Designing Nature's Half: The Landscape Conservation Podcast

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Podcast by Rob Campellone and Tom Miewald

Designing Nature's Half: The Landscape Conservation Podcast

The combined wicked problem of climate change and biodiversity loss requires us to change how we think about and plan for conservation action. Join your hosts, former Senior Policy Advisor for the National Wildlife Refuge System Rob Campellone and Landscape Ecologist Tom Miewald, on America’s podcast about landscape conservation. Every two weeks, your hosts sit down with thought leaders, innovators, conservationists, and scientists to raise awareness, inspire dialogue, and encourage engagement in designing sustainable and resilient landscapes before it’s too late. Large landscape conservation is complex, but Designing Nature’s Half breaks the conversation into manageable pieces for novices and experts alike.

Latest episodes

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30 April 2024

Including Diverse Voices in Sustainable Landscape Design

Dr. Amanda Sesser, the Coordinator of the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) Partnership, discusses the need for inclusive design and decision-making processes that involve diverse stakeholders and empower communities. By bringing together various sectors of society, such as transportation, energy, and conservation, sustainable landscapes can be co-designed, created, and managed for people, planet, and prosperity. The episode emphasizes the need to balance human well-being and ecological integrity – a challenge that requires a new governance model that breaks down silos in traditional planning and decision-making. It addresses historic patterns of inequality and injustice to create a more inclusive and equitable society and highlights the concept of reciprocity and the importance of engaging indigenous and other disenfranchised people.

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47:14

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16 April 2024

Commonland's 4 Returns: A Path to Sustainable Landscapes

Willem Ferwerda, founder of the international non-governmental organization Commonland and former Director of IUCN Netherlands, dives deep into the innovative landscape restoration approach he developed, known as the 4 Returns framework, discussing its potential to inspire hope and drive sustainable change across large landscapes.

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47:28

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03 April 2024

Collaboration and Co-production: Key Elements of the Midwest Conservation Blueprint

Alex Wright is a Landscape Science Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Science Applications Program in the Midwest region. In that role, he facilitates partnerships and develops tools to help coordinate voluntary conservation actions and investments across the Midwest vis a vis the Midwest Landscape Initiative. The discussion revolves around the collaborative efforts of the USFWS, state fish and wildlife agencies, and other interested parties to collaborate in the co-production of the Midwest Conservation Blueprint, a basemap of priority lands and waters for conservation in the Midwest.

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55:11

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19 March 2024

Spatial Design in Landscape Conservation: An Interview with Hugh Possingham

Hugh Possingham, Professor of Mathematics and Ecology at the University of Queensland, Australia, shares his expertise in biodiversity conservation, spatial planning, and decision science in protected area networks and Marxan, a spatial prioritization decision support tool.

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47:14

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04 March 2024

Assessing Landscape Conditions: A Key Aspect of Landscape Conservation Design

Special guest Pat Comer, Chief Ecologist (retired) for NatureServe, shares his insights about conservation planning at ecoregional scales, conducting landscape assessments, and their role in landscape conservation design (LCD).

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01:00:06

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21 February 2024

Tackling Complex Systems: Landscape Conservation Through Participatory Design Using Models

Dr. Ronald J. McCormick, a field naturalist and systems ecologist, shares insights on complex systems theory, including its application in landscape conservation design (LCD). The discussion provides practical advice for stakeholders interested in LCD—highlighting conceptual modeling as a valuable step and stressing the importance of boundaries within any model used for decision-making processes. The episode serves as a reminder that successful landscape conservation hinges not only on scientific rigor but also on integrating holistic perspectives—including economic realities and cultural values—to resonate with diverse stakeholder groups involved in LCD truly. Tune into this enlightening conversation packed with expert insights perfect for anyone passionate about sustaining nature through thoughtful planning and collective action!

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47:16