Nature Connection Radio

Nature Connection Radio

It’s all about Nature, Wildlife, Science, and the Environment on Big Blend Radio’s NATURE CONNECTION Podcast. Hosts are Nancy J. Reid and Lisa D. Smith, mother-daughter travel team on the Love Your Parks Tour and publishers of Big Blend Magazines, along with frequent guest co-host nature photographer Margot Carrera.

Episodes

May 10, 2025 39 mins

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day with this captivating episode of Big Blend Radio’s "Nature Connection" Show, featuring naturalist and author Charles Hood, who discusses his new book “Nature at Night: Discover the Hidden World That Comes Alive After Dark” (Timber Press).

From glowing oceans to jungle predators and migrating birds under the stars, Hood explores the wonders of nocturnal wildlife through vivid storytelling and over ...

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Celebrate National Go Birding Day with this special episode of Big Blend Radio's "English Connection" show, featuring Glynn Burrows, owner of Norfolk Tours in England. Glynn shares his insights into birding in the UK, from spotting Kingfishers along the Norfolk Broads to witnessing Puffin colonies off the coast of Wales, and even catching breathtaking starling murmurations along the East Coast during migration season.

You can also ...

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Think New York City is just skyscrapers and sidewalks? Think again! 🗽🌳 On this special Arbor Day (April 25) and National Go Birding Day (April 26) episode of Big Blend Radio, we chat with Ryan Mandelbaum—naturalist, science writer, and author of the beautifully illustrated new book, "Wild NYC: Experience the Amazing Nature In and Around New York City" (art by Chelsea Beck).

From red-tailed hawks in Manhattan to horseshoe crabs in...

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April 22, 2025 40 mins

In this special Earth Day episode of the Big Blend Radio, we’re joined by Kris Kiser, President & CEO of the TurfMutt Foundation, to dive into the growing lifestyle trend of “backyarding” – the shift of indoor activities like dining, working, exercising, and entertaining to our outdoor spaces.

Kris shares how this powerful movement is encouraging communities across the country to invest in urban parks, public green spaces, and ...

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March 28, 2025 53 mins

This episode of Big Blend Radio's NATURE CONNECTION Podcast features  Alyson F. Brokaw, behavioral and sensory ecologist, and author of "The Weird and Wonderful World of Bats: Demystifying These Often-Misunderstood Creatures." 

Out now through Timber Press, "The Weird and Wonderful World of Bats" is a vibrant and approachable text that reintroduces readers to bats, dispelling their negative reputations and providing a window into t...

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This shared episode of Big Blend Radio's PARKS & TRAVEL Podcast features travel writer Sharon K. Kurtz who shares her whale watching adventures in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Baja California Sur is a premier whale-watching destination, home to both the blue whales of Loreto Bay National Marine Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the gray whale nursery of Magdalena Bay. Read Sharon's article about her whale watching...

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March 6, 2025 97 mins

Celebrate World Conservation Strategy Day with this special episode of Big Blend Radio focusing on Sustainable Travel and Tourism. Hear what destinations are doing around the world to promote sustainable and eco-friendly practices to safeguard the planet for their local community and future generations, and the ways travelers can be part of sustainable solutions. 

FEATURED GUESTS: - Dan Howard – VP of Communications at Visit Park C...

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February 28, 2025 42 mins

On this episode of Big Blend Radio's "Nature Connection" Show, author Paula Whyman discusses her memoir, "BAD NATURALIST: One Woman’s Ecological Education on a Wild Virginia Mountaintop," out now through Timber Press. 

A few years ago, Paula Whyman decided to leave her Maryland / suburban DC empty nest to find a rural getaway -- maybe a small farmhouse where she could put her interest in conservation to work. With little experience...

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This episode of Big Blend Radio features author Cheryl Leutjen, who discusses her latest book, "Madness on the Brink of Eco-Apocalypse: Furious Facts, Dark Humor & SOS Calls to Action." A follow up to her award-winning book "Love Earth Now," the book confronts the human-caused harm on Earth’s life support systems.

Weaving “furious facts” with dark humor and vivid prose, Cheryl offers concrete resources and inspiration to fuel t...

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January 21, 2025 13 mins

From Africa and Asia to North America, this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's BIG DAILY BLEND podcast celebrates National Squirrel Appreciation Day (Every January 21st) with some fun facts about squirrels and their small rodent families.

