"What's going on in that bucket," wrote the great enviro-spiritual guy Wendell Berry in The Work of Local Culture, "is the most momentous thing I know, the greatest miracle that I have ever heard of: it is making earth.” Here in St. Louis, New Earth Farm brings that moment right to you - as an affordable, convenient, sustainability service. John an…

Sustainable farming is both lifestyle and full-time job for Holly Evans, Randy Buck and their three children. Holly and Earthworms host Jean Ponzi "tour" this young family's 15+ acre Rosy Buck Farm on a hillside property in Leasburg, MO, where Randy digs circular vegetable beds! Third in Earthworms' series featuring local farmers certified by Known…

Earthworms' late, dear, zany friend Jay Schober was one hemisphere - with he dearest friend Jim Findlay - of the St. Louis Brain Sandwich, in the early glory DAZE of KDHX. Honoring Jay, we serve up again this interview, recorded in January 2021, promoting Jay and Jim's memoir, We Never Got To Be Zombies (yet) - 55 Years of Friendship and Fiddling w…

Would you like to learn to: Sew from a pattern? Customize a thrift-store find? Replace a busted zipper? You can do all this and more in a lively, well-stocked compound on St. Louis' near-south side. Welcome to City Sewing Room! Creative Director Rita Hunt shares the what-why-how of this non-profit community sewing center, where adults and kids can …

ALAN - Artificial Light At Night - is surging. Light pollution disrupts health for humans and wildlife, wastes energy and money, and blocks out awe-some Universe views. How to flip the switch on this issue? Dark knights arose in 1988 to challenge and turn this offense to Quality of Earth Life. Today the International Dark Sky Association mobilizes …

To champion grassland soil health in Missouri, where conventional grazing practice is practically enshrined in state law, Amy Hamilton's family enterprise has dug in as deep as roots of the native plant species whose seeds they sell. Hamilton Native Outpost has been led since 1981 by Amy and her husband Rex. They are passionate, expert advocates fo…

If you have a library card or not, St. Louis County Library welcomes you into their multi-verse of learning. Earthworms' Jean Ponzi has been hosted as a speaker many times by SLCL's Sarah Kunz Jones, Adult Programs Coordinator. This conversation returns the favor, spotlighting myriad SLCL offerings to all ages, from webinars to community garden bed…

Hungry for new dining thrills? Need a place to meet and eat in an area of STL you don't know well? Align your fork, dollars and values by heading to a restaurant certified by the Green Dining Alliance, a program of our town's EarthDay-365. As program manager, Ben Daugherty whisks his love of restaurant energy and culture into GDA audits that have h…

In a south St. Louis city park created in Victorian times, Indigenous culture, native plant ecology and 21st century engineering are newly united in a southwesterly flow. Tara Morton, Community Engagement Manager for this project's urban someplace, Tower Grove Park, shares the story of Nee Kee Nee, a riverine revival. Named Nee Kee Nee, or “revived…

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) offers indigenous wisdom to "conventional" society, where responses to issues like climate change and biodiversity loss need all hands to work together. Cathy “Cat” Techtmann serves as a University of Wisconsin-Extension Environmental Outreach State Specialist. She weaves together indigenous science, place-bas…

From his personal relationships with the organizations we know as Forests (where Collaboration AND Competition thrive), Jo Pang helps good health flourish in human orgs, specifically those focused on "social good." The work of Culture Wise, Jo's enterprise, supports organizations who envision a more compassionate and just world, to develop capacity…

Related Earthworms Conversations: Forest Bathing, Richard Louv

St. Louis journalist Don Corrigan storms the American Popular Culture Association with his books exploring way more than journalistic topics - like ROAD KILL. Corrigan's book American Roadkill: Animal Victims of our Busy Highways is in the great animal rights tradition of Joseph Grinnell of the 1920s, who was alarmed at the animal carnage on Americ…

This idea seeks not to uproot every shred of living carpet - "just" the (humongous, sterile, resource-intensive) areas we don't use. Owen Wormser is an ecological landscape designer who sees restorative potential in our acres of compulsive turf. His Nautilus Award-winning book's practical and visionary approach to ecological restoration can bring y…

Send us a text This is our LAST episode of the season, and it's all about CHEESE! Nisha tells her story about being a college intern at Kraft Foods. This episode start with us composting some missing grandmother energy and anger. Nisha shares her Kraft Foods dream story which has us talking about subversion and conformity in the context of our Sout…

The wild world of Milkweed plants is populated by aphids who suck the plant's life, beetles who suck the aphids dry, ant lion babies who will eat each other - and sometimes the Monarch butterflies whose caterpillars gotta eat Milkweed or starve. APHIDS! Native gardening specialist Besa Schweitzer guides this conversational tour through the realm of…

Send us a text Hiiiii! After some fact checking, Opulence shares a thought provoking story about being stuck on an island and what this has to do with power, relationships, and harm. As Opulence says, "please don't cancel us!" Please support us at https://ko-fi.com/earthwormslumberparty Have questions for us? Email us at earthwormslumberparty@gmail…

