Keep Eating Healthy and Grow Some Food Yourself

Lisa Hilgenberg from the Regenstein Fruit and Vegetable Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden explains how 50,000 plants get maintained during a coronavirus outbreak. Scott Jamieson from Bartlett Tree Experts reports on the kind of essential tree care work that can still be done during a stay-at-home order. Jody Osmund from Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm CSA, Leslie Cooperband and Wes Jarrell from Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery, and Melissa Flynn of the Chicago Green City Market are all working to keep local farmers in business during this crisis.

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Spring Is Still Scheduled–Melinda Myers Says So

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.

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The Virtual Chicago Flower & Garden Show

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.

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Connecting in the Age of Coronavirus

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.

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The Right to Garden as Law

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.

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Harnessing The Power of We

The theme of the 9th Annual One Earth Film Festival is The Power of We. Mike and Peggy welcome three filmmakers from the event, which runs March 6-15. Dan Gibbs, the Chicago Backyard Farmer, returns to talk about preparing for (very) early spring crops.

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Celebrating Water Responsibly

Michelle Hoffman Trotter, educator and director of the film Microcosm, promotes next week’s Wave Film Fest, which celebrates our oceans and lakes through film and visual arts. MWRD Commissioner Cam Davis returns to the show to talk about the myriad issues surrounding that little appreciated and even less understood regional agency.

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Nature’s Best Hope Is You

Doug Tallamy returns to the show to discuss his new book, “Nature’s Best Hope,” about how our planet’s salvation will be via native plants and the insects they support. The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Jim Ault talks about Brilliance: The Orchid Show, which runs through March 22.

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Cats and Trees and Arborists

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.

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Fluck Farms Chicago 2020

Justin Fluck was a winner in the 2019 Chicago Excellence in Gardening Awards for the work at his Fluck Farms Chicago. He stops by to talk about his plans for 2020 and how the award affected him. Dr. Nicolaas Mink, CEO and founder of Sitka Salmon Shares, returns to talk about the future of sustainable fishing in our oceans.

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