Stories Generating Hope Generating Action: Cornelia F. Mutel

Cornelia F. Mutel, an ecologist by training, has written nature and environmental books for nearly a half century. Over time, she has increasingly used first-person stories and other creative writing techniques to draw her reading audience more deeply into her subject matter. Her 2016 book, A Sugar Creek Chronicle: Observing Climate Change from a Midwestern Woodland, greatly amplified these techniques, as did Tending Iowa's Land: Pathways to a Sustainable Future, a 2022 edited compendium of Iowa's environmental challenges and their solutions. She claims that creative writing techniques better communicate important material and simultaneously make her books more fun to read and write. Connie, a plant ecologist by training, was until retirement a Senior Science Writer at the University of Iowa’s broad-based IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering Institute. She lives with her husband in an oak woodland north of Iowa City, which they are restoring to its pre-settlement diversity and health.

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Visit The EcoTheatre Lab's website at ⁠ecotheatrelab.com⁠ for links to Connie's work and how to connect with her, the transcript for this episode, and more information about the podcast, production team, and The EcoTheatre Lab.

This podcast series is all about finding ways to talk about climate change with each other. The EcoTheatre Lab wants to also be in dialogue with our listeners!  Please let us know your thoughts on this episode through this ⁠brief feedback form⁠ (tinyurl.com/artofclimatedialogue)! 

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Thank you to our podcast funders:

Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy Emerging Leader Award and North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program Graduate Student Grant.*

This podcast is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number 2021-38640-34714 through the North Central Region SARE program under project number GNC22-345. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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Thank you to our podcast production team:

Vivian M. Cook - Producer, Host, and Editor

Rosie Marcu-Rowe - Editor

Moselle Nita Singh - Cover Artist

Omar de Kok-Mercado - Musician

Charissa Menefee, Taylor Sklenar, and Mary Swander - Consultants