ECOSENSE FOR LIVING

#701 Planet of Pollinators
All eyes on the pollinators, as we explore three of the most charismatic creatures to ever work their magic on our flowering plants and crops: Bees, Monarch Butterflies, and Hummingbirds. In Asheville, host Jennie Garlington explores the North Carolina Arboretum, to find all three in a wonderland of habitats designed to attract them. In Atlanta, Ashley and Lloyd Hardrick are Black beekeepers who share their love and knowledge of bees and bee products inside the city, in schools, and now all the way up to Maine. Monarch expert, Jeanne Megal, shows us the hidden world of “America’s Butterfly,” (including the story of her successful wing transplant!). In the Research Triangle area of NC, Susan Campbell bands hummingbirds to better understand their lives and survival skills.

#702 Saving Half the Seas
From marine reserves expanding beyond the Galapagos Islands to aquaculture and the unique preservation of a southeastern coast, EcoSense looks at ways people are managing our relationships where shore meets sea and beyond. In the Galapagos, a new marine reserve is the result of multi-national cooperation to save migrating animals from intense fishing pressures. In Cedar Key, Florida, one fishing community managed to pivot when environmental pressures caused the oyster population to crash. And how did only 100 miles of Georgia coast protect 33% of all the marsh on the entire east coast? On Tybee Island near Savannah, they’re experimenting with marsh and dunes to deal with sea level rise.

#703 Saving Half the Earth
The E.O. Wilson Foundation continues to lead the movement to preserve half the earth’s biodiversity. How are they applying Dr. Wilson’s philosophy to identify biodiverse hot spots? One of E.O. Wilson’s proteges, Ben Raines, shows us why the Mobile River basin has earned the title “America’s Amazon.” In middle Georgia, the Ocmulgee lands could be a model for how a national park embraces the influence of the indigenous people whose history predates ancient Egyptian pyramids and whose lives are still tied to their original homelands there.

#704 Messing With Mother Nature
The reality is that there are very few places on earth that haven’t been altered by humans. When is a coyote no longer a coyote? In Galveston, Texas, coyotes dubbed “ghost wolves” carry high amounts of red wolf DNA. Scientists consider whether their genetic material could save the few red wolves that are left in captivity. Across the country, groups consider whether they’ll welcome American Chestnut trees that are engineered with a wheat gene to resist the blight that nearly wiped out their existence. In the Florida Keys, mosquitoes modified to lower disease levels have met with a great deal of resistance and concern. What happened that moved people from interest to alarm?