Episode 17: Featuring Nadia Colburn, Poet & Author; Sarah F. Jayne, Author and Native Plant Advocate and Doug Tallamy, Author and Co-Founder of Homegrown National Parks

Episode 17 is now available on Spotify,
Apple, Google, and Amazon

The WildStory: A Podcast of Poetry and Plants
by the Native Plant Society of
New Jersey

Hosted by Ann E. Wallace, PhD
Poet Laureate of Jersey City

Co-host Kim Correro,
Rutgers Master Gardener and Director of State Programs

Special Contributor Dr. Randi Eckel
Entomologist and Vice President of Membership NPSNJ


Do you have a question about native plants for Randi?
Email:

Listen to Episode 17 Here

We would like to take a moment to reflect on the recent devastation in the Southeast from Hurricane Helene and on Hurricane Milton, which was raging on Florida’s Gulf Coast as we completed this episode. The destruction of homes, communities, security, human life, and of nature itself, from this extreme weather has been hard to witness, even from afar. Our thoughts are with those whose lives and loved ones have been directly impacted. 

We hope you find—as we do—that our guests today offer solace, along with hands-on steps we each can take in caring for our planet and joining the work of combatting climate change. No one of us can do this work alone, but together we can create and fight for meaningful change. Together we can put hope into action.

Today’s featured poet is Nadia Colburn (03:47), who joins Ann Wallace from Massachusetts to speak about her new collection, I Say the Sky, published this year by University of Kentucky Press. Nadia’s collection is a work of meditative healing, moving from silence into power. She invites us to see ourselves reflected in nature, and that poetry, in the words of Audre Lorde, indeed is not a luxury. 

Next up, Kim Correro speaks with Sarah F. Jayne (0:37:29) about her new book Nature’s Action Guide: How to Support Biodiversity and Your Local Ecosystem. Sarah’s book, a companion to Doug Tallamy’s Nature’s Best Hope, outlines fifteen actions we can and must take for creating healthy, functioning ecosystems where we live, work, and play. Each action includes a checklist, step-by-step instructions, recommended resources, and informative tips.

And in our final segment, Kim and Ann talk with Doug Tallamy, (057:39) bestselling author and co-founder of Homegrown National Park, about his new book, How Can I Help: Saving the World with Your Yard, forthcoming from Timber Press on April 8, 2025. In the new book, Doug shares compelling and actionable answers to questions he most often receives from gardeners and homeowners. Topics range from ecology and biodiversity, conservation and restoration, native plants and invasive species, to pest control and support of wildlife at home. Doug offers important advice on what we can do as individuals to support biodiversity. He also stresses the importance of voting and making our values known to public officials. 

Thank you for joining us on The WildStory. Follow us on Instagram
 @Thewildstory_podcast