Texas Green Report

Julie Shaddox of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation shares details about the Wild Thumb app developed for Texas to assist users who want to build out their own landscapes with native plants.Support the show

Michael Smith is an Arlington-based writer and naturalist. He is author of two books on reptiles and amphibians and a new book Mindfulness in Texas Nature, published by Texas A&M University Press in July. The book draws on his expertise in regional ecology as well as his 35-year career as a Psychological Associate.Texas Green Report reporter Marshall Hinsley talks to Smith about how to practice mindfulness in various Texas ecoregions, our resistance to it and what we gain by incorporating nature and mindfulness into our lives.Support the show

Texas Green Report editor Julie Thibodeaux talks to Ben Pfeiffer, a New Braunfels-based biologist and founder of Firefly Conservation and Research, about what is causing firefly decline and ways we can help bring them back.Support the show

Modern life and the world economy depend on a 24-hour system, made possible due to artificial light. Meanwhile the natural world has relied on darkness for many of its critical activities. Marshall Hinsley talks to Michael Rymer of Dark Sky International and Cindy Luongo Cassidy of Dark Sky Texas about how artificial light is harming the natural world and ways we can practice smarter lighting.Support the show

In this episode of the Texas Green Report, Marshall Hinsley talks to author Doug Tallamy about how the work of maintaining the essential ecosystem services that we all depend on must be taken up by every single person inhabiting the planet.From flood control and keeping pollinators thriving to protecting the plants that produce the oxygen we breath and mitigating the rise in average global temperatures all comes down to every single person on the planet learning to live in a more responsible relationship with the natural systems that sustain us.Doug Tallamy is the T. A. Baker Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has taught for over 40 years while authoring more than 100 research publications. He's written several books, including New York Times bestseller Nature's Best Hope, released by Timber Press in 2020.Support the show

Exploring wild places and wild creatures in the Dallas Fort Worth area with a new book from journalist and naturalist Amy Martin in this episode of the Texas Green Report, a production of Green Source DFW and the Memnosyne Institute.Support the show

Austin-based EarthShare Texas is a 30-year-old nonprofit that supports more than 30 local and state environmental organizations with no-strings-attached funding and partnership building. Marshall Hinsley talks to EarthShare executive director Francoise Van Keuren about how the group formed, how they raise funds and the benefits of donating through their organization. The nonprofit recently kicked off a new campaign to engage individuals and businesses called My Earth, My Texas.Support the show

Outside the doors in a busy medical district near downtown Dallas lies a harsh, unhealthy landscape. Marshall Hinsley talks to the planners who aim to green up the Southwestern Medical District — an area originally developed in the 1940s to move freight. Plans are underway to incorporate biophilic design  to breathe new life into the district, which serves 3 million patients and visitors a year.  Support the show

How you can help restore native Texas habitat with a pocket prairie.Marshall Hinsley talks to entomologist and New York Times best-selling author Doug Tallamy;  Diane Sloan, CEO of K.S.S., a Dallas landscape architectural studio; and experts with the Native  Prairies Association of Texas about what prairies are, why we need them and how you can turn a little spot of your yard back into a verdant part of the state's native ecosystem. A production of GreenSourceDFW.org.Support the show

Texan by Nature, a nonprofit founded in 2011 by former First Lady Laura Bush, acts as a mediator between companies and environmental groups to advance conservation projects. TGR reporter Marshall Hinsley talks to Texan by Nature CEO Joni Carswell about how the organization operates and highlights some of the group's accomplishments, including expanding the Dark Skies initiative in West Texas oil patches. To learn more about what people in Texas are doing to protect the state's natural resources, visit GreenSourceDFW.org.Support the show

Mountain lions are key to our Texas identity and should remain part of the landscape, says wildlife filmmaker Ben Masters, director of Deep in the Heart.  He represents Texans for Mountain Lions and shares in this episode the organization's aim to save the dwindling mountain lion population in Texas and enlist residents to contact lawmakers to keep these wildcats from being shot and trapped into nonexistence. Marshall Hinsley reports. For more stories like this, visit GreenSourceDFW.org. Support the show

