier The Klamath Mountains: A Natural History My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com Support the show on Patreon 🙌🏻 You can find me @goldenstatenaturalist on Instagram and TikTok GSN Holiday Gift Guide The song is called "i dunno" by grapes and can be found here.

The Klamath Mountains, straddling the California-Oregon border, are a hotspot for biodiversity. But what drives the species richness of the region?  Come with me and Michael Kauffmann to a moss-covered edge of the Klamath mountains as we discuss ancient rocks, carnivorous plants, temperate rainforests, why people are a vital part of the story of place, and why the Klamath Mountains are bursting with a truly stunning array of beings and relationships.  You can find Backcountry Press @backcountrypress on Instagram. Serpentine Soils and Plant Adaptations Geologists Protest Bill to Remove State Rock My website is www.goldenstatenaturalist.com You can find me on Instagram and TikTok @goldenstatenaturalist You can support GSN on Patreon for just $4/month. Check it out at www.patreon.com/michellefullner. Care for your local wildlife by planting native. Grab your seeds from the California Collection. Use code GSN10 to take $10 off your order.

Is seaweed a plant? Is it ok to eat straight out of the ocean? What kinds of creatures rely on seaweed? How does kelp fight climate change? Join me and Allison Poklemba on the Humboldt coast as we descend into the intertidal zone to taste seaweed fresh from the ocean and discuss all of the questions above and more.  Helpful Links: Allison's Seaweed Resources Backcountry Press Instagram: @backcountrypress Dandelion Herbal Center IG: @dandelionherbalcenter Beach wheelchairs California Marine Protected Areas Anticancer Effects of Seaweed-Derived Bioactive Compounds Understanding Blue Carbon My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com Support GSN on Patreon! I'm @goldenstatenaturalist on Instagram and Tiktok. The California Collection (native seeds!) Use code GSN10 to get $10 off your order The song is called "i dunno" by grapes. You can find the creative commons license here.

At the height of the last ice age, California condors could be found all across North America, and since time immemorial, these birds have held special cultural and spiritual significance for a number of Indigenous groups. But by the late 1980's, the last wild condor had been captured and brought into a captive breeding program. They were extinct in the wild. So what happened to these enormous scavengers to diminish their range so dramatically? How much progress has been made by the captive breeding programs? How is their cultural significance being honored today? Join me and Tiana Williams-Claussen, Director of the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department, as we discuss what makes condors unique, their cultural and spiritual significance to the Yurok People, and the incredible program that's brought the largest flying birds in North America back to their home in the redwoods for the first time in over a century. Links! Yurok Condor Program (learn, donate, and watch the condor cam!) Yurok Ancestral Territory Map of Yurok Lands My website is: goldenstatenaturalist.com (find show merch and blog there!) You can find me on Instagram or Tiktok @goldenstatenaturalist The song is called "i dunno" by grapes and can be found here. Treat yourself to native seeds! Fall is the perfect time to plant. California Collection (Native Seed!). Use code GSN10 to take $10 off your order.

Have you ever wondered about things outside your window--the things that go bump in the night? Or, actually, things that flutter, flap, tread softly, swim, or bloom in the night? Because there’s a whole nocturnal world out there that most of us are missing, and it’s actually not as hard or as scary as we might think to go out and see it for ourselves.  In this episode, switch on your headlamp, and come with me and Charles Hood to the Cosumnes River Preserve, where we discuss vampire bats, nocturnal ocean migrations, night-blooming native plants, potoos, moths with 13-inch tongues, and how to venture safely into the night so you can see all of this and more for yourself.  And, if you celebrate, Happy Halloween! Helpful Links: Nocturnalia (Charles's new book!) Cosumnes River Preserve Sandhill Cranes California Turkeys My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com You can find me on Instagram or TikTok @goldenstatenaturalist The song is called "i dunno" by grapes, and you can find the Creative Commons License here.

When was the last time you looked closely at the living things right outside your front door? Have you ever gotten lost in a daisy, zoomed in on a burr clover, or watched a ladybug on a rose bush? Join me and author-illustrator Marni Fylling as we take a walk to explore the nature in her neighborhood. Along the way, learn how you can connect more deeply with the nature where you live and even cultivate more habitat that can welcome a greater diversity and abundance of life in your own yard. Helpful links: Marni's Book Benefits of Urban Trees California Invasive Plant Council Calscape.org (Learn which plants are native to your zipcode and their growing conditions) Bloomcalifornia.org (Find native plant nurseries in your area) Native Plant Finder (in case you don't live in California!) My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com (Need a cozy sweatshirt?) Support the show on Patreon (for real it helps so much!) You can find me @goldenstatenaturalist on Instagram and TikTok. Marni is @marnifylling on Instagram. The song is called "i dunno" by grapes. You can find the Creative Commons license here.

