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New show, new format, same blend of information and entertainment that you’ve come to expect from Mike Nowak. If you’re on our newsletter mailing list or subscribe to our youtube page, you’ll be hearing about it soon. Or you can just keep track here, on facebook or on instagram.
This is a show about our connection to the earth. From bees and butterflies to the food we eat, from climate change to habitat loss, from pipeline spills to giant pumpkins. We don’t think there’s another show like ours anywhere. And, believe it or not, we have a good time even when we’re talking about subjects that make your hair stand on end. We bring in knowledgeable guests who are surprisingly accessible and entertaining. And so are we, of course.
Check us out. You’re going to like what we have to say. And now you can watch us live stream right here or on Facebook, YouTube or Twitter. Join us every Sunday at 9:00 Central. Or watch on demand here or on YouTube during the week. Or listen to our podcasts
June 12, 2022 – What a Long, Strange Garden Trip It’s Been.
On Sunday’s show, we look at a movement to undo some of the harm that “progress” has caused by laying down millions of miles of concrete and asphalt across the county. By some counts, there is enough impermeable surface to cover the state of Ohio. Katya Reyna, Director of Depave Portland (Oregon) joins us, along with Mary Kate McGuire from the relatively nascent Depave Chicago.
“Great Show. Humor, gardening, environment, art . . . What’s not to like?” David J. Zaber
Recent Shows
Ladles and Genomes, start your tomatoes! With the arrival of June comes the mad dash among northern gardeners to produce everyone’s favorite fruit. Or vegetable. Whatever. On Tomatomania V, we once again chat with tomato experts Craig LeHoullier (“Epic Tomatoes”) and grower/breeder Keith Mueller (aka “KC Tomato), who impart their wisdom about America’s favorite fruit in Tomatomania V. They talk growing strategies and favorite varieties…including some they have developed themselves.
The monarch numbers from Mexico were just released and they’re…okay. Which means that the iconic species is still threatened. Horticulturist Dolly Foster returns to the show to talk about choosing plants–including milkweed–to attract monarchs and other pollinators to your yard. Bob Benenson of Local Food Forum reports on the start of summer farmers market season and some developments for small farms and growers.
Steve Sass has accomplished something most of us can only dream of–he helped discover a natural wild area. While that alone is remarkable, the fact that the area–Lydick Bog–is in northwest Indiana is astounding. Not quite two weeks ago, Sass and fellow naturalist Amanda Smith, both from Indiana Nature LLC, took my partner Kathleen Thompson and me on a tour of a natural area that was unknown as recently as 2014. We will talk about that walk on Sunday’s show, as well as other ongoing work to protect and preserve Indiana’s varied resources. Meanwhile, here’s a short preview, including a video clip from our spring walk at Lydick Bog.
If YOU think this has been a weird spring, how do you think your TREES feel? If you’re a regular watcher of our show, you might recognize our 9am guest. Megan Kacenski is an Arborist Representative for Bartlett Tree Experts. She is also kind of a rock star in the industry–you might have seen her in some of the commercials we run for Bartlett during our program. On Sunday, she will talk about life as an ISA Certified Arborist and what opportunities exist for women in the industry. She is joined by our buddy Skeet from the Bartlett Tree Experts – Bolingbrook, IL office. We’ll discuss the inconsisten spring weather and what it means for your trees.
Recently, the Parks and Recreation Board for suburban Lake Forest signaled its intention to replace about 10.5 acres of Deerpath Park with artificial turf. That decision is being challenged by Go Real Go Grass, a group of parents, athletes, parents, coaches, and citizens of Lake Forest. Their contention is that plastic grass releases various chemicals (including PFAS) into our air and water and even into the lungs of student athletes. In addition, there are questions about injuries caused by the use of synthetic turf. On Sunday, we talk to Yuh Schabacker-Koppel, her son Jocum, and Mary Galea about the dangers posed by artificial surfaces. At the same time, Ryan Anderson from Midwest Grows Green returns to explain how natural turf can be grown without the use of harmful chemicals and fertilizers. He will announce the launch of Green Shield Certified’s Sustainable Landscaping Standards.
To help Illinois Food Scrap Coalition kick off International Compost Awareness Week, we’ll talk about the ways that compost can improve even difficult soils, and why #composting yard waste and food scraps is so important. Then, If you’re a birder or you welcome birds to your backyard, you’re probably aware of the outbreak of avian influenza. We’ll be talking to John Bates, Associate Curator of Birds at Field Museum Birds. We’ll attempt to get the record straight about what you should be doing in your yard, whether it’s in Illinois or somewhere else in the Midwest.
Gardening expert and media personality Melinda Myers is always welcome on The Mike Nowak Show with Peggy Malecki. It’s spring and the updated version of her book, Midwest Gardener’s Handbook is being released. So, we’ll talk to her about how one changes a gardening book in response to climate change and the threat of plants that were once considered acceptable but are now on the “invasive” or “aggressive” list.