A golden-cheeked warbler, found only in Texas’ Hill Country, was recently spotted at Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center in Cedar Hill, a community south of Dallas. Wildlife experts explain why the sighting could be a warning sign for the endangered bird.  Story by Marshall Hinsley. For more stories on Texas wildlife and other environmental issues, visit GreenSourceDFW.org.Support the show

Texas plays a critical role in bird migration as the anchor for the Central Flyway. We talk to Ben Jones, executive director for the Texas Conservation Alliance, who explains how turning off lights from 11 p.m. to 6 p.m. during peak migration months in fall and spring can help save the lives of millions of birds. Marshall Hinsley reports. For more information, see Lights Out Texas and GreenSourceDFW.org. Support the show

Reporter Marshall Hinsley speaks to Dr. George Diggs, a professor of biology at Austin College and research associate at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, about the effect of climate change on Texas native plants. Read more about climate change, native plants and other green topics on GreenSourceDFW.org. Full transcript.Support the show

September is the peak season for hummingbirds migrating south through Texas. Learn what to do - and what not to do to - to help these backyard jewels from hummingbird expert Cliff Shackelford of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Report by Marshall Hinsley. Learn more about helping migrating birds and rewilding your backyard on GreenSourceDFW.org. Full transcript.Support the show

Montopolis is an Austin-based orchestral rock band that creates multi-media performances that showcase the ecological jewels of Texas. Featuring original music by Justin Sherburn, the traveling shows weave history, storytelling and ecology with photography, video and live music to bring attention to regional treasures and the threats they face. Texas Green Report's Amy Martin talks to Sherburn about the inspiration behind the group and their latest show The Living Coast. Read more about Montopolis and other Texas environmental advocates on GreenSourceDFW.org. Full transcript here.Support the show

A 25-year-old clean air advocacy group in North Texas is showing residents how to use portable air monitors. We spoke to Evy Mayo of Downwinders at Risk and Ranjana Bhandari of Liveable Arlington, as well as workshop attendees, about the value of citizens having easy access to air quality data. Report by Julie Thibodeaux. Learn more about Texas green issues at GreenSourceDFW.org. Full transcript here.Support the show

Learn how a DC-based non-profit Solar United Neighbors is creating co-ops in Texas to take some of the homework out of the process of putting solar panels on your roof. Report by Marshall Hinsley. Learn more about sustainable living on GreenSourceDFW.org. Full transcript here.Support the show

Dr. Robert Coulson, a professor of entomology at Texas A&M University, explains how Texas cars are having a significant impact on the monarch population and what can be done to protect the butterflies from fatal collisions. Report by Marshall Hinsley. Full transcript here.Support the show

Texas native plants are being threatened by a convergence of risks - urban sprawl, invasive plants and climate change. Kim Taylor, a conservation research botanist at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas in Fort Worth, talks about the seed bank she and other botanists across the state are building to ensure the survival of Texas native plant species facing these pressures. Report by Marshall Hinsley. Full transcript here.Support the show

Ken Rosenberg, a conservation scientist with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is the lead author on a study published in Science that says North America’s bird population has declined by three billion birds since the 1970s. We talk to him about the findings as it relates to Texas, the causes and what we can do about it. Report by Marshall Hinsley. Learn more about environmental issues and sustainable trends in Texas on GreenSourceDFW.org. Full transcript here.Support the show

A North Texas couple Dr. Tony Perri, a Dallas urologist, and Dottie Perri, a nurse, are both members of the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the Climate Reality Project. They describe how climate change will impact North Texans from a health perspective. Produced by Green Source DFW reporter Marshall Hinsley. Full transcript here. Read more about the DFW Chapter of the Climate Reality Project. Support the show

Dallas landscape architect, city planner and University of Texas at Arlington professor Kevin Sloan talks about rewilding, a global trend in landscape design that plans for the inclusion of native wildlife as well as native plants. Read more about rewilding here. Podcast by Green Source DFW reporter Marshall Hinsley. Full transcript here.Support the show

North Texas Green Report reporter Andrea Ridout talks with Jeff Raska, horticulturist with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office in Dallas, about organic gardening basics. Jeff also shares his favorite plants. For more information about organic gardening, visit Texas A&M AgriLife.See GreenSourceDFW.org to learn more about environmental issues in North Texas.Support the show