St. Louis is the first U.S. city using the app Mosquito Alert, developed in Barcelona, Spain, and in use across Europe. This Citizen Science project combines support for our Public Health pros with rich opportunities for eco-logical messaging: We CAN Control the Pests AND Protect our Pollinators! The Mosquito Alert STL project team is promoting use…

Send us a text This sounds like a story about a nose piercing, but it's really about so much more: trust South Asian mother-child relationships, professionalism, and probiotics! Enjoy another delightful episode with professional earthworms, Opulence and Nisha. Please support us at https://ko-fi.com/earthwormslumberparty Have questions for us? Email…

"Aside from all that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the Play?" In his new book I Want a Better Catastrophe, lifelong activist Andrew Boyd navigates the Climate Crisis with grief, hope and gallows humor. Earthworms host Jean Ponzi chimes in (leaving Boyd the best lines, as a gracious host would do). Boyd's leadership of the global CLIMATE CLOCK campaign ble…

Send us a text Why earthworms? What slumber? Where's the party at??? In our first official episode, we talk about what Earthworm Slumber Party is all about, who we are, why we're qualified to explore big ideas playfully, and what we're excited to explore! Follow us, share this with your fellow earthworms, and say hello to us using the links below. …

Send us a text This one gets deeeep! Opulence and Nisha are composting some serious shit. And Opulence tells a story about meeting a Golden Buddha - what does this mean about the masks we wear, people-pleasing, and forgiveness? Please support us at https://ko-fi.com/earthwormslumberparty Have questions for us? Email us at earthwormslumberparty@gmai…

Creating from The Center in midtown St. Louis, youth artist Story Stitchers collect stories, reframe and retell them through art, writing and performance to promote understanding, civic pride, intergenerational relationships and literacy. Story Stitchers Branden Lewis and Chris BlueBeatz Pendleton are both artists and staff. Their collaborative cre…

As flowers bloom, bees rev up their pollinating rounds, and a host of Community Scientists are helping local pros explore key bee-health questions: what promotes bee diversity and bee-plant interactions in residential and community gardens? This is Shutterbee! Backyard bee photography to improve conservation practices. Nina Fogel, Ph.D. co-leads th…

Send us a text Welcome to the Earthworm Slumber Party, we explore big ideas playfully! We are co-hosts Opulence Abundance and Nisha Mody, two South Asian earthworm baddies, who dig deep to find the wisdom (and fun!) in stories, metaphors, and everything in between. What are we composting? Where will our earthworm selves slither to next? We answer t…

Missouri Green Schools enriches learning and lives! Work through three pillars of a Green School - Environmental Impact, Health and Wellness and Sustainability Education - is drawing on the strengths of two terrific partners and their organizations: Hope Gribble, Green Schools Manager for Missouri Gateway Green Building Council; and Lesli Moylan, E…

Woody Tasch thinks like a root vegetable grows: slow, sure, mostly underground, deeply nourishing. From this perspective, in collaboration with a rainbow circle of fellow evolutionists, comes the investment structure Tasch and friends call Beetcoin: small local donations generating Zero interest, locally-made loans supporting local sustainable food…

In Illinois communities along the mighty Mississippi, Sierra Club members are advancing enviro-policy and awareness. The club's Piasa Palisades Group, named for a fierce bird in lore of the Illiniwek people and the stone bluffs towering over river and towns,is active locally and in their state. Chris Krusa, the group's Program Chair, and Outings Ch…

Charmin Dahl, conservation educator and nature-loving mom, shares her experience and perspective relating to Nature with her digital native kin. Explore with her - and head on out-of-doors, with your young friends. More from Dahl in The Healthy Planet Magazine and in her blog for Villa Montessori School. Find nature connection resources from MEEA, …

Thrift stores, tag sales, rummage piles. They may be everywhere, but some rise above the jumbled fray with grace, circulating our castoff human-made stuff as beacons of beneficial reuse. One of these is Experienced Goods, supporting free Community Hospice care in Brattleboro, Vermont. Gemma Champoli is a force at the heart of this experience - and …

Great Rivers Environmental Law Center defends and protects Nature: places, creatures, plants and US. Celebrating two decades of this worthy work, GREC President Bruce Morrison recalls triumphs, challenges and how collaboration with community is changing they way his team practices enviro law. Preview: the recent WIN for children's health thanks to …

Elizabeth Fournier always wanted to work in funeral service. She was drawn to the service in this profession, and fascinated by its technical skills. Today she works "for a better living" - with Nature's tech - and she's proudly known far and wide as The Green Reaper. Fournier is a national advocate for Green Burial, practices that are changing her…

It's a sister-rooted family scene at Fair Shares. The resourceful twist of this CCSA - Combined Community Supported Agriculture - nourishes St. Louis with produce and value-added products, a plateful of action for over 15 years. As founding sister Sara Choler Hale prepares to set sail (literally) on her next life adventure, she and sibling Jamie Ch…

