So just why did 30,000 sandhill cranes decide to fly directly over the City of Chicago this week? We’ll explore that with ornithologist and avian biologist Steve Bailey from the Illinois Natural History Survey. Jean Bragdon from Lurvey Garden Center in Des Plaines has advice on keeping holiday plants happy and healthy. Then we tell the tale of “a great day” in court, as The Fourth District Appellate Court reverses criminal contempt charges against two Illinois factory farm activists–including friend of the show Karen Hudson.

On The Mike Nowak Show this week we try to connect the environmental dots–to see how the Future Energy Jobs Bill, which was passed by the Illinois General Assembly this week, ties in to contamination in Chicago’s recycling blue carts and the recently passed plastic bag fee in Chicago. Mel Nickerson from the Illinois Recycling Association and Melanie Eckner from the Chicago Sustainability Leaders Network join us to add some clarity to these issues. Then friend of the show Michele Hoffman Trotter explains why the microuniverse of our oceans holds the key to life on this planet and how she is creating a ninety-minute film to present this story to the world.

Just another public service day here at The Mike Nowak Show. Peggy Malecki and I start by giving you the lowdown on some of the best, strangest and most…uh…off-putting (I’m trying to be kind here) green holiday gift ideas we’ve found, with Michelle Byrne Walsh from Chicagoland Gardening Magazine. Then Scott Steward, director of the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park, tells us why winter is still a great time to be viewing outdoor plants. And there’s great stuff happening at Conserve Lake County, where friend of the show Sarah Surroz recently became executive director. We expect great things and she’ll tell us all about it.

Mike MacDonald has spent the past year teaching people through photography and prose that the Chicago area has a lot more spectacular nature than they ever imagined. He comes to the studio to talk about his book, My Journey into the Wilds of Chicago. Then Elizabeth Lyon, manager of the Plant Chicago Farmer’s Market, Alex Poltorak, founder of The Urban Canopy, and others discuss how difficult it can be to run a successful farmers market.

Sometimes shows come together almost by themselves. Today on The Mike Nowak Show we give you a perfect example. The program is about the stuff we make, the food we eat, and how we deal with all of it before, during and after its useful life. It features artist Mary Ellen Croteau, Food Tank president and founder Danielle Nierenberg, Food Tank Summit participant Roger Thurow from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Kay McKeen from SCARCE and Erlene Howard from Collective Resource.