 

SONG OF THE DAY: Ray Stevens, "The Mississippi Squirrel Revival": https://youtu.be/K16fG1sDagU?feature=shared

 

TRAVELING BIRD (SQUIRREL) FEEDER videos on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Mov...

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November 22, 2024 19 mins

One of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in which 230,000 people perished, will be National Geographic's biggest docuseries of autumn, 'Tsunami: Race Against Time.' 

This episode of Big Blend Radio features Barry Hirshorn, the seismologist who, in 2004, was tracking all the data as it trickled in. During the chaos, Hirshorn had to make sense of data so extreme as to be unreal. In 2004,...

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November 11, 2024 30 mins

On this episode of Big Blend Radio, award-winning author and journalist Simon Parkin discusses his new book, "The Forbidden Garden: The Botanists of Besieged Leningrad and Their Impossible Choice." 

The first book to chart the history of the world’s largest collection of seeds, "The Forbidden Garden" shares the story of the Siege of Leningrad and how from 1941 to 1944, the scientists in the seed bank had to face an impossible choic...

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Happy World Urbanism Day, aka World City Planning Day! This episode of Big Blend Radio's "Nature Connection" Show features Sara C. Bronin who discusses her book, "KEY TO THE CITY: How Zoning Shapes Our World." 

Zoning codes have become the most significant regulatory power of local government, determining how we experience our cities. Yet zoning remains invisible. In "Key to the City," Sara reveals the impact of zoning—for good and...

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October 25, 2024 55 mins

This episode of Big Blend Radio's "Nature Connection" Podcast features renowned entomologist and professor Barrett Klein, PhD who examines the phenomenon of how humans and insects relate on a cultural level in his new book, "THE INSECT EPIPHANY:  How Our Six-Legged Allies Shape Human Culture" (Timber Press | Hachette; Oct 2024). 

Our world would look very different if we didn’t have insects—not just because they’re pollinators who ...

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Due to the recent devastation of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the Southeast USA, and in honor of October being Adopt-a-Shelter Dog Month and National Animal Safety and Protection Month, this episode of Big Blend Radio's "Pet Connection" Show focuses on how to help pets, and grieving pet parents, after the hurricane disasters.

NON-PROFITS TO SUPPORT: - https://www.humanesociety.org   - https://bestfriends.org/  - https://furkids....

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This episode of Big Blend Radio's "Nature Connection" Show features acclaimed author Christopher Brown who discusses his new book, "A Natural History of Empty Lots: Field Notes from Urban Edgelands, Back Alleys, and Other Wild Places." 

A NATURAL HISTORY OF EMPTY LOTS is a genre-bending blend of naturalism, memoir, and social manifesto for rewilding the city, the self, and society. Through his keen examination of abandoned industri...

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This episode of Big Blend Radio's "Nature Connection" Podcast features science journalist and author Lisa M. Baril, author of "The Age of Melt: What Glaciers, Ice Mummies, and Ancient Artifacts Teach Us about Climate, Culture, and a Future without Ice."

Around the world, ice has preserved some of history’s most fascinating artifacts, such as the skeleton of an Iron Age horse, wooden arrows with bird-feather fletching, and even a ba...

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This episode of Big Blend Radio's "Nature Connection" Show features Jeff Reed, showrunner and cinematographer of the new National Geographic series, "National Parks: USA." Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/z42Ph8A2Uh8?feature=shared 

From Zion and Yellowstone to Katmai, the Everglades and Olympic, each park presents its own cast of animal characters. This five-part series features a blend of wildlife weaved seamlessly with storie...

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August 28, 2024 78 mins

This Big Blend Radio "Women Making History" Podcast Panel discussion features guests who share how they work to protect the environment and talk about women they admire who work to protect the earth. Hear about environmentally activist women (and girls) of the past and present who are skilled in writing and the arts, hospitality and tourism, wildlife conservation, habitat restoration, progressive end-of-life care, cultivating commu...

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Celebrate National Wellness Month with this episode of Big Blend Radio's "Nature Connection" Podcast with Judy Karnia who gives an overview of forest bathing its benefits. 

Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Judy Karnia is a travel writer, life coach, and nature therapist. As a forest therapy guide, she is certified by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and leads walks to help people connect with nature, which can improve thei...

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