Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum Archives

Return of the Butterfly Whisperer

July 10, 2021July 12, 2021 Mike Nowak Chicago Academy of Sciences, climate change, Doug Taron, estivating butterflies, Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network, insect decline, monarch butterfly, Peggy Malecki, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, pesticides, regal fritillary, squash vine borer, The Mike Nowak Show

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Doug Taron is a PhD, Chief Curator of the Chicago Academy of Sciences at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, director of the Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network and much more. But we prefer to call him The Butterfly Whisperer. At least this week. He joins us on the show to talk monarchs, regal fritillaries, insect decline, and whatever else comes up in the realm of entomology.

Podcast

Black Gardeners Matter, Too

July 4, 2020November 2, 2020 Mike Nowak Dr. Doug Taron, eco-influencer, firefly habitat, Illinois Park and Recreation Association, Nicole Virgil, Peggy Malecki, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, social and food justice, suburban hoop houses, summer vegetable watering, The Mike Nowak Show, The Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener, Unplug Illinois Day

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Nicole Virgil returns to the show as she continues her fight to grow vegetables in a hoop house in her own, Elmhurst, Illinois backyard. Debbie Trueblood from the Illinois Park and Recreation Association reports on their second annual Unplug Illinois Day. Holly and Joey Baird, The Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener, have advice on mid-season veggie crops. Doug Taron, PhD of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum says it’s a great year for fireflies and reports on raising Baltimore Checkerspots on his porch during the pandemic.

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

“An Amazing Year” for Eastern Monarchs?

September 21, 2019September 26, 2019 Mike Nowak Alan Chadwick Garden, Allen Lawrance, biodynamic French intensive gardening, composting, Doug Taron, environment, gardening, monarch butterflies, organic fruit trees, Orin Martin, Peggy Malecki, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, The Mike Nowak Show

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:45:24 — 50.0MB)

Entomologists Doug Taron and Allen Lawrance from the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum stop by the studio to discuss monarch butterflies, dragonflies, spiders and more. Orin and Manjula Martin talk about the organic approach of their book Fruit Trees for Every Garden.

Podcast

Chicken Enthusiasts and Monarch Supporters

September 15, 2018September 21, 2019 Mike Nowak butterflies, Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts, Doug Taron, dragonflies, environment, From the Start Band, gardening, monarch migration, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, sustainability, The Mike Nowak Show, urban agriculture, Windy City Coop Tour

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:45:57 — 48.3MB)

Members of the Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts promote the 2018 Windy City Coop & Eco-Yard Tour…and provide some musical entertainment. Mike test drives an electric vehicle in nine minutes. Doug Taron, PhD from the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum reports on large numbers of migrating monarch butterflies.

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April 15, 2018 – Science is for Citizens, Too

April 14, 2018April 19, 2018 Mike Nowak butterflies, Cam Davis, Doug Taron, energy efficiency, environment, gardening, green living, MWRD, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, stormwater, sustainability, The Mike Nowak Show, Yellow Brick Properites

Cheryl Julcher from Yellow Brick Properties is a realtor who uses sustainability as a selling point. Cam Davis just garnered 15,000 write-in votes for an MWRD seat in the Illinois primary. But will he be seated? Butterfly expert Doug Taron celebrates 30 years of the Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network, and has a monarch update.

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October 1, 2017 – Seeds, Giant Pumpkins and Solar Panels

September 30, 2017October 12, 2017 Mike Nowak clean energy, environment, Future Energy Jobs Act, gardening, giant pumpkins, Openlands, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Seeds, Sharon Bladholm, The Mike Nowak Show, Windfree Solar

Sharon Bladholm returns to the show to talk about her latest nature-focused art exhibit. Mike and Peggy talk to a man who grew a 1,852 pound pumpkin this year. Erik Carlberg and Doug Snower from Windfree Solar explain why this is a good time for clean energy in Illinois.

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September 17, 2017 – Wildcrafting, Tracking Monarchs

September 17, 2017September 28, 2017 Mike Nowak Doug Taron, endangered species, environment, gardening, herbalist, Lisa M. Rose, Midwest Medicinal Plants, monarch butterfly, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, The Mike Nowak Show, wildcrafting

Lisa M. Rose talks about her book Midwest Medicinal Plants and how you can forage for those plants in your own yard. A group called Mighty House announces an effort to reduce nutrient pollutants by targeting big meat producers. Doug Taron from the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum reports on Midwest monarch populations as they begin their migration to Mexico.

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July 9, 2017 – Of Seeds, Monarchs and Kayaks

July 8, 2017July 18, 2017 Mike Nowak Allan Lawrance, environment, gardening, Lee Buttala, monarch butterly, Openlands, Paddle Illinois Water Trails, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Seed Savers Exchange, species diversity, The Mike Nowak Show

New executive director of Seed Savers Exchange Lee Buttala talks about the challenges of being the guardians of 25,000 varieties of seeds. Allen Lawrance from the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum has monarch update for the 2017 season. Laura Barghusen from Openlands announces the launch of Paddle Illinois Water Trails for canoes and kayaks.

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January 21, 2017 – The Plight of the Bumble Bee

January 20, 2017May 23, 2017 Mike Nowak Endangered Species Act, environment, extinction, gardening, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, pollinators, rusty patched bumble bee, The Mike Nowak Show, Xerces Society

Mike and Peggy talk to two experts–Allen Lawrance from Chicago’s Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and Rich Hatfield from the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation–about the recent decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.

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