Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley

Episode 78: Birding 101

Do you consider yourself a bird watcher? Or are you actually a birder? If you want to know the difference, listen to Author and Master Gardener Volunteer Kathryn Schneider on Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley. This episode is all about birds. She provides an overview on essential tools for anyone interested in learning more about our feathered friends that you can find throughout New York State.

Binoculars are extremely helpful in bird identification. However, many people don’t know what they should look for in a pair of binoculars that are best suited for bird watching. Kathryn provides some tips, including where to get the best prices for a pair of binoculars. She also provides clues to help with bird identification including their size, shape, location and even their feet!

Are there advantages of a field guide versus a phone app? As is typical, it all depends on where you are and what you want to discover. Kathryn recommends an app that was developed by Cornell University, and helps to identify birds by their color, shape and even their songs. This one is popular with many Master Gardeners.

She closes out this discussion talking about the critical importance of food for birds’ survival and how you can help. Expand your bird watching horizons with this latest podcast episode.

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guest: Kathryn Schneider

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett, Teresa Golden, Annie Scibienski

Recording:

Resources: Cornell: All About Birds (Cornell); Merlin Bird ID App

Episode 77: Flying Trillium Preserve

Flying Trillium Gardens and Preserve is located in the southern Catskill Mountains in Sullivan County, NY. The gardens are an ongoing work by author, teacher, and landscape designer, Carolyn Summers. In addition to managed gardens, large areas of the property are preserved to protect native flora in their natural habitats, along with the wildlife that depend on them.

The nature preserve is over 385 acres with natural hemlock forest, meadow and aquatic plant communities, including a rare kettle hole bog. Almost a third of the trees native to New York occur here naturally. The preserve showcases indigenous plants, including painted and red trilliums, in their native environment.

Listen to Carolyn Summers as she describes the path that sparked and nurtured her interest in native plants, resulting in this delightful preserve that is open to the public right here in the Hudson Valley.

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guest: Carolyn Summers

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett, Teresa Golden and Annie Scibienski

Episode 76: Summer Squash, Shade, and Leaf Scorch

This podcast episode of Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley is perfect for summer!

Master Gardener Annie Scibienski starts us off with a yummy segment on a wide range of ways to prepare zucchini and summer squash, some simply using your pantry staples, while others are more creative. If you’d like to know how to cook squash blossoms, make frittatas, or serve it with eggs or rice, this segment is for you. Your mouth will be watering!

This is followed by a segment from Master Gardener Barbara Bravo on how to add contrast and texture to your summer shade garden. Leveraging plants like Ligularia ‘Britt Marie Crawford’, Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’, Athyrium niponicum, Dryopteris Ferns and others, your shade garden doesn’t have to be ‘boring’.Keep it going into the fall with Colchicum autumnale ‘Pleniflorum’ a/k/a Autumn Crocus, or Asarum Europa a/k/a European wild ginger.Listen to the possibilities!

Master Gardener Devon Russ closes out this episode by dispelling the common myth that watering your garden on a hot summer day will result in leaf scorch. In reality, this condition is caused by either drought, root damage, or acidic damage. Learn about the science behind leaf scorch to keep your garden thriving.

Here’s hoping that you get to enjoy a wonderful New York summer in sun and shade!

Hosts: Jean Thomas and Teresa Golden

Guests: Annie Scibienski, Barbara Bravo, and Devon Russ

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett, Teresa Golden and Annie Scibienski

Episode 75: Meadows

A meadow can be defined as a piece of land covered with mostly grass and often wildflowers in it. Meadows provide cover, food, and nesting sites for birds, insects, and other wildlife. They can be thought of a way to provide food security for pollinators. These grasslands also help to absorb stormwater runoff, helping prevent flooding and soil erosion.

So how can you start a meadow? How do maintain one? Are there specific native species and/or sedges that should be planted to create a meadow? What are realistic expectations when starting a meadow or trying to increase biodiversity within one? How can you best manage the appearance of a meadow?

Join Caleb White and Debra Wren to get answers to these questions and more on this week’s edition of the podcast, Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley. Their focus at New Leaf Ecological Landscapes is on converting lawns and otherwise barren spaces into native meadows and wooded areas utilizing native trees, shrubs, plants, and grasses.

Enjoy!

