Mike Nowak, Author at The Mike Nowak Show with Peggy Malecki

Smashing Pumpkins…Responsibly

October 24, 2020November 2, 2020 Mike Nowak African American Heritage Water Trail, Chicago Excellence in Gardening Awards, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, Kay McKeen, Kellogg School Garden Club, Openlands CEO Jerry Adelmann, Peggy Malecki, pumpkin smash, RENEW Conservation Corps Act, SCARCE, The Mike Nowak Show, UIC Nutrition Teaching Garden, University of Illinois Extension

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:53:57 — 52.2MB)

Kay McKeen from SCARCE and Amy DeLorenzo from Illinois Extension explain the importance of rescuing Halloween pumpkins from landfills. Jerry Adelmann of Openlands reports on environmental issues affecting our region. Mike and Peggy welcome a couple of winners from the Chicago Excellence in Gardening Awards 60-Second Garden Video Challenge.

Podcast

Snakes, Forest Preserves and Green Divas

October 17, 2020November 2, 2020 Mike Nowak Cassandra West, eco-influencer, environmental politics, Forest Preserve Foundation, Grace Wu, Green New Deal, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Peggy Malecki, Racial Equity and Access to Nature, snakes of the upper Midwest, The Green Divas, The Mike Nowak Show

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:56:47 — 53.5MB)

Herpetologist Grace Wu talks about the snakes of Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. Cassandra West previews the Forest Preserve Foundation 2020 Symposium, A conversation about Racial Equity and Access to Nature. Green Diva Meg and Green Diva Lisa talk environmental politics and make an announcement about a collaboration with The Mike Nowak Show with Peggy Malecki.

Podcast

Having a Virtual IMPACT on Landscapes

October 10, 2020November 2, 2020 Mike Nowak climate change, eco-influencer, EcoBeneficial, Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, IMPACT conference, Jack Pizzo, Kim Eierman, native plants, Nicole Virgil, Peggy Malecki, Right to Garden Act, suburban hoop houses, The Mike Nowak Show

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:43:05 — 47.2MB)

The Illinois Landscape Contractors Association (ILCA) annual IMPACT Conference will be virtual this year. Mike and Peggy talk to presenters Jack Pizzo of Pizzon & Associates and Kim Eierman from EcoBeneficial. The sad saga of Nicole Virgil and her fight to be able to have a hoop house in suburban Elmhurst continues. She returns to talk about the latest developments

Podcast

Walk Like an Agrarian

October 3, 2020November 2, 2020 Mike Nowak Center for Agrarian Learning, eco-influencer, fall gardening, Forefront Speaker Series, Lisa Kivirist, local food, McHenry County College, Melinda Myers, Peggy Malecki, planting spring bulbs, Sheri Doyel, Soil Sisters, The Mike Nowak Show

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:55:52 — 53.0MB)

Sheri Doyel, director of McHenry County College’s new Center for Agrarian Learning Center (CAL) is joined by farmer and activistt Lisa Kivirist to promote the upcoming Forefront Speaker Series, which has free online events planned the second Sunday of each month between now and December. Horticultural expert Melinda Myers returns to the show to offer fall gardening tips.

Podcast

The New Sustainable Reality

September 26, 2020November 2, 2020 Mike Nowak Alaina Harkness, Chicago Water Week, Current Chicago, eco-influencer, fall tree care, Great Lakes, Peggy Malecki, Skeet from Bartlett Tree Experts, The Mike Nowak Show, trees under drought stress

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:27:21 — 40.0MB)

The New Sustainable Reality refers not only to trees and water, but Mike and Peggy’s new Internet-only show. They talk to Skeet from Bartlett Tree Experts about fall tree care. Alaina Harkness is executive director of Current, which calls itself a “water innovation hub.” She talks about the first ever Chicago Water Week, taking place virtually from September 28 to October 2.

