The Essential Rhythm 8/14/22: A Field Trip to an Island

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley

This episode describes a recent trip to Machias Seal Island. The island hosts the largest population of nesting puffins on the coast of Maine. Elements of their land based breeding behavior include vocalizations and near constant motion, as well as feeding their young.

About the host:
Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listeners’ experiences with the natural world. She teaches biology and sustainability at Maine Maritime Academy and is currently collaborating on a guide book to the intertidal zone in the Gulf of Maine.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Nature of Phenology 8/13/22: Pearly Everlasting Blooming

Producers: Hazel Stark & Joe Horn
Host: Hazel Stark

This herbaceous wildflower can grow in clumps up to about three feet tall. Its most distinguishing characteristic is their white, papery flowers that are relatively small compared to the height of the plant.

Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com

About the host/writers:
Joe Horn lives in Gouldsboro, is Co-Founder of Maine Outdoor School, L3C, and is a Registered Maine Guide and Carpenter. He is passionate about fishing, cooking, and making things with his hands. He has both an MBA in Sustainability and an MS focused in Environmental Education. Joe can be reached by emailing [email protected]

Hazel Stark lives in Gouldsboro, is Co-Founder and Naturalist Educator at Maine Outdoor School, L3C, and is a Registered Maine Guide. She loves taking a closer look at nature through the lens of her camera, napping in beds of moss, and taking hikes to high points to see what being tall is all about. She has an MS in Resource Management and Conservation and is a lifelong Maine outdoorswoman. Hazel can be reached by emailing [email protected]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Cosmic Curator 8/13/22: Beware the Emotional Hangover

This is your Cosmic Curator, Tom Yaroschuk, with a look at the astrological patterns for today Saturday, August 13th as seen through the lens of Vedic astrology.

Often times, its easier to understand an event after it happened. You know -Hindsight is 20/20 Vision.

So let’s go back to last Thursday and look at the full moon that landed on the Penobscot at 9:36 PM…

About the Host:
Tom Yaroschuk is a Vedic Astrologer. His intention is to help people understand their karma and the issues they may confront to cultivate more fulfilling lives. Tom is writing a memoir of the spiritual lessons derived from his work in a Homeless Day Center in between a career as an award winning television and documentary producer.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Awanadjo Almanack 8/12/22: “God Bless the Grass”

Producer/Host: Rob McCall
Production Assistance: Rebecca McCall

About the host:

Rob McCall: Born in the Black Hills of South Dakota, grew up in Oregon and Illinois. Father was a Scots-Irish preacher, mother a Yankee Congregationalist tracing her ancestry back to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Father taught him about Scripture, mother taught him about Nature.

Bachelor of arts in philosophy, bachelor of divinity in American religious history, graduate studies in education, doctor of ministry in congregational studies, certified in elementary education, tree fruits and entomology.

Worked as an elementary school teacher, tree and landscape contractor, church sexton, orchard manager, chimney sweep, ambulance driver, musician. Began second career as a preacher at age 40. Served as minister of the First Congregational Church of Blue Hill, Maine 1986 – 2014. He is currently chaplain of the Brooklin Fire Department.

Since 1992 has published the weekly Awanadjo Almanack which is broadcast to midcoast Maine and on the web at WERU-FM and appears in a number of publications. His writing has also appeared in Yankee, Down East, Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors, Island Journal and elsewhere.

His first book, Small Misty Mountain, was published in 2006 by Pushcart Press and distributed by W.W. Norton. Publisher’s Weekly called it “by turns inspiring and infuriating.” His second book, Great Speckled Bird, followed in 2012. His third book, Some Glad Morning, was released in October 2020.

Passions include wild plants and animals, and traditional fiddle tunes. Married for 53 years to Rebecca Haley, artist and singer. Father of two, grandfather of two.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Common Ground Radio 8/11/22: Apples!

Producers/Hosts: Holli Cederholm, Caitlyn Barker
Editing: Clare Boland

Common Ground Radio is an hour-long discussion of local food and organic agriculture with people here in the state of Maine and beyond.

The August 2022 episode of Common Ground Radio is all about apples! Host Holli Cederholm is joined by Laura Sieger, orchard manager with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), and Lydia Pendergast, an orchard intern with MOFGA and self-described “fruit explorer.” They talked about the Maine Heritage Orchard, the importance of cultivar preservation, and how fruit exploration and genetic testing both play important roles in identifying apples at risk of extinction and protecting these fruits in perpetuity.

-Historic apples
-Fruit explorers
-The Maine Heritage Orchard in Unity, Maine
-Apple identification
-DNA testing of apples
-Apple propagation
-Organic orcharding
-Apples and climate change
-Summer apples

Guest/s:

Laura Sieger, orchard manager, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) in Unity, Maine (mofga.org/maineheritageorchard)
Lydia Pendergast, orchard intern with MOFGA and fruit explorer

FMI Links:

Maine Heritage Orchard
Stewardship Apples, Fedco: fedcoseeds.com/trees/stewardship-apple-248
“What’s in a name? The importance of identity in heirloom apple tree preservation,” published in Plants People Plant and co-authored by Sieger, Pendergast, et al.
North American Fruit Explorers
Washington State University’s Apple Genome Project
MyFruitTree, appleID: myfruittree.org
Out On A Limb Apples (John Bunker)

About the hosts:

Holli Cederholm has been involved in organic agriculture since 2005 when she first apprenticed on a small farm. She has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic homestead of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; a host of “The Farm Report” on Heritage Radio Network; and a long-time contributor for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, which she now edits in her role as content creator and editor at MOFGA.

Caitlyn Barker has worked in education and organic agriculture on and off for the last 17 years. She has worked on an organic vegetable farm, served on the Maine Farm to School network, worked in early childhood education and taught elementary school. She currently serves as the community engagement coordinator for MOFGA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download