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guests: Caleb White and Debra Wren

Photo by: Teresa Golden

Production Support: Linda Aydlett, Teresa Golden, Annie Scibienski

Resources

Episode 74: Columbia Land Conservancy

It’s been said that people who spend time in nature are generally healthier and happier. In addition, people who have positive experiences in nature are more likely to volunteer and vote with the environment in mind. The Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC) is a non-profit organization that brings people together to conserve, appreciate, and enjoy land.

Columbia County, in New York State, is home to one of only two forested wildlife corridors that cross the Hudson Valley and are essential for plants and animals moving in response to climate change. If this corridor is fragmented by development, it will fail. These landscapes are essential for recreation, the economy, sequestering carbon, reducing air and water pollution, preventing fires and floods, and filtering drinking water. They’re also threatened by poorly planned development, climate change, and invasive species. For nearly 40 years, CLC has collaborated with individuals, communities, and partners to ensure Columbia County is a beautiful, livable, resilient place.

CLC is the only conservation organization focused exclusively on protecting land in Columbia County. In addition to permanently protecting land with legal tools like conservation easements (which limit future development), CLC provides educational resources for land management for landowners, municipalities, and conservation-minded partners. CLC is recognized across the country for its innovation when it comes to protecting farmland and recognized by local farmers as an essential partner in land protection. CLC and its partners use a variety of tools to protect farmland, keep it affordable, support the next generation of farmers, and facilitate relationships with farmers and community members. Last year, the CLC and its partners held over 50 free and low-cost educational programs that provided opportunities for people to fall in love with the world around them. With the help of volunteers, donors, and supporters, they maintain ten Public Conservation Areas, with nearly 30 miles of trails, for recreation, reflection, and restoration.

On this episode of Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley, join Troy Weldy and Sara Cashen as they talk about the history of this impactful organization and how they continue to collaborate with landowners to ensure about 30,000 acres of land is conserved and protected in perpetuity. And learn about the numerous volunteer opportunities to get involved and to get to know nature better. Listen in!

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guests: Troy Weldy and Sara Cashen

Photo by:

Production Support: Linda Aydlett, Teresa Golden and Annie Scibienski

Resources

Episode 73: Hardy Greens, pH and Lawn Thatch

There’s a lot of food for thought in this episode of Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley.

Annie Scibienski is back with another episode of Patch to Plate.This time the focus is on hardy greens like kale, swiss chard, and broccoli rabe.Get out the olive oil and garlic to enjoy these veggies.Do you know how to massage kale for a delicious salad?Interested in learning about what ingredients go well with swiss chard or broccoli rabe?If so, this episode is for you.

Next Jean Thomas takes us on a journey through the fascinating world of pH in It’s All Greek to Me. This scientific concept is crucial in gardening, as it determines how accessible nutrients are to help plants thrive. Jean explains how pH is defined as "hydrogen potential" and discusses how soil acid or alkaline soil pH affects plant growth. She also shares some interesting botanical trivia, such as the origin of monkshood and a new species of begonia linked with Darth Vader! So, if you're a curious gardener or just love to learn about the natural world, you won't want to miss this segment.

Finally, Devon Russ demystifies the topic of lawn thatch in Hits or Myths.Dethatching the grass every spring is a chore that no one looks forward to doing.Learn how thatch is created and what you can do to reduce the amount of thatch that can cause problems in your lawn.This segment provides some useful information that might reduce the amount of work you need to put in to enjoy a nice lawn.

So, save time on your lawn and garden, make sure the pH of your soil is supporting your plants, and enjoy your summer greens!

Hosts: Jean Thomas and Annie Scibienski

Guests:Annie Scibienski, Jean Thomas and Devon Thomas

Photo by:Tim Kennelty

Production Support:Linda Aydlett, Teresa Golden and Annie Scibienski

Resources

Episode 72: Pollinate Now! (Part 2)

In the second of a two-part conversation, Eli Arnow and Avalon Bunge are back to talk more about Pollinate Now!, their plans for the future of this initiative and how others can get involved.

A recent DEC study confirmed that between 38 and 60 percent of the New York State pollinator species studied are at risk. Pollinator populations can be helped by, among other things, conserving habitat, controlling invasive plants, changing mowing regimes, converting lawns into meadows, and controlling deer browsing of the understory of woodlands.

Restoring pollinator habitat for at-risk pollinators is the focus of Pollinate Now!, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving biodiversity and resilience for native bees and butterflies in the Hudson Valley. They are in the process of creating design toolkits to help landowners, landscape professionals and farmers implement restoration plantings across a diverse range of site types and scales. Starting with four unique designs for urban, riparian, working farms and old fields, they are striving to create a community of practice to improve biodiversity and resilience. Learn more by listening to this podcast episode of Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley.