Podcast

Racist Pandemics and How to Recover

September 5, 2020November 2, 2020 Mike Nowak A Just Recovery, Alec McClennan, Dr. Jalees Rehman, eco-influencer, Faith in Place, fall is lawn care season, Good Nature Organic Lawn Care, Green Team Summit 2020, Peggy Malecki, racist pandemic, Rev. Brian Sauder, the dangers of lawn chemicals, The Mike Nowak Show

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:33:09 — 43.1MB)

In Hour 2, Rev. Brian Sauder from Faith in Place reports on the upcoming online Green Team Summit 2020 from September 13-17. We talk to Dr. Jalees Rehman, who will be hosting a workshop called COVID-19 and A Just Recovery. In Hour 1, we chat with Alec McClennan, founder and owner of Good Nature Organic Lawn Care in Ohio. He’ll explain why fall is the best time to work on your lawn and why using most lawn chemicals is a bad idea.

Podcast

Toxic Donuts and Food Deserts

August 29, 2020November 2, 2020 Mike Nowak Austin Harvest, By the Hand Kids Club, Chicago south side toxic donuts, Down at the Farms, eco-influencer, Marty Travis, Matt Wechsler, Natural Resources Defense Council, Peggy Malecki, Southeast Environmental Task Force, The Mike Nowak Show, toxic dump on Lake Michigan, Village Farmstand

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:14:27 — 33.8MB)

Marty Travis from Spencer Farm and filmmaker Matt Wechsler report on the opening of Village Farmstand, a way to keep farmers in business and give consumers access to local food. Rodney Williams Sr., Azariah Baker and Keith Tankson explain how the Austin Harvest pop up store will provide fresh food to their neighborhood. NRDC’s Gina Ramirez and Peggy Salazar of the Southeast Environmental Task Force are fighting for environmental justice on Chicago’s southeast side.

Podcast

Midwest Derecho Aftermath

August 22, 2020November 2, 2020 Mike Nowak Chicago Alderman Scott Waguespack, Daniella Pereira, Diane Blazek, eco-influencer, Lyz Lenz, Meteorologist Rick DiMaio, Midwest derecho aftermath, Midwest Grows Green, National Garden Bureau, Openlands, Peggy Malecki, The Mike Nowak Show, Urban Forestry Advisory Board

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:30:52 — 41.4MB)

Meteorologist Rick DiMaio, journalist Lyz Lenz, Daniella Pereira of Openlands and Alder Scott Waguespack report on the Midwest Derecho Aftermath in Chicago and the rest of the Midwest. Diane Blazek, Executive Director of the National Garden Bureau, talks about their 100th anniversary and what the future has to offer. Ryan Anderson from Midwest Grows Green joins Alec McClennan of Good Nature Organic Lawn Care to explain why fall is lawn care season and how your community might get free advice on how to create two naturally treated fields.

This Week's Show

Plover Summer on Lake Michigan

August 8, 2020November 2, 2020 Mike Nowak Bob Dolgan, Douglas Stotz, eco-influencer, Fruition Seeds, Henry Brockman, Ines Sommer, Monty and Rose, Peggy Malecki, Seasons of Change on Henry’s Farm, short season vegetable planting, Terra Brockman, The Field Museum, The Mike Nowak Show

“Seasons of Change on Henry’s Farm” filmmaker Ines Sommer and producer Terra Brockman talk about farming in the age of climate change and global pandemic. Petra Page-Mann, co-founder of Fruition Seeds, offers advice for mid-summer planting in Zones 4-6 (yes, that’s us in Chicago). Filmmaker Bob Dolgan and conservation ecologist Douglas Stotz from the Field Museam reflect on a summer without people at the lakefront, which might have made the return of a pair of piping plover much easier in 2020.

Podcast

Chicago’s War on Community Gardens

August 1, 2020November 2, 2020 Mike Nowak Advocates for urban Agriculture, Chicago Department of Water Management, Chicago’s war on community gardens, community gardens and urban farms, eco-influencer, Illinois Farmers Market Association, National Farmers Market Week, Peggy Malecki, Plant Chicago, Sean Ruane, The Mike Nowak Show

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:35:18 — 43.5MB)

In Hour 2, we look at what we are calling the “Chicago’s War on Community Gardens.” Why in the world would the City spring new regulations on urban farms and community gardens that call for huge fees for accessing water? And then barely back off of those demands during the COVID pandemic? We’ll talk Sean Ruane, Executive Director of Advocates for Urban Agriculture, as well as representatives of a couple of community gardens. Hour 1 features a look at National Farmers Market Week with Janie Maxwell from the Illinois Farmers Market Association, Jonathan Pereira of Plant Chicago and Nebraska farmer Gary Fehr.