It's in Our Nature

Sara Parker Pauley’s path to becoming the first woman to lead the Missouri Department of Conservation didn’t start where you might expect. She earned degrees in journalism and law from the University of Missouri, but an early choice to explore her love for nature made her “come alive.”    As she prepares to retire, she joins The Nature Conservancy’s Missouri State Director Adam McLane to talk about the rewards of a career in conservation, offer practical tips for getting started and bust some myths. 

Curiosity about people and nature has taken Kansas City-based photographer Randy Hudson around the world. He offers practical tips for getting started and describes the methods and philosophy behind his images, including his award-winning entry in The Nature Conservancy’s 2023 Global Photo Contest. 

Keith Bennett, our candidate for the World’s Most Interesting Man, chats with Missouri State Director Adam McLane about the origins of his nickname, mushroom hunting and how he learned all those Latin plant names. Oh, and that time he was offered a spot opening for Willie Nelson. Keith and Adam cover some ground in this episode. Whether it’s tips for finding native seeds or why anyone who hunts should be a conservationist, there are no lulls in the conversation.

Wow, what a year! Missouri State Director Adam McLane recaps seven highlights from a packed twelve months. If you want to catch up on what TNC is doing in Missouri, from new Habitat Strike Teams to hosting tarantula research, have a listen. This was a year that will guide much of what we do in the future to reach some big goals by 2030. So, if you want to see where TNC is going, this is the place to start.

In 2019, Missouri State Director Adam McLane and a group of Nature Conservancy supporters visited our TNC staff in Tanzania. This year, three Tanzania staffers returned the favor and visited Dunn Ranch Prairie in northwest Missouri. Adam sat down with Tanzania’s Country Director Lucy Magembe, Alphonce Mallya and Lucy Mlagala at our Little Creek Farmhouse to talk about the budding connection between the Missouri and Tanzania programs, the power of nature and why everyone should visit Tanzania.

Episode 14: Brett Perkins is part of a younger generation of The Nature Conservancy’s staffers in Missouri, but his history runs deep. His father, Dennis Perkins, helped introduce bison at TNC’s Dunn Ranch Prairie more than a decade ago, when Brett was still in high school. The elder Perkins is still considered TNC’s “bison whisperer” in Missouri, but he sees the time coming when his son and others will take over. TNC’s Missouri State Director Adam McLane sat down with Dennis and Brett to talk about the history of bison at Dunn Ranch Prairie, what it’s like working together now and how technology, such as drones and artificial intelligence, is shaping the future. It’s an insider’s look at TNC’s flagship preserve in Missouri, told by a father and son who know it as well as anyone.

Ask McLane Anything. Episode 1: In the first episode of this new series, Missouri State Director Adam McLane answers questions submitted by you, our listeners. The first question asks how far out of balance the natural world is right now. The second question came from Adam's sister and she wanted to know about his craziest animal encounter stories. Finally, we wrap this first episode with ways you can help the declining Monarch population by planting native plants in your home garden - and talk about the ways TNC is helping make an impact at our prairie in northern Missouri.  Do you have questions for Adam? You can submit those HERE. 

In this episode, Missouri state director, Adam McLane recaps seven highlights of 2022. It is far from everything that happened, but it is a great reminder of the ways your support helps people and nature thrive. All year, we here at The Nature Conservancy in Missouri carefully track our progress, writing down the acres of land revived by prescribed fire, miles of streambank restored, partnerships built and dozens of other metrics that guide us toward our conservation goals. And yet, the end of the year is a time to reflect on the past twelve months, which always feels like a marvel. It is our annual reminder of how much a group of dedicated people can accomplish in a short amount of time. We hope you take pride and ownership in those accomplishments, especially after a year like 2022. It was one for the books, with new staff hired, exciting new properties saved for conservation and the close of a campaign whose success will fuel work far into the future. 

It’s in Our Nature goes on location to visit our friends at the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture. CCUA cofounder Adam Saunders and board member Robbie Price join the podcast to talk about the power of gardening. The conversation takes place in the Columbia Agriculture Park, a 10-acre campus that is home to a sprawling urban garden, Columbia’s famed farmers market and the nerve center for CCUA’s array of food-focused programs.  Learn how a composting program started by University of Missouri students grew into a multimillion-dollar force that teaches people to grow vegetables in public housing, connects veterans with the land and supplies tens of thousands of pounds of produce to Columbia’s food pantry each year.

We all know that nature has a unique ability to improve our health, both mentally and physically. In this episode, we’re talking with Jeanne Carbone—the supervisor of therapeutic horticulture at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Jeanne has helped create a special program in the Japanese Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden that was designed to aid participants in experiencing the calming, restorative powers of nature.  Hear from Jeanne how this program came to life and how it’s helped everyone from cancer patients to nurses on the frontline during COVID.

