The Sempervirens Fund Podcast

Josephine McCracken: Pioneer Environmentalist and Feminist

In this episode of the Sempervirens Fund Podcast, explore the epic life of pioneer environmentalist and feminist Josephine McCracken. At the turn of the 19th century, McCracken became an indispensable voice for redwood preservation. Her activism inspired the women’s network essential for the successful 1901 campaign to create Big Basin Redwoods State Park. McCracken was also a leading figure in the San Francisco Bay area literary scene. She authored a collection titled the Overland Tales and was a close friend and contemporary of such luminaries as Bret Harte, Mark Twain and Ambrose Bierce. Late in life, McCracken also befriended and mentored some of the biggest female stars in the burgeoning movie industry Mary Pickford, Zasu Pitts and Beatriz Michelena as they made silent films in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Join historians Traci Bliss and Randall Brown as they convey how this remarkable woman overcame major obstacles, including escaping a homicidal husband in the badlands of New Mexico and losing her Santa Cruz Mountains home to fire, to become a full-time journalist and advocate for women. Along the way, they will also reveal much about the founding of the Sempervirens Club and some common misconceptions regarding the establishment of Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

The Language of Birds with Jon Young

Interpreting Bird Language is an art form. The calls, postures, and other behaviors of birds convey much information to those who understand their patterns. The attentive, trained observer can deduce through bird language the location of predators and other forces on the landscape. The reaction of birds and animals also speaks volumes about the awareness and behavior of the observer. In this way, birds become a barometer for one’s own awareness of the landscape, both inner and outer. The voices of the birds become a beacon that enrapture the senses in a three-dimensional game of hide and seek that is being played on the land and in the air. Predator and prey, observer and observed merge into one as the language of the birds calls us on a journey of connection and wonder. Learn how to expand your senses with bird language with Jon Young, author of What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World. About the Speaker: For the past quarter century, Jon has been mentoring folks in the nearly lost art of understanding bird and animal language. Just as science is beginning to see the credibility in this ancient skill, Jon has been leading communities world-wide to get these skills back through lectures, workshops, media—but mostly through training and mentoring. Jon’s leading-edge work on bird language has been posted in magazine articles and in books including: Animal Tracking Basics, Coyotes Guide to Connecting with Nature, BirdTalk and Exploring Natural Mysteries, and is the subject of popular audio CD series including Seeing Through Native Eyes and Advanced Bird Language. Jon’s book What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013) has inspired even non-birders to look at the winged creatures in their own back yards in a new way. Check out Jon’s website www.jonyoung.org for more information. As co-founder of the 8 Shields Institute, Jon has devoted his life to creating a global network of nature-connected communities. Learn more at 8Shields.org.