ECOSENSE FOR LIVING

#1001 Recovering Rivers

Short Description:
Raising Hellbenders - The Nashville, Tennessee zoo sets Hellbender salamanders free.
Rainbows in The River – Colorful Candy Darters return to wild rivers.
Life After Helene - Community volunteers restore nature after Hurricane Helene

Long Description:
Raising Hellbenders
For 8 years, the Nashville, Tennessee zoo has raised Hellbenders. These bizarre looking creatures are the biggest salamanders in North America, but their population needs a helping hand. Now a band of scientists will set them free in their first wild river experience.

Rainbows In The River
Candy Darters look like they belong in the Bahamas, but these brightly striped fish thrive in cold clean mountain rivers. Their numbers have dwindled due to pollution and other pressures, but luckily, Conservation Fisheries’ nursery is overflowing with these little jewels. Time to set them free!

Life After Helene
Yancey County, northeast of Asheville, NC, suffered the highest winds and the most rainfall during Hurricane Helene. The local community has become a model of volunteers working to restore their breathtaking land and rivers. At the same time, they’re trying to stop further damage from recovery efforts that don’t take nature into consideration.


#1002 Forest For The Trees

Short Description:
Wild Kentucky Elk – The return of elk boosts local economies that were in decline.
Physician For the Forest – Land managers prescribe fire and thinning to bring back oak.
Healing Power of Trees – The Greenheart Project creates a model of health by planting trees

Long Description:
Wild Kentucky Elk
Once eradicated from the landscape, elk have now returned to Kentucky with gusto! Since these massive mammals were restored to their perfect habitat, they’ve thrived and multiplied. Their presence delights hunters and wildlife observers and boosts local economies that are tied to elk prosperity.

Physician For the Forest
The southern Appalachian forests may look wild to visitors, but these places have been wildly altered by human impacts. To bring back balance and health, land managers are “physicians of the forest,” prescribing controlled fires and administering treatments that remove some trees so that other, more beneficial trees, can come back.

Healing Power of Trees
“The Greenheart Project” in Louisville, Kentucky has pioneered a study to learn how planting thousands of trees in a community affects peoples’ health. Working together, doctors, the University of Louisville, and The Nature
Conservancy have seen miraculous results and created a model for other cities around the world.


#1003 Desert Seeds, Bees, & Wildcats

Short Description:
Native Seeds Return – Over 1800 varieties of seeds rejuvenate crops and local economies.
Bees of the Desert – The Sonoran Desert may have the most species of bees in the world.
Desert Wild Cats - Scientists discover info on desert jaguars, ocelots, mountain lions.

Long Description:
Native Seeds Return
The folks at Native Seed Search have been safe-keeping seeds for tribes, farmers and gardeners for decades. This model working farm outside of Tucson, AZ, has shared generations of over 1800 varieties of seeds that were in danger of disappearing. One of those, white Sonoran wheat, has inspired award-winning bread that’s lead to a proud new local industry.

Bees of The Desert
The Sonoran Desert may have the most species of bees in the world. These “single mother” bees make their homes in the ground, in cactus, and other desert habitat that’s highly specialized to serve these mutual relationships. Scientists are still discovering and cataloging their unique DNA. But what happens when honeybees come into their territory?

Desert Wild Cats
University of AZ Wildcat Research Center, along with an army of citizen scientists use the latest methods to gather DNA on jaguars, ocelots, bobcats, and mountain lions. How has DNA field science evolved to help us understand the movements and habits of these elusive animals?


#1004 Water & Weeds

Short Description:
Brook Trout Revival – Trout advocates protect them against pressures & climate change.
Sponge Park in The City – A unique Atlanta park protects residents from flood damage.
Into The Weeds – A new approach to tending the land and embracing what we call “weeds.”



Long Description:
Brook Trout Revival
The only native trout species in the southeast has existed in North Carolina for Millennia - but is threatened by human activity and a changing climate. Fortunately, its advocates are coming together to keep them safe.

Sponge Park in The City
Years ago, a historic Atlanta neighborhood was devastated by a catastrophic storm event. Today, that same space is home to a beautiful park with a hidden mission - it protects surrounding neighborhoods from flood damage.

Into The Weeds
Author, forager and self-proclaimed “failed gardener’” Tama Matsuoka Wong embraces a more sustainable approach to tending the land and to have some respect for what we call “weeds.” Wong encourages us to turn invasive plants into borders and beds, and recognize plants that can become teas and tinctures, or enhance
cocktails and meals.