What does a Mom and environmental lawyer do after leading a statewide enviro-coalition into its second half-century and serving as a City of St. Louis Alderperson? This one, Heather Navarro, takes on directing climate action for the Midwest U.S. The Midwest Climate Collaborative, based at Washington University in St. Louis, envisions a carbon neutr…

Historic Greenwood Cemetery, terrestrial resting place of over 50,000 Black human beings, embodies the paradox of dis- and respect that our species can so profoundly bring to pass. In a heartfelt complementarity, Greenwood also offers one of our region's best opportunities for environmental and cultural service. Shelley and Rafael Morris, leaders o…

As climate change threatens native plant populations, freezers in a lab in Gray Summit, Missouri are helping to preserve seeds vital to potentially restoring communities of these plants. Meg Englehardt, Seed Bank Manager for Missouri Botanical Garden, is guardian of these precious resources. What's involved with Seed Banking? Why is this (vitally!)…

Meditation practice can lead a person to understand causes and outcomes, prompt awareness of impacts and impulses, ground the perception that change is an only constant - and foster a commitment to act with loving kindness. Valuable for our toddler human species, busy whacking at all around us. And a tall order, that's not out of reach. What transp…

State legislators are heading back into session. Another year of biz-as-usual - or worse? A powerful coalition of advocates recently moved Illinois lawmakers to achieve results for people, planet and economics. Andy Heaslet, Earthworms' own audio engineer, dug into the details of CEJA, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act enacted into Illinois law in…

What if plants, regenerative technology, and spaces for people comprised the structure of our urban environs? Envision It! Artist and community-grower Jayvn Solomon does, in his big body of work, Loutopia. On view through May, 2022 at TechArtista, 4th and Pine, in downtown St. Louis, this energizing array of 50 image panels puts nature-for-people i…

From plots of land in the Dutchtown neighborhood of south St. Louis, farmed since the 1870s, partners Mimo Davis and Miranda Duschack send forth bunches, bouquets and buckets of flowers that are "locally grown, not flown" to gladden many local hearts. Especially poignant in this conversation with Earthworms host and flower fan Jean Ponzi is the sto…

From Flint to Standing Rock - indeed, world-wide - communities keep resisting corporate and government actions that threaten water quality and access. One heroic story from El Salvador embodies the most resourceful courage and painful struggle of "ordinary people" who know water is more precious than gold. John Cavanagh and activist/author partner …

The land of second generation Missouri farmer Matt Arthur flowers thanks to his investment in growing soil. He says: “We are stewards of our land, committed to a no-till practice of regenerative agriculture. No chemicals, lots of cover crops, a preference for native species. Growing in permanent raised beds: once formed, we never disturb them." Flo…

For Sam and Bill Wiseman, Sunflower Savannah Farm embodies the continuity of life. Everything serves a purpose and contributes to the wellbeing of the farm. Sheep eat the grass, conserving tractor fuel, and produce compost to grow cut flowers and specialty veg. Garden produce supports the Market, the animals and the farm family. Dogs guard the anim…

Where in an urban space do goats, bees, flexible muscles, resilient spirits, elderflowers, generous hearts, and veg all flourish? Thanks to farmer and healer human being Janett Lewis, in Spanish Lake, a community in unincorporated North St. Louis County, MO. Janett's work through Rustic Roots Sanctuary grew its strong fibers from her Georgia childh…

If you can only plant one tree, make that tree an Oak. Doug Tallamy, national advocate for restoring the LIFE in our places with the power of Native Plants, celebrates the mighty Quercus family of trees with this latest book, his third as definitive matchmakers for humans and plants. The Nature of Oaks: the Rich Ecology of our Most Essential Native…

On Legacy Circle Farms, Tyler and Erin Bernsen start their growing underground: nourishing "challenging Ozark soil" with compost, mulch and intensive grazing. Vibrantly visible are their crops of vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, nuts, high value herbs like turmeric and ginger, and heirloom varieties of garlic. Recent addition of high tunnels boosted …

Here at the confluence of the fourth largest watershed on Earth, most St. Louisans don't connect with our big rivers - or our community tributaries - beyond an occasional public event. How to help us relate to the value, needs and health of our waters? Convening presenters from local, DC and global advocacy groups, this is the Global Freshwaters Su…

Earth Day, April 22, is one of the most widely observed dates on this planet. For enviro-advocates, this celebration has become Earth Month: starts in March, runs to May. This is way true for the folks of EarthDay-365, celebrating virtually again this year in St. Louis. Executive Director Dr. Jess Watson, and Bob Henkel, Director of Programs. Earth…

As dancer and choreographer Dawn Karlovsky read about The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate in Peter Wohlleben's bestseller of that name, SHE felt that communication - and transformed her experience into dance. Her conversation with Earthworms host Jean Ponzi explores the nature of movement as a primary force mastered (even…

Becky Brittain is a passionate sparkler of life, a practiced mover of energies to help ourselves, Earth and others. Her new book The Art of Sparkling - Share Your Inner Light with the World (Weeping Willow, 2020) embodies Becky's energy, grounded in some hefty experiential cred. Becky Brittain, Ph.D., R-DMT, is a clinically trained psychotherapist,…