PODCAST
Environmental Almanac
Environmental Almanac promotes awareness and understanding of the natural world in east central Illinois, and highlights environmental research by University of Illinois faculty and affiliates.
Episodes
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People wonder, what do crows think?
People wonder, what do crows think? [from the archives] Listen to the commentary: MP3 download At about this point in the fall a few years back, I noticed a curious phenomenon as I drove along Florida Avenue on the U of I campus. Dozens of crows—a “murder” if you will—were returning day after day...
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Appreciating bats before white-nose syndrome
Appreciating bats before white-nose syndrome Listen to the commentary MP3 download Back in 2007, my children came into the studio with me to record a segment on bats as a way of celebrating Halloween. Hearing their young voices in that is an enjoyable trip down memory lane for me. But I want you…
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Fall brings sandhill crane spectacle to northwest Indiana
Fall brings sandhill crane spectacle to northwest Indiana [Originally posted 11/21/2013] Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download The calls of sandhill cranes carry on the wind by some magic. Whether they are flying, and your view of them is obscured by a tree line, or they’re feeding…
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An appreciation for U of I artist Deke Weaver's BEAR
An appreciation for U of I artist Deke Weaver's BEAR Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download So much of conservation is about the concrete. Stop a pipeline here, plant milkweed for monarchs there, try to move the levers of political power with an email or a protest. Even when we turn…
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Ancient oaks a living link to Big Grove
Ancient oaks a living link to Big Grove Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download When people think about the landscape of central Illinois prior to European settlement they tend to think “prairie,” vast expanses of flat land covered in tall grass and tall flowers. And for the most part,...
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Untitled Episode
Entomology student publishes update of 1927 ant survey Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download Andrea Belcher came to the University of Illinois five years ago as a graduate student to study ants with entomology professor Andrew Suarez. In her own words, she was “always interested in...
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Appreciating nature near at hand
Appreciating nature near at hand Listen to the commentary Real Audio : MP3 download Even though there’s time on the calendar before Autumn begins officially, we’ve passed some important marks on the cultural calendar. Labor Day is a memory, the new school year is in full swing, and the season of...
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An ecological look at acorns
An ecological look at acorns [originally posted 9/25/2014] Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download Last week I found a walnut on my windowsill, a big fat one with an unblemished bright green husk. Soon after, another appeared stuck in the wheel of my car. Now they’re cached everywhere...
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Great strides for home solar thanks to Solar Urbana-Champaign program
Great strides for home solar thanks to Solar Urbana-Champaign program Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download You may or may not remember it, but in a commentary last December spoke about my family’s plan to have solar panels installed on our Champaign home in 2016. I’m happy to report...
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Highlights from a summer trip to Colorado
Annual cicadas enliven dog days with love song Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download Never in many years of fishing have I heard a better report than this, which came from an enthusiastic young man at the counter of St. Peter’s Fly shop in Fort Collins, Colorado: “Everybody’s…
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Annual cicadas enliven dog days with love song [from the archive]
Annual cicadas enliven dog days with love song Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download Even if the heat and humidity of recent weeks have limited your time outdoors, I bet you’ve been hearing a familiar insect song. It’s the mating call of dog day cicadas, loud enough to rise above the...
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Freshwater mussels: overlooked, under appreciated residents of Illinois streams [from the archive]
Freshwater mussels: overlooked, under appreciated residents of Illinois streams Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download If you’ve spent time canoeing or kayaking on rivers in the Midwest, you’ve probably come across the shells of freshwater mussels from time to time. On the outside,...
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Thirteen-lined ground squirrels (not chipmunks, not gophers) [from the archive]
Thirteen-lined ground squirrels (not chipmunks, not gophers) Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download My encounters with ground squirrels in the west this summer reminded there’s a common, yet fascinating animal closer to home I’ve been meaning to profile, the thirteen-lined ground...
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Coexisting with cottontails [from the archive]
Coexisting with cottontails Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download Some people love rabbits. “Soooo cute!!! More bunnies please,” was the response from one friend when I posted a rabbit picture online recently. More people, perhaps, have mixed feelings about them. “Love bunnies, but...
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Appreciating turkey vultures [from the archive]
Appreciating turkey vultures Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download If you watch the sky as you travel by car in warm weather, you’re likely to see soaring birds from time to time, even if you don’t count yourself a birder.In our part of the country, most of the large soaring birds...
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Mystery of the tiny bouncing spheres [from the archive]
Mystery of the tiny bouncing spheres Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download What’s shaped like a ball and white, less than a millimeter in diameter, and bounces like a Mexican jumping bean? This odd question occurred to my wife, Karen, last week as she locked her bicycle to the rack...
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Appreciating common snapping turtles
Appreciating common snapping turtles Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download Two kinds of snapping turtles occur in North America, and both of them can be found in Illinois. Alligator snappers, which most people will never see, are listed as endangered, and they inhabit only larger...
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Cultivating an appreciation for toads in Illinois
Cultivating an appreciation for toads in Illinois Listen to the commentary MP3 download Two species of toads inhabit Illinois, and neither one of them is threatened or endangered. It seems the factors that are contributing to the decline of other amphibians in the state and around the…
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A walk on the wild side with three U of I students
A walk on the wild side with three U of I students Real Audio | MP3 download For the next couple of weeks of Environmental Almanacs, Rob Kanter will be joined by students from the School of Earth, Society, and Environment who are developing their skills to communicate about environmental topics....
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Prescribed burn enables prairie to thrive [from the archive]
Prescribed burn enables prairie to thrive Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download If you’ve taken advantage of the recent weather to visit local natural areas, you’ve probably come across patches of land blackened by fire. These are places where you expect to see tallgrass prairie, but...
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Untitled Episode
Return of the American woodcock--another March madness Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download One of the early season highlights of birding in central Illinois is the widespread return in March of a bird called the American woodcock. Indeed, for some birders this phenomenon holds just...
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Bird reports from friends signal arrival of spring
Bird reports from friends signal arrival of spring Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download One way you can tell spring has arrived is to listen to the conviction with which cardinals are now singing, including this one, which I stopped to record while I was out for a run last week....
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Appreciating amphibians and the habitats that support them
Appreciating Illinois amphibians and habitats that support them Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download It may be too early in the year to contemplate April showers bringing May flowers. But in much of Illinois heavy rains in late February and early March trigger an astonishing and...
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Exploding insects top bill at this year’s Insect Fear Film Festival
Exploding insects top bill at this year’s Insect Fear Film Festival Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download In anticipation of the 33rd Annual Insect Fear Film Festival, which they will host Saturday on the U of I campus, this week’s commentary comes from three members of the…
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Birding abroad: Part 2
Birding abroad: Part 2 Listen to the commentary Real Audio | MP3 download Although the other members of my family enjoy a range of outdoor activities when we travel together, I like to spend more time birding than they do. I especially enjoy staking out a spot where I can spend some quality time...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Environmental Almanac promotes awareness and understanding of the natural world in east central Illinois, and highlights environmental research by University of Illinois faculty and affiliates.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Environmental Almanac have?
Environmental Almanac currently has 25 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Environmental Almanac about?
Environmental Almanac promotes awareness and understanding of the natural world in east central Illinois, and highlights environmental research by University of Illinois faculty and affiliates.
How often does Environmental Almanac release new episodes?
Environmental Almanac has 25 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Environmental Almanac?
You can listen to Environmental Almanac on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
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