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guests: Eli Arnow and Avalon Bunges

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett, Teresa Golden and Annie Scibienski

Episode 71: Pollinate Now! (Part 1)

A recent DEC study confirmed concerns about the health of some pollinator populations in New York State. The survey found that between 38 and 60 percent of the species studied are potentially imperiled or critically imperiled. Although the survey documented 16 bee and fly species for the first time in New York, recent sightings or records could not be confirmed for 79 pollinator species previously recorded in the state. The study found that more than one-third of the native pollinators surveyed are at risk of becoming extinct in New York. Pollinator populations can be helped by conserving habitat, controlling invasive plants, changing mowing regimes, converting lawns into meadows, paying attention to the siting and density of honey bee hives to reduce competition and spread of disease to native species, controlling deer browsing of the understory, retaining logs and snags in forests, and reducing unnecessary outdoor lights for nocturnal species.

To help address some of these issues, Pollinate Now! is focused on improving biodiversity and resilience through habitat restoration in support of at-risk pollinators. They are working to provide design toolkits to help landowners, landscape professionals and farmers implement restoration plantings across a diverse range of site types and scales. Starting with four unique designs for urban, riparian, working farms and old fields, they are striving to create a community of practice to improve biodiversity and resilience.

In the first of a two part conversation, listen to Eli Arnow and Avalon Bunge talk about how they got started with Polinate Now! and their plans for the future.

Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas

Guests: Eli Arnow and Avalon Bunge

Photo by:Tim Kennelty

Production Support:Linda Aydlett, Teresa Golden and Annie Scibienski

Episode 70: Spring Greens, Tall Shade Plants & Squash Borers

Welcome to another episode of the podcast, Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley, with something for everyone.

Annie Scibienski starts us off discussing the wide variety of tender greens that can be grown in spring gardens in the Hudson Valley. You probably know all about lettuce, but arugula and spinach are also great spring greens that are fun to grow, cook and eat! Gain some tips and techniques on Patch to Plate.

Then listen to Barbara Bravo talk about a wide range of options to add height to a New York shade garden which usually consist of low-growing plants. But structure and interest can be added with a number of shade tolerant plants such as flowering quince, giant fleece flower and goat’s beard. Ninebark is one of her favorites. Typically known as a medium shrub native to the eastern and central United States, there are ninebark cultivars that do well in shade. In addition to being a pollinator favorite, most varieties are drought tolerant too. Learn more on Made In the Shade.

Dede Terns-Thorpe and Jackie Hayden on Pests and Pathogens finish up this episode with a discussion about a popular pest of zucchini and other members of the cucurbit family: the dreaded Squash Vine Borer. As one of the earliest insects to show up in the garden as a moth, it can wreak havoc on a garden if not caught early. Learn some tips and tricks to help avoid and manage problems.

Hosts: Jean Thomas and Teresa Golden

Guests: Annie Scibienski, Barbara Bravo, Dede Terns-Thorpe and Jackie Hayden

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett, Teresa Golden and Annie Scibienski

Resources

Episode 69: Straw Bale Gardening

Episode 69: Straw Bale Gardening

Do you have rocky soil? Or problems with soil borne diseases? Straw bale gardening might be your answer. It’s a gardening approach that uses a bale of straw as the medium in which you plant. It creates relatively inexpensive raised beds. At the end of the season, you can compost the bales, so it’s the ultimate in sustainable gardening. Ideal for vegetable gardens in New York State and elsewhere, but they can also be used to grow ornamental flowers.

Straw bale gardening is an investment in time and money. But there are some things you need to consider. Join Master Gardener, Tim Kennelty, as he provides tips and tricks learned from years of experience using straw bales in his garden. He walks through the steps needed to ‘condition’ the bales so that they can successfully be used for growing. Watering and fertilizing the bales are fundamental. The location of the straw bales can be moved year to year and since it is basically soil-less gardening, the bales can even be placed on a driveway.

This gardening approach is ideal if you are limited for space or have soil issues. To learn how to get started, this episode of Nature Calls: Conversations of the Hudson Valley might be just what you are looking for!

Host: Jean Thomas

Guest: Tim Kennelty

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett, Teresa Golden and Annie Scibienski

Resources