Top Regenerative Landscape Podcasts of 2021
Since we’re past the halfway point for January, 2022 I though I should take a few moments to reminisce about our podcast before I get too wrapped up in the new growing season. It’s hard to believe it’s already been just over a year since we released our first episode of the Regenerative Landscapes pod. Dan Adams, Kevyn Yu and myself wanted to do something that could still connect people during the pandemic while promoting awareness and encouraging people to take action in hopefully improving the natural environment around them. Although our focal point remains native plants, everything from soil to water to new tech also has a connection and place in the regenerative landscape. We may not yet have all the bells and whistles of big time producers, big name sponsorship or a listener base of over a million, but getting the content out there, even one listener at a time, is one more step in the right direction and we are glad to do it. We also had a blast making our own music (with real instruments Lol!) for our intro and outro. I don’t think too many podcasts out there can lay claim to that! I have had the pleasure of meeting and interacting with some amazing people. The hidden knowledge base within our very own province of Alberta makes me proud and gives me hope for our future.
Now let me take you through some highlights of our top 10 pods of 2021 as dictated by you, the listeners:
10. Your 2021 Travel Guide in Alberta
This was the episode in which we introduced our “Green Scene” and “Plant Adventure Guide” portions of the show. The Green Scene is a section where we choose pertinent new articles and topics to go over and discuss from reputable sources like Science Daily, Eco News, and our local news stations like CBC, Global and CTV. It keeps things relevant and up to date while primarily delivering just the facts. It also allows us to express our own opinions on various topics and engage our listeners to think and do further science based research to reaffirm or dispute the mass of information floating around out there. The Plant Adventure Guide segment focuses on nature areas in Alberta and/or one or two native plant species at a time. I love this part because it allows us to dig deeper into what different trails and parks have to offer and gets into more than just what a plant looks like. We delve into human/land/plant historical relationships, alternate uses, what part they play within their ecosystem and so much more.
We touched on some different aspects of green roofs that people may not even think of like how their placement can affect insect movement. We explored natural areas like the Edmonton River Valley, Wood Buffalo National Park (did you know it is home to the largest beaver dam that can be see from space!?) and Elk Island National Park. We celebrated Red Osier Dogwood in all of its wonderful seasons. A variety of topics that enabled our listeners to travel all over Alberta without even going anywhere, though we hope it encourages people to get out and explore this amazing province of ours!
9. Marijuana?
Not sure if Kevyn chose the title just to turn heads, but we did discuss the cannabis industry a bit in regards to the impact of the production facilities on greenhouse gas emissions, as well as aeration of stagnant water bodies to reduce methane production. Our Plant Adventure Guide featured the Prairie Crocus which is one of the first natives to come up in the spring. Regardless, you downloaded this episode enough for it to make our top ten list of 2021.
It’s hard to imagine right now but this was recorded in June when we were in full garden season and the lull in COVID enabled us to get out a bit more. Dan thought it was a perfect time to lay a good foundation for our listeners in regards to compost. From the historical beginnings of the first intentional fertilizer applications, to the basic ingredients and procedures to produce a good compost that can benefit your growing space. I think the fact that this episode made it on the top ten list is an indication that many new gardeners have come onto the scene and are looking for information and direction as to how to get started.
Dan hits it again by breaking down soils into is basic constituents, and how things like topography, mineral deposits, constituent ratios and even weather and time can affect the productivity of the soil. Many people don’t even think how soil disturbance can influence its productivity or that different plants perform better in different ph levels. Even temperature can change a plant’s ability to access nutrients in a given soil. Knowing the full story of your soil can enable you to be able to determine if any action is required to improve your soil or if it is best to leave it alone. Again, the influx of new gardeners throughout the pandemic may be part of why this episode hit the top ten list (for which we are grateful!).
Even now, pollinators are a hot topic, as well as a vast one. We broke it down into a three part series because of this, choosing to focus on
the the pollinator plants, the pollinators and pollinator habitats in each of the respective episodes. In part 1 we discussed how native plants applied to the general different groups of pollinators including bees, butterflies and moths, beetles and hummingbirds. Things like
biodiversity, water, and habitat that promote safety and reproduction for these pollinator species came up. Although not completely bad, why non-native species aren’t as good as supporting natives. How examining finer details such as colours, blooming times may help further attract specific pollinator species. Plants provide so much of our world food supply and without corresponding pollinators, our food chain becomes broken so reducing herbicide/pesticide applications and doing other things to aid our little pollinator friends is key for world survival. It’s no wonder then that this episode was one of our most popular for 2021!
5. How to Prepare Your Yard for Winter
This episode left Dan and myself as a duo since Kevyn was away, but I guess we managed as the downloads would indicate! Many people must have been looking at how to make sure their plants would survive the impending winter and some tips for winter prepping. I mean who thinks of acclimating plants back to the indoors or splitting or repotting them now vs in the spring??? We talked about the pros and cons of a variety of mulches available for our area and why a pristine lawn/yard may not be the best thing. It’s the little things like marking your perennial plots in some fashion that mean so much when the snow recedes in the spring. Native plants have the added bonus of having a later planting deadline in the fall than many others and it still doesn’t hurt to experiment with a few borderline hardy species to find climate niches within your yard and push boundaries.
Whaaaa? I think just the weird context of this episode would create curiosity in almost anyone. On a strange journey in our Green Scene we found out how celebrity influence can aid plant species. From Lady Gaga to Nathan Fillion, it’s good to know that celebrities are rooting for plants. It was also an eye opening experience to find out there is far more involved to the “planting of a million trees” campaign and what obstacles are coming up for cities like Edmonton. The Tree-O even brainstormed some possible solutions.
3. It’s a Tie!
We’re down to the top 3 and lo and behold we have a tie between Don’t Freak Out Your Neighbors! and Edible
Landscapes. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Both episodes are about different things you can do from the traditional lawn. I feel that people, especially while being home more, are looking to get more out of their yards while hopefully being a bit more ecologically minded. In Don’t Freak Out Your Neighbors we chat about gentle ways to begin your nativescaping to include and educate your neighbors rather than cause friction with something they may not be used to. Edible Landscapes is the first episode that featured a guest. We know Kevin E. as a Landscape Architect, but he is also well versed in permaculture. It was great then when he got on board with this recording to share his perspective on ediblescaping including native plants. We got into everything from native flavour substitutions for non-natives, to space solutions, to the other abilities of plants in conjunction with edibility. Either way it’s no contest. Give both a listen!
Though I would like to think this episode made it to number 2 because our listeners love us and want to find out more about our backgrounds, I feel it’s far more likely that this just happens to be our first real recording. That means just by being out in cyberspace longer than any other episode, of course there would be more downloads! That’s OK with me though because it shows that even after being out there for more than year now, people are still listening.
1. 5W’s of Regenerative Landscapes
….And here is our top Regenerative Landscapes pod of 2021 as chosen by you – our listeners! Your hosts introduce the term Regenerative Landscape answering the 5W’s (Who, What, When, Where, Why) along the way. It’s nice to see that ‘Regenerative’ has since been applied to agriculture and other areas since we first started a year ago. It shows us that people are becoming more aware and are looking to make changes to regenerate our earth rather than just settle for a bare minimum level of sustainability.
So there you have it. Our top 10 pods of 2021 as chosen by you! Please continue to Like, Share, Subscribe and Comment and we will do our best to keep bringing you informative and hopefully entertaining episodes of Regenerative Landscapes!
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