Posts Tagged ‘Biodiversity’

Episode #96: Wild Farming

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Wild Farming is a concept pioneered by conservationist Aldo Leopold and is now taking many forms throughout North America. In this interview I am joined by Joann Baumgartner of the Wild Farm Alliance. The Wild Farm Alliance’s mission is to promote a healthy, viable agriculture that helps protect and restore wild Nature.

Topics of discussion include the origins of wild farming, strategies for promoting and conserving biodiversity on the farm, predator friendly farming, continental wildlife corridors, and the price of food as an obstacle to wild farming.

The Wild Farm Alliance

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Episode #36: The Silvery Minnow

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

The Silvery Minnow is a species that has generated controversy and emotion over the years. Its status as an endangered species highlights the importance of knowledge and democratic decision making at a local level to preserve our natural resources.

In this interview, I speak with Michael Porter, Fishery Biologist with the US Army Corps of Engineers. He tells us about the minnow’s life cycle, its importance to a healthy ecosystem, and how this relates back to farmers and ranchers in the Rio Grande Valley.

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Episode #28: Conserving the World’s Languages with Luisa Maffi (Part II)

Thursday, May 8th, 2008

In this second part of our interview with Luisa Maffi, we talk about the process of language shift and the activities that indigenous communities around the world are engaging in to preserve and recover their languages.

As with so many other things, the future of the world’s languages will be determined by our values: the values of people in majority linguistic groups, the values of people whose linguistic heritage is endangered, and the values of everyone who falls somewhere in between.

Get involved! Visit www.terralingua.org

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Episode #27: Biocultural and Linguistic Diversity with Luisa Maffi

Thursday, May 1st, 2008

Luisa Maffi is the Director of Terralingua, an organization dedicated to the conservation of the world’s biocultural and linguistic diversity. In Part I of this two part series, Dr. Maffi explains the goals and purpose of Terralingua, and then paints a picture of crisis and extinction for our world’s languages. The relationships between language, culture, and biodiversity are profound and poorly understood, and Dr. Maffi’s experience and education come to the fore in this interview.

Stay tuned for Part II, coming in about a week’s time. And yes, it is good to be back podcasting once again.

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Episode #4: Dr. Suzanne Nelson: Native Seeds/SEARCH

Wednesday, December 6th, 2006

On this final episode dealing with agricultural biodiversity, I speak with Dr. Suzanne Nelson, Director of conservation with Native Seeds/SEARCH. We discuss the mission and work of the organization, and the cultural and biological signifance of the crops of the desert Southwest.

We also touch on the socio-economic implications of agricultural biodiversity, including the effect of NAFTA, and the potential effects of global warming. Next, we’ll be interviewing experts and activists in the area of Community Supported Agriculture

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Episode #3: Highland Andean Crops: Interview with Emigdio Ballon

Monday, November 20th, 2006

For most of us, agricultural biodiversity is a topic of unknowns. It is about the crops and foods that we don’t know; foods that we have never seen or tasted.

In this episode, we talk with Emigdio Ballon, who is an expert on the production of highland Andean crops like quinoa, amaranth, and maca. I asked Emigdio about the historical and cultural importance of these crops, and what can be done to preserve these important resources. We also discuss their economic potential, and prospects for achieving a greater market share.

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Episode #2: Rex Dufour on Agrobiodiversity and Entomology

Tuesday, November 14th, 2006

As we continue this month’s theme of agricultural biodiversity, I interview Rex Dufour, entomologist and organic pest control expert with ATTRA, the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.

Rex describes the role of insects in the agroecosystem, and emphasizes the importance of preserving biodiversity to control insect pests. As he explains it, beneficial insects can act as “little hammers”, keeping harmful insect populations under control through predation and parasitizing. The key question is how we design our managed ecosystems to maximize these interactions and reduce our reliance on costly agrochemicals.

Please have a listen, and thanks for stopping by.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 31:00 — 28.4MB)

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Episode #1: Walter Kaiser Life of a Plant Pathologist

Monday, November 6th, 2006

Welcome to the agroinnovations podcast. This month our focus is on agricultural biodiversity, and we will be interviewing a number of professionals to get a broad perspective on the importance of and the risks facing our agricultural biodiversity.

For our very first epidsode of the agroinnovations podcast, we’ll be interviewing Dr. Walter Kaiser. In this interview, Dr. Kaiser talks about his experiences as a plant pathologist on four continents spanning a period of four decades. Dr. Kaiser gives us insight on germplasm collection, biodiversity, and the cultivation of edible mushrooms. Have a listen, and thanks for stopping by.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 30:29 — 27.9MB)

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