Blog Posts

Spring Is Still Scheduled–Melinda Myers Says So

March 29, 2020April 17, 2020 Mike Nowak 5000 Acre Challenge, eco-influencer, Great Courses “How To Grow Anything, growing plants from seed, keystone species, Melinda Myers, Peggy Malecki, preparing your garden for spring, protecting oak trees, The 5, The Mike Nowak Show, ” Happy Leaf LED grow lights

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:31:47 — 41.5MB)

Pandemic or no pandemic, spring is here. Gardening expert Melinda Myers returns to the show to talk about how to get your garden ready. B.J. Miller from Happy Leaf explains why modern LED technology beats the pants off of growing your seedlings under florescent tubes. Lisa Haderlein talks about how oaks in McHenry County can be protected with the help of The 5,000 Acre Challenge.

Podcast

The Virtual Chicago Flower & Garden Show

March 22, 2020March 26, 2020 Mike Nowak basic seed starting, eco-influencer, Farmers Markets, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, keeping small farmers in business, local food and COVID-19, Peggy Malecki, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, perennial edibles, The Mike Nowak Show, The Nature Museum Comes to You, Tony Abruscato, Virtual Chicago Flower & Garden Show

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:34:55 — 42.7MB)

The Virtual Chicago Flower & Garden Show comes to The Mike Nowak Show. With the cancellation of the event at Navy Pier, Mike and Peggy invite Show Director Tony Abruscato and scheduled presenters to share their horticultural knowledge safely on the radio. Liz Moran Stelk and Jen and Jeff Miller of Prairie Wind Family Farm talk about the near-term future of local food. Sarah Anderson from the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum explains how they’re bringing the museum into people’s homes.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:26:25 — 38.6MB)

Mike and Peggy explore ways to connect with nature during a worldwide pandemic. Benjamin Futa, Jennifer Jewell and Rebecca McMackin from the canceled Spring Symposium at Allen Centennial Garden in Madison, Wisconsin talk about the refuge of your backyard in this crisis. Dr. Teresa Horton of the Nature, Culture, and Human Health Network explains how social distancing can affect communities. On a different note, Jodie Wiederkehr from the Chicago Alliance for Animals explains how carriage horses might be on verge of disappearing from Chicago, and why that’s a good thing.

Podcast

The Right to Garden as Law

March 7, 2020March 14, 2020 Mike Nowak Chicago’s First Factory Farmed Animal Welfare Town Hall, Crate Free Illinois, eco-influencer, Food and Water Watch, Illinois Environmental Council, Mercy for Animals, Nicole Virgil, Peggy Malecki, Right to Garden laws, siting hoop house in backyards, The Mike Nowak Show

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:30:40 — 42.2MB)

Nicole Virgil has taken her battle to construct a hoop house in her suburban Elmhurst yard to the Illinois General Assembly. She joins us, along with State Representative Sonya Harper, primary sponsor of the “Right to Garden” bill, and Eliot Clay from the Illinois Environmental Council. Jessica Chipkin from Crate Free Illinois previews Chicago’s first Factory Farmed Animal Welfare Town Hall, along with Tyler Lobdell from Food and Water Watch and Erin Kwiatkowski from Mercy for Animals.

Podcast

Know Your Grow with William Moss

February 15, 2020February 17, 2020 Mike Nowak decline of amphibians, Frogs of Midewin, growing hemp, Know Your Grow, legal Cannabis in Illinois, Midewin Tallgrass Prairie, Peggy Malecki, reporting on climate change, The Green Divas, The Mike Nowak Show, William Moss The Garden Boss, Yale Climate Connections

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:33:36 — 43.8MB)

William Moss The Garden Boss returns to the show to talk about the challenges, horticultural and legal, of growing Cannabis in Illinois. Dr. Matthew Goldberg reports on the mission of Yale Climate Connections, a new addition to The Mike Nowak Show with Peggy Malecki. “Leap Year” has more than one meaning, as Trevor Edmonson from The Wetlands Initiative explains about his work with frogs at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.

Podcast

Cats and Trees and Arborists

February 1, 2020February 7, 2020 Mike Nowak Animal Legal Defense Fund, animal welfare, Bartlett Tree Experts, eco-influencer, Peggy Malecki, Robert Grillo, salt damage to trees, Scott Jamieson, Slaughter Free Chicago, Slaughter Free Milwaukee, The Mike Nowak Show, winter tree care

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:28:48 — 41.5MB)

Scott Jamieson from Bartlett Tree Experts returns to the show to talk about winter tree care and, yes, even how arborists are sometimes called upon to rescue cats from trees. Robert Grillo from Slaughter Free Chicago and Balaji Venkatesan from Slaughter Free Milwaukee explain why they are fighting to stop slaughterhouses across the nation.

Spring Is Still Scheduled–Melinda Myers Says So

The Virtual Chicago Flower & Garden Show

The Right to Garden as Law

Harnessing The Power of We

Celebrating Water Responsibly

Know Your Grow with William Moss

Nature’s Best Hope Is You

Cats and Trees and Arborists

Fluck Farms Chicago 2020