Coast redwood trees reside in a category all their own. Not only are these the tallest trees in the world, but they grow in unique ecosystems–quiet, foggy places with ferns and redwood sorrel spilling everywhere you look onto the trail. In these forests, the sound of running water is never far away, and the redwoods themselves are by far the most prominent tree species, the warm hue of their bark dominating the landscape as they tower over the evergreen huckleberries and red-flowering currants below. In this episode, join me and edutainer and lifelong conservationist Griff Griffith as we discuss marbled murrelets, the overstory and the understory, dinosaurs in the redwoods, stump sprouting, surprising historical champions of the redwoods, the wood wide web, and of course these iconic trees of California themselves. Links: Redwoods Rising Redwood Facts Laura Mahan What is old growth? Find Griff on Facebook or TikTok @Griffwild, and find his work for Redwoods Rising @RedwoodsRising on the same platforms. Go for a walk with Griff! You can find me @goldenstatenaturalist on Instagram and TikTok. My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com GSN Merch The theme song is called "i dunno" by grapes. You can find the link to that song and the creative commons license here.

Have you ever looked at a piece of art that altered your perspective? Or one that challenged your thinking? Or maybe you’ve studied a piece that taught you something new. How can art impact conservation efforts? How can it help break generational cycles of disconnectedness from the natural world? Why does art matter in a time of rapidly changing climate and habitat loss?  Join me and artist/scientific illustrator Jane Kim in the Ink Dwell Studio as we discuss nature blindness, the importance of place-based art, western monarch butterflies, endangered frogs, the purpose of murals, intergenerational relationships with the earth, and how both viewing and creating art can change the way we look at the world and the kinds of choices we make going forward.  Ink Dwell (You can also find Jane on Instagram @inkdwell) Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter Golden State Naturalist (my website) Podcast Merch You can find me @goldenstatenaturalist on Instagram and TikTok Podcast art by Danza Davis, @danzadavis on Instagram. The song is called "i dunno" by grapes. You can find it here.

Do bats live close to my house? Why are they important? Do they have rabies? How can people help take care of urban wildlife? How can we involve more people in conservation and community science, particularly people from historically excluded groups? Come with me and Miguel Ordeñana to Griffith Park in Los Angeles, where we discuss all of this and so much more. Links: Bat Motherhood Benefits of Bats CDC Page on Human Rabies National Science Foundation STEM Diversity Report NHMLA's Community Science Projects LA Times article on lead removal project Jaguars and Obsession for Men My website is goldenstatenaturalist.com Merch You can find me @goldenstatenaturalist on Instagram and TikTok The theme song is called "i dunno" by grapes, and you can find it here.

Have you ever wondered what kind of wildlife lives right in the middle of your city? Or why some animals thrive in cities while others don't? And how did a mountain lion end up in Los Angeles, anyway? Join me and Miguel Ordeñana, the scientist who discovered mountain lion P-22 living in Griffith Park in LA as we discuss these questions and so many more. Links: Keeping Cats Indoors Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing Safety in Mountain Lion Habitat P-22 sightings during my visit to LA P-22 Eulogy by Beth Pratt Friends of Griffith Park My website is www.goldenstatenaturalist.com Podcast merch! You can find me @goldenstatenaturalist on Instagram or TikTok The theme song is called "i dunno" by grapes.

Have you ever wanted to grow your own native plants? Where can you get California native seeds? Should you sow them directly in the ground or start them in pots? Is there anything you should do to the seeds before planting them? What time of year should they be planted? How should the soil be prepared? What are some common mistakes to avoid? What are some good plants to start with? Is this the end of the lawn as we know it? Join me and restoration ecologist Dr. Julia Michaels as we explore Hedgerow Farms, which grows native wildflower and grass seed for ecological restoration projects. In the first half of the episode, learn how native seed is produced on a large scale at the farm, and in the second half, find out how you can use native seeds to grow thriving native plants and increase the biodiversity of your own backyard. Special thanks to Alejandro Garcia, Jeff Quiter, and Manolo Sanchez for taking the time to show me around the farm! Links: Hedgerow Farms: So much California native seed! Bloom California: Find a local native plant nursery. Calscape: California native plant landscaping tool. Calflora: Database providing information on California native plants in the wild. Research on wild seeds becoming domesticated over time. Lost Beneath Lake Berryessa: More information on the Monticello Dam and the town of Monticello! Also photos by Dorothea Lange. My website is www.goldenstatenaturalist.com You can find me on Instagram and TikTok @goldenstatenaturalist. Patreon support helps a ton! Check out the perks here: www.patreon.com/michellefullner The theme song is called "i dunno" by grapes, and you can find it here.