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We start by welcoming back author and educator Doug Tallamy of Homegrown National Park. We’ll be talking about (among other things) the importance of trees and pollinators. It’s a great follow up to last week’s show with Kelsay and Tristan Shaw from Possibility Place Nursery. Speaking of trees, what did you envision when the Obama Foundation lobbied for a presidential center in Chicago’s Jackson Park? Here’s what you got. More than 800 trees, many of them mature, have disappeared or will shortly. And if the proposed Tiger Woods designed golf course happens, get ready for another 2100 trees to be wiped from the face of earth. The total comes close to 3,000 trees. On Sunday’s show, we talk to Jeannette Hoyt from Save Jackson Park, who just filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Chicago Park District to see possible plans for the PGA-calibre course, which would also wipe out the South Shore Nature Sanctuary.
We welcome to the show two of our favorite people in the horticultural biz. Kelsay and Tristan Shaw help run Possibility Place Nursery in Monee, Illinois, which specializes in native plants, especially trees and shrubs. Not only that but, like their father Connor, they are wickedly outspoken about their industry. Which means that Sunday’s conversation is going to be a lot of fun.
If it’s spring, it’s time to talk once again to Bob Benenson from Local Food Forum. He reports on as many issues as he can get to in about 20 minutes, They include the reasoning behind Chicago’s Green City Market’s decision to open a month earlier. Author Emily Murphy returns to the show to talk about her new book, GROW NOW. In it, she shares the gospel of regenerative gardening, no-till, and what it means to go beyond organic.
Gary Fehr owns and operates Green School Farms near Lincoln, Nebraska, using sustainable practices. We get a brief tour of his small farm and talk about growing vegetables organically, surviving drought conditions in the Great Plains and getting ready for spring.
We talk with Alyssa Rosemartin from the USA – National Phenology Network and Jean Linsner, a citizen scientist who has worked on The 606 in Chicago. If you don’t know what phenology is, we’ll give you a crash course. Petra Page-Mann from Fruition Seeds returns to the show to talk about gearing up for the spring growing season. Meteorologist Rick DiMaio will explain how we can be in the teens one day and in the 50’s the next. Basically, he’ll say, “It’s March.”
With the start of the 2022 gardening season upon us, we look at the business end and the personal side of great growing. Chris Beytes from Ball Hort’s publication GrowerTalks reports on the state of the industry. LaManda Joy previews the Great Grow Along with presenter Nicole Burke of Gardenary and Rooted Garden.
Lisa Hilgenberg is horticulturist for the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden. There, she is responsible for some 50,000 plants, including 400 types of edibles. Today she has advice on when and how to get your seedlings started for the Midwest growing season. We also talk about The Orchid Show: Untamed at the Garden.
Mike and Peggy welcome back MWRD Commissioner Kim Neely du Buclet to talk about recent green infrastructure water projects and even ways to trace coronavirus in our water supply. Raj Patel, director of The Ants & the Grasshopper explains the food and social justice components of his film about climate change. Annette Prince from Chicago Bird Collision Monitors and Skokie resident Kim Polka report on their efforts to stop a potentially bird-killing Carvana Tower in that Chicago suburb.
| We talk animal welfare on today’s show. Ryan Anderson from Midwest Grows Green previews “Hounds & Grounds,” an event that will feature agility training for dogs and advice about natural lawn care for their owners that will keep their pooches healthy. Jodie Wiederkehr of Chicago Alliance for Animals is fighting to stop animal sales in the Chicago area. She explains the new state law to stop so-called “puppy mill” sales that is a step in that direction. |
Do you compost in your yard? You should. It’s one way to help reduce the obscene amount of food waste (40 million tons/year) that ends up in landfills. And that’s just in America. It helps reduce greenhouse gasses (GHG) that contribute to climate change. It also supercharges your soil. Yes, we’re in the dead of winter, but it’s a great time to plan your backyard composting operation. This Sunday, 2/6/22, we talk to Amy Bartucci, Administrative Coordinator for the Illinois Food Scrap Coalition (IFSC), and backyard composter Kate Caldwell about how to get started.
Yes, it cold and there’s snow. But if you live in the Chicago region, those are two excellent reasons to get out to a nearby forest preserve. Nina Baki from the Cook County and Rebekah Snyder from Lake County talk about the activities they have to offer and why a visit to nature–even in winter–can be so rewarding.
Entomologist, ecologist and author Doug Tallamy returns to The Mike Nowak Show with Peggy Malecki. We’ll talk about his most recent book, The Nature of Oaks, and his ambitious plan for Homegrown National Park™. But he’ll also be joined by Kerry Leigh, executive director of the Natural Land Institute and they will discuss the local fight to Save Bell Bowl Prairie at Chicago Rockford International Airport. We will even look at a success story in Wisconsin. Debra Behrens from The Prairie Enthusiasts will report on a grant to expand Mounds View Grassland Preserve by 350 acres. READ MORE.
