Houston and Nature

Latest Episodes
10: Prepared for Life? The Boy Scouts of America, With James Sy
Boy Scouts of America promises young men, and now also women, exciting nature experiences and preparation for life as adults. Do they live up to the promise? What’s it like to grow up among the Scouts? Is being an Eagle Scout really as special as...
09: Enchanting Children With Nature: A Teacher’s Tale, With Mary Ann Beauchemin
When it comes to drawing children and teenagers into nature, Mary Ann Beauchemin of Russ Pitman Park is an expert. After earning a Master’s degree in outdoors education in Oregon, she taught generations of young Houstonians how to turn over logs,...
08: Exploration Green – It’s How You Build Beauty, Nature and Flood Control, With Jerry Hamby
Exploration Green is a beautiful park in flood-prone Clear Lake. The Green functions as a giant detention pond. But it is so much more: a space that welcomes wildlife, a refuge from the hustle of city life, an opportunity for volunteers to make...
07: Houston’s Permaculture Scene, with Shawn McFarland
The Houston permaculture community is lively. And chances are, you’ve heard of their innovative approach towards gardening. But, as you’ll learn from veteran expert Shawn McFarland, permaculture goes far beyond orchards and vegetable beds. It can...
06: So You Can Heal from Poison: Jackie Young, the San Jacinto Waste Pits, and Other Toxic Sites
The San Jacinto Waste Pits may be Houston’s best-known Superfund site. The chemicals they harbor are at constant risk of leeching out and . But the Pits are not the only toxic site. As my guest Jackie Young Medcalf will tell you, there is a...
05: The Next Houston Hurricane May Be Worse Than Harvey – Let’s Get Ready!
with Terence O'Rourke
04: This Prairie Chicken Will Make Your Heart Quicken: Fighting Species Extinction
with John Magera
01: The Houston Environmental Community
Greater Houston is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States and growing. To give us a sense of the challenges this poses to the Houston environmental movement, I invited Jaime Gonzállez, the Houston Healthy Cities Program...