All Land is Beautiful is a series of conversations around the obvious, and not so obvious, natural beauty of California and beyond. The motivation and nexus to start this podcast comes from an ever-evolving personal perspective shift on what contemporary habitat conservation means and looks like. You see, I, like I believe most people come to experience and perceive what’s good and bad for nature (at least the ones that I have interacted with) are of the mindset that the best we can do for nature is to simply remove ourselves from it and the natural of order of things will sort themselves out. You see a dense forest, you should leave it alone; you see a natural grassy field, well there certainly shouldn’t be any cows or sheep in it, and in that case why don’t we remove all of that old barbed-wire fencing; driving through huge swaths of agricultural land, jeez can you imagine what this all looked like before we turned it into row crops? And while those are all completely legitimate ideas and trains of thought, over the last several years of working throughout the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada Foothills, I’ve come to find this whole thing is far more nuanced.
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All Land is Beautiful is a series of conversations around the obvious, and not so obvious, natural beauty of California and beyond. The motivation and nexus to start this podcast comes from an ever-evolving personal perspective shift on what contemporary habitat conservation means and looks like. You see, I, like I believe most people come to experience and perceive what’s good and bad for nature (at least the ones that I have interacted with) are of the mindset that the best we can do for nature is to simply remove ourselves from it and the natural of order of things will sort themselves out. You see a dense forest, you should leave it alone; you see a natural grassy field, well there certainly shouldn’t be any cows or sheep in it, and in that case why don’t we remove all of that old barbed-wire fencing; driving through huge swaths of agricultural land, jeez can you imagine what this all looked like before we turned it into row crops? And while those are all completely legitimate ideas and trains of thought, over the last several years of working throughout the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada Foothills, I’ve come to find this whole thing is far more nuanced.
E21: Ditch the Desks and Go Outside, with Nic Russo (Education Manager at American River Conservancy)
All Land is Beautiful
53 minutes 13 seconds
5 months ago
E21: Ditch the Desks and Go Outside, with Nic Russo (Education Manager at American River Conservancy)
In this episode, I chat with Nic Russo, the Education Manager for the American River Conservancy (ARC), to explore the significance and impact of environmental education in defining places and our connections to them. While previous episodes have been more focused on conservation and restoration, this discussion pivots to the importance of experiential learning, especially in nature, and how it not only compliments the work of land trusts, but acts as a foundation.
We talk about the realities of how limiting such opportunities can turn students into quote unquote robots due to the formulaic, memorization-centric traditional education system in the U.S. We dive into Nic’s personal and professional experiences, explaining how exposure to nature and outdoor education shaped his career and views; leading to the basis of his current education philosophy, that understanding and engaging with local nature can foster a lasting appreciation and motivate people to protect it. The episode also delves into the historical context of ARC's education programs and highlights the challenges and aspirations for integrating more outdoor educational experiences into the school curriculum. Ultimately, we arrive to the conclusion that environmental education is the essential component that bridges the efforts of conservation and stewardship, answering the so what or who cares questions that come up in this field of work.
Consider donating to the Deb Jenson Environmental Education Opportunity Fund!
All Land is Beautiful
All Land is Beautiful is a series of conversations around the obvious, and not so obvious, natural beauty of California and beyond. The motivation and nexus to start this podcast comes from an ever-evolving personal perspective shift on what contemporary habitat conservation means and looks like. You see, I, like I believe most people come to experience and perceive what’s good and bad for nature (at least the ones that I have interacted with) are of the mindset that the best we can do for nature is to simply remove ourselves from it and the natural of order of things will sort themselves out. You see a dense forest, you should leave it alone; you see a natural grassy field, well there certainly shouldn’t be any cows or sheep in it, and in that case why don’t we remove all of that old barbed-wire fencing; driving through huge swaths of agricultural land, jeez can you imagine what this all looked like before we turned it into row crops? And while those are all completely legitimate ideas and trains of thought, over the last several years of working throughout the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada Foothills, I’ve come to find this whole thing is far more nuanced.
