Ep. 232 : Winter Solstice

As we get ready for the longest night of the year, it’s also a time to celebrate traditions and set our sights for the new year with the rebirth of the Sun. Making radio for me also holds traditions embedded within the episodes. Every Solstice I dig into the archives and pull out a rebroadcast which was originally aired December 21st, 1985 at 10:30pm on the BBC. And now, for the 6th year in a row, I get to broadcast one of my favorite pieces of radio.

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Ep. 229 : A Mushroom Folk Tale

My room, my house, my bags are all full of books, twigs, fruits, feathers, seeds, nuts, and bits of mushrooms this time of year. So too my stomach, my dreams, and my heart. My bedroom is littered with naturalist books and books of fairy tales and myths which I pull out and read before I turn out the light. I love the folk tales because if you read them in the right light, they share stories of relationships with the land from before christian colonization. For me, of european descent, this gives insight to how my ancestors may have gotten to know the places they lived and who they depended on to live good lives in relation with the lands they lived with.

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Ep. 204 : Winter Solstice

“Wither, wither, black flowering night. May your dark juices bleed, burn up like a pool on the summer plain, shrivel like a stain upon sand, dwindle to a basalt pebble, tiny as a slow-worms eye is. Vanish, to nothing.”

Personal rituals observing the season continue even if the public cannot. This is one of my favourite ways to use this platform, by honouring the creators who came before me and rebroadcasting their work. This the fourth? year that I get to play this radio play by Alison Mcleay, which was originally broadcast on BBC Scotland Saturday December 21st, 1985 at 10:30pm. I was two years old when this originally aired, and though my local CBC channel would sometimes play the BBC Wold News throughout the night, I don’t know if this would’ve been aired.

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Ep. 197 : Sit Spots

It’s easy, pretty accessible and turns out to be a lot of fun and often full of learning. A sit spot, or magic spot, or secret spot or whatever else you might call it is simple. Just go find your sit spot, close to home, accessible and easy and then sit there, quietly.
Nature is everywhere, and we can notice it in all sorts of ways. Be it our balcony, backyard or a bench at the park. Find a spot you can go to reliably and find a nice place to sit.
Doesn’t really matter where you are even. Friends have done sit spots from their kitchen windows, from their prison cells, from balconies 9 stories up. It is an extremely valuable practice that I would wholly endorse to anyone seeking to learn more about the land.

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Ep. 152 : Naturalist, Herbalist, Storyteller Doug Elliot

Doug Elliott is a pretty cool guy. Well, to be honest he’s what I want to be when I grow up. A story telling, plant loving, naturalist whose passion for nature and love for the land inspire all sorts of folks across the continent.
I first heard about Doug from one of his books many years ago, “Wild Roots”, but recently have been coming across his name more and more, whether it was through storytellers, or virtual singalongs, people are sharing his words.

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Ep. 146 : Sophie Mazowita of Tracking Connections

The first show of 2021 is a great one. My guest is Sophie Mazowita, naturalist, educator, wildlife guide, tracker, storyteller and much more. We talk about her journey as a naturalist and a tracker, how she gets off the trail and gets into the wilder world around her.
When I talk to folks about creating cultures of connection with the land, putting in the time, effort and passion into the work of learning ourselves and teaching others, Sophie is right on that. She has been working hard, as evidenced all over the internet with her videos, her career as a naturalist and educator, and her ongoing work getting folks on board with paying attention to the wilder world around them.

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Language of the Birds (from the archives)

A look into some of the varied ideas of what the Language of the Birds might mean. Less of the tracking and scientific approach to bird language, but instead exploring the mythic knowledge, fairy tales and legends, and history of “the language of the birds”.

Originally aired August 12, 2019.

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Ep. 136 : Storytelling for snakes

Discussing some hows and whys about storytelling as reciprocating interaction and interspecies language making. How can we work with stories to learn, teach and communicate better with each other in regards to the natural world, and then on top of that, how can we hear the stories of the natural world better so we can be a part of the the learning, teaching and communication which is always already ongoing?