What is an amphibian, anyway? Are they leading double lives? What's the difference between a newt and a salamander? A frog and a toad? What kinds of amphibians live in California? Why are California newts so toxic? How do they always, always find their way home?  Join me and Gary Bucciarelli as we explore a stream in the Santa Monica Mountains, finding plentiful frogs and newts as we discuss the questions above and many more.  Links:  Map of Amphibian Diversity  Arboreal Salamanders  California Herps Gary's Website  Gary's email address is garyb@ucdavis.edu You can find me @goldenstatenaturalist on Instagram and TikTok. My website is www.goldenstatenaturalist.com Your support on Patreon is so appreciated!  The theme song is called "i dunno" by grapes, and you can find the Creative Commons License here. 

Did you know that California's Central Valley once contained a vast inland sea and was home to camels,  400 lb. saber-toothed salmon, and tiny four-tusked mastodons? Or that, just a couple of hundred years ago, it was a network of wetlands, peat bogs, riparian forests, and shallow lakes? So how did this place that was once so defined by an abundance of water become somewhere marked by water-related controversy?  Come along with me and Ellen Wehr as we discuss the history of this remarkable Valley, the wetlands that remain, and what we can do to both protect and coexist with the many species that still call the Central Valley home today.  Links:  Fossils!  NatGeo on Estuaries  NOAA Life in an Estuary  Native Tules  Nisenan Tribe  Sinking Central Valley  Wetlands of California's Central Valley (cool interactive map)  You can find me on Instagram and Tiktok @goldenstatenaturalist My website is www.goldenstatenaturalist.com MERCH  The theme song is called "i dunno" by grapes, and you can find it and the Creative Commons License here. 

What's the problem with yellow hills? How do you trick a seed? What are the neighbors angry about? Where do restorationists get all those seeds? What's the difference between ecological restoration and restoration ecology? What does reconciliation have to do with it? How can we keep the world brimming with strange and beautiful creatures? Join me and Billy Sale, Restoration Project Manager at the California Botanic Garden, as we poke around a native plant nursery and discuss all of these questions and more.  Useful Links:  California Botanic Garden Society for Ecological Restoration  Sac Valley Restoration Days  Hedgerow Article  My website is www.goldenstatenaturalist.com You can find me on Instagram and TikTok @goldenstatenaturalist Imbodhi amazingly cozy and cute onesies. Use code GoldenStateNaturalist15 to get $15 off your first order.  The theme song is called "i dunno" by grapes. You can find the song and the Creative Commons License here. 

Most of us live in places where we can only see a few of the brightest stars in the sky at night, but what if that didn't have to be the case? Come with me and guests Kayla Browne and Dan Duriscoe to Death Valley, where we sit under a sky full of stars to discuss light pollution, bats, migrating birds, why dark skies are important, astronomy, places you can go to see a truly dark sky, and what can be done to bring stars back to our cities and our lives.  Links:  Friends of the Inyo Dan Duriscoe Bio  International Dark-Sky Association Just. Do yourself a favor and look at this photo of Death Valley at night by Dan Duriscoe.  NPS Light Pollution Map (Look for Dan Duriscoe!)  NPS Page on Where to Stargaze International Dark Sky Places  Outdoor Lighting Basics  Tucson success story Los Angeles Sea Turtles  Kratts' Creatures infamous baby sea turtle scene  Saving the Dark Documentary  My website is www.goldenstatenaturalist.com Find me on Patreon at www.patreon.com/michellefullner  I'm on Instagram and TikTok as @goldenstatenaturalist  Imbodhi amazingly cozy and cute onesies. Use code GoldenStateNaturalist15 to get $15 off your first order.  The theme song is called "i dunno" by grapes, and you can find the Creative Commons License here.