The 2020 Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival is coming to Chicago this week. We talk to its founder, Blair Thomas, and to artist Robin Frohardt, who has created an installation called The Plastic Bag Store. It is stocked with food-like items that are handcrafted from discarded, single-use NYC plastic trash. Marta Keane from the Illinois Recycling Foundation joins the conversation to talk about how we deal with what is a world-wide plastic crisis. Meteorologist Rick DiMaio reports on snowstorms in America and exploding volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean.
We start a brand new year with a brand new book. The Healthy Garden: Simple Steps for a Greener World is written by a couple of gardening pros–Kathleen Norris Brenzel and Mary-Kate Mackey. We’ll talk about how and especially why you should become a friend of the earth. Then Mike and Peggy talk about some of the environmental stories making headlines. And meteorologist Rick DiMaio has his first report of the year, following Chicago’s first snow of the year.
Mike and Peggy wrap up 2021 with their annual presentation of It’s a Wonderful Slice of It’s a Wonderful Life, featuring an all-star cast of friends of the show. Cindy Crosby talks about her book Chasing Dragonflies and why getting out into the natural world is important in winter. She is joined by Illinois Master Naturalist Mac Austin.
We explore how different groups work to provide healthy, local food to the Chicago region, while sometimes improving the lives of the people who grow that food. We talk to Bob Kopach from the Eco-Friendly Farm Stand Project and Tucker Kelly, lead grower at Growing Solutions Farm, which is part of Urban Autism Solutions. Mike and Peggy will have some advice for sustainable holiday giving. And meteorologist Rick DiMaio will talk about the devastation caused by the tornado outbreak in the middle of the country.
On this show we explore how different groups work to provide healthy, local food to the Chicago region, while sometimes improving the lives of the people who grow that food. We talk to Bob Kopach from the Eco-Friendly Farm Stand Project and Tucker Kelly, lead grower at Growing Solutions Farm, which is part of Urban Autism Solutions. Mike and Peggy will have some advice giving during the holiday season. And meteorologist Rick DiMaio follows up on the devastating tornadoes in the middle part of our country.
On Sunday’s show, we look at how to grow food sustainably. Is that permaculture? Or regenerative gardening? How about appropriate horticulture? We’ll ask Robert Kourik, author of the just-released Sustainable Food Gardens: Myths and Solutions. Then Mike and Peggy dip into the grab bag of environmental news. Also, meteorologist Rick DiMaio is back and we’ll talk about why it won’t snow in Colorado but it will in Hawaii. READ MORE.
Two months ago, not many folks had ever heard of Bell Bowl Prairie in Rockford, Illinois. Now, it is at the forefront of a prairie uprising. Amy Doll from Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves and Chris Benda, the Illinois Botanizer, bring us up to speed on the latest developments to save this valuable remnant prairie. Dan Kosta from Vern Goers Greenhouse in Hinsdale, Illinois, has advice on which holiday plants to buy and how to keep them healthy. READ MORE.
As a November deadline loomed and the bulldozers prepared to roar to life, environmental groups fought to #SaveBellBowlPrairie next to Chicago Rockford International Airport. We talked to landscape designer Domenico D’Alessandro, who has created plans to show that carving up the prairie is unnecessary. He is joined by the Natural Land Institute’s Kerry Leigh, and Jen Kuroda of Sinnissippi Audubon. Meanwhile, the policy makers who could save the prairie remain ominously silent. UPDATE: We won. The airport agreed to change their design so that the prairie will not be destroyed. But we all need to keep a watching brief to see that all goes well. UPDATE 2: We haven’t won yet. The airport went back on their word. Keep your sleeves rolled up.
Remember the days of separated curbside recycling bins? One of those bins was always reserved for glass. Now, in the world of “single stream recycling,” glass is sometimes considered a contaminant. What happened? On Sunday, we talk to Scott DeFife from the Glass Packaging Institute and the not-for-profit Glass Recycling Foundation. We’ll chat about glass recycling in general and the “Don’t Trash Glass Commercial Bar & Restaurant Collection Program,” which came to Chicago this year. We also welcome Jill Bondi from Bartlett Tree Experts, who will talk about opportunities for women in aboriculture, a word that Microsoft, Facebook and even YouTube don’t seem to know exists (I’m looking at the red, squiggly line right now). It means working with trees, ya jamokes! (Hmm. They don’t know that word, either.)
“Mike and Peggy really know their stuff. I’m interested in any and all ways I can be kinder to my planet as well as enjoy it more. THANKS, Peggy and Mike, for helping me with that.” Karen Kring
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And now for some social media.
Since the important movements towards change and a better world hardly ever start in the mainstream press, we keep a close eye on what’s happening on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and even (shudder) Facebook. So please follow us . . . because we’re certainly following you.
“Great guests with amazing expertise.” Andrew Fedorowski