Cowling Arboretum student naturalists Maxima Gomez-Palmer and Nico Bolling

Cowling Arboretum student naturalists Maxima Gomez-Palmer and Nico Bolling

Carleton's Cowling Arboretum turns 100 this year! Maxima Gomez-Palmer and Nico Bolling both have worked as Cole Student Naturalists for the arboretum for several years. Their job always involves learning and teaching others about this amazing wild space on Carleton's campus, and recently they've been diving deeper into the arb's history so they can help lead events for the arb's centennial celebration. They give us an overview of the past 100 years of the Cowling Arboretum, share why they love being student naturalists, and explain what being a naturalist means to them.

U of M extension educator Natalie Hoidal on supporting local vegetable farmers

Natalie Hoidal, a Local Food and Vegetable Production educator with the University of Minnesota Extension, talks us through what it means to be an extension educator and why she loves Minnesota's small vegetable farms. From researching ways that farms can manage insect infestations to connecting with farmers over how to cultivate resilience in the face of climate change, Natalie's work revolves around supporting our small-scale farmers so they can succeed in an agricultural system built for large, monocrop farms.

Upcycling cloth into useable works of art with Kathy Ness

Kathy Ness is a Northfield, MN, based artist and crafter who turns discarded cloth and old clothes into beautiful new clothing, bags, and other useful items. She sells these through her buisness UpCycleMN and organizes volunteers to make 'boomerang bags' that are available at the public library. In this episode, Kathy talks us through her creative process, and explains why she chooses to combat fast fashion through making durable, practical, and aesthetic textile pieces.

Resisting Hyperscale Data Centers with Aubree Derksen and Bill Saville

Aubree Derksen and Bill Saville are Minnesota locals who are active in opposing the construction of hyperscale data centers in their towns. They walk us through their perspectives on how data centers can be harmful to our area, environmental impacts of hyperscale data centers, the political activism they've been engaged in, and their opinions on the uses and harms of artificial intelligence.

Hauberg Woods restoration work with Grace Clemens, CCCE fellow

Grace Clemens, a Food and Environmental Justice fellow from the Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) at Carleton College, talks us through her work collaboring with the Friends of Hauberg Woods. Hauberg Woods is a forested area in Northfield, MN where people have been working to restore the landscape for several years. Grace will talk about why restoring Hauberg Woods matters to her, and why we should all care about the health of our wild spaces.