Roo Yawitz, owner of Big Muddy Adventures, talks Missouri rivers, paddling and … sandwiches. In this episode, hear the story of the canoe trip that opened Roo’s eyes to the wonders of the Mississippi River and ultimately helped the owner of a live-music club find his way into the river-outfitting industry. Plus, can St. Louis become an outdoors city? Roo argues it already is—it just doesn’t know it yet.

Meet Wes Hauser, The Nature Conservancy’s new mitigation specialist. The Missouri native joins Missouri State Director Adam McLane on It’s in Our Nature to explain how TNC uses the tools of mitigation to offset the impact on the environment from development.  *Bonus: Wes reveals the scariest thing he’s ever seen.

From his Missouri farm, Ted Jones built Edward Jones Investments into a business empire, but he and his wife Pat were also crusading conservationists whose legacy includes willing the country’s longest recreational trail into existence. Now, the remarkable couple are the subject of a new biography, Trail Blazers: The Free-Spirited Extraordinary Lives of Ted and Pat Jones. Dan Burkhardt, co-founder of Magnificent Missouri and Ted’s longtime friend and employee, joins Missouri State Director Adam McLane on It’s in Our Nature to give us the backstory of the book as well as personal memories. Listen to learn the secret of Ted’s soup cocktail.

Two female trailblazers in the fire world recently crossed paths at a diversity, equity and inclusion prescribed fire workshop that The Nature Conservancy recently hosted in the Ozarks.  In this episode, Kelly Martin, a burn boss with TNC's North America Fire program and retired Yosemite National Park fire chief, and Kylie Paul, a fearless wildland firefighter from South Africa, paused to join Missouri State Director Adam McLane for a new episode of It’s in Our Nature.

Joel Pugh is a self-described continuous learner with an obsession for Wikipedia. He recently joined the board of The Nature Conservancy in Missouri and has already made lasting impacts and lots of new friends.  In this episode, Adam McLane catches up with Joel to learn about his life growing up in rural Pennsylvania and what drew him to The Nature Conservancy. 

Episode 5: Caves are some of the last great places on the globe left to explore. That, coupled with the desire to ensure these rare places are protected for future generations, motivates Mike Slay to continue squeezing his way into amazing Ozark caves. In this episode, we'll explore the subterranean world with our colleague Mike from the Conservancy's Arkansas Chapter. Mike is the Ozark Karst Manager and has recently helped with cave assessment work in Missouri. Mike will talk about his favorite cave experiences, his least favorite cave experiences, why he chose this as a career and all the little critters he's found along the way. Spoiler alert...he even has a cave fly named after him!

Episode 4: Missouri has some of the most beautiful rivers, streams and creeks running throughout the state. In places like the Ozarks, those streams are home to species that exist nowhere else on earth. Protecting out water resources is critical for people and nature. In this episode, you’ll hear from Mike Kromrey, the executive director for The Watershed Committee of the Ozarks, and Rachel Hopkins, a farmer and county engagement specialist in agriculture and environment for MU Extension. We’ll discuss the projects, practices and people who are dedicated to improving our water resources through practices they are implementing on their own land and what they are doing to help others who want to sustain and improve our rivers and streams. To learn more about The Watershed Committee of the Ozarks, visit https://watershedcommittee.org.; for more about MU Extension visit https://extension.missouri.edu/and to learn more about what The Nature Conservancy is doing in Missouri visit nature.org/missouri.

Episode 3: The flood of 2019 devastated many communities along the Missouri River, including the farming town of Rock Port, MO. The local levee district knew they had to do something different to stop the impacts of repetitive flooding and protect their community. The solution: setting back the levee to give the river more room. In this episode, you’ll hear from Regan Griffin, a member of the Atchison County Levee District; Corina Zhang, an engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District; and Barbara Charry, TNC’s floodplains and nature-based solutions strategy manager. Host and Missouri state director, Adam McLane walks us through the complex process of moving a levee and all the pieces and people who came together to make it a reality - and how the new levee is benefiting people and nature. For more details about this project visit nature.org/moriverlevee and to learn more about The Nature Conservancy visit nature.org/missouri.

Episode 2: The hellbender, American burying beetle, greater prairie-chicken and Topeka shiner—these species are on the brink of extinction in Missouri. But, what's being done to save them? In this episode, you'll hear from Doug Ladd, The Nature Conservancy's former director of conservation in Missouri who provides insight on these species, how they got where they are, and the collaborations from dedicated partners who are working to restore their populations. We also phone a friend—Jeff Briggler with the Missouri Department of Conservation who provides his insight and expertise on the Hellbender. Learn more about The Nature Conservancy at nature.org/missouri.

Episode 1: What was once a vacant lot in the heart of North St. Louis is now a flourishing urban farm, providing so much more than just fresh produce to the community. In this episode, you'll hear from Pastor Andy Krumsieg and Donna Washington from Jubilee Community Church. Through community partnership and collaborations, they turned the Church's vision into a space that's providing solutions for nature and people.  Learn more about The Nature Conservancy at nature.org/missouri.