#90: From Invasive Species to Allergenic Pollen with Allasandra Valdez (The Happy Botanist Podcast) and Dr. Daniel Katz

You’re in for a treat today - it’s like two episodes in one.My guest today is Allasandra Valdez, a botanist working on her PhD in plant physiology in  Cornell University’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department. Allasandra also has a background studying invasive species, and is the creator and host of The Happy Botanist podcast.Today’s wide-ranging discussion touches on everything from studying plants' response to climate change through looking at carbon 13 isotopes, to invasive species including the Hemlock wooly adelgid, to the surprising behaviors of an invasive grass called Johnson Grass.We also discuss Allasandra’s work in science communication and her podcast, The Happy Botanist. As you know, my Jumpstart Nature organization seeks to amplify great work being done by others, and after meeting Allasandra and learning about her work and her vision, I felt that she fit the bill. So the last 30 minutes or so of today’s episode is a re-share of one of her episodes with Dr. Dan Katz. Dr. Katz studies airborne pollen - specifically allergenic pollen. If you’ve ever wondered why some pollen causes so much havoc, or if those pollen forecasts you sometimes see on the local weather are accurate, stay tuned to learn more.Find Allasandra on Instagram and TikTok, and her podcast is on all of the usual podcast services, and the web at The Happy Botanist podcast.FULL SHOW NOTESLinksDaniel Katz: https://www.thekatzlab.com/The Happy Botanist podcastSupport Us On Patreon!Buy our Merch!Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz MusicLicense (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseArtist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!