Future Ecologies

We're trying out a new format of bonus content over on our Patreon feed: casual, conversational interviews that go behind the scenes of some of the content on the main feed.In this first edition, our guest is Jonathan Kawchuk: composer, sound artist, and volunteer paleontologist. Jonathan's work is in both FE4.10 Geopoetics and the Emergence Magazine piece we recently featured When the Earth Started to Sing — music in the former, and paleo-soundscapes in the latter.We discuss Jonathan's technical and creative process — assembling reconstructed choruses of ancient soundmakers (Parasaurolophus and Permostridulus), and creating music in conversation with the Rocky Mountains — as we nerd out on sound production and paleo art.To hear the 47 minute conversation in its entirety (and get access to all our other bonus content, discord server, merch, and more) join our community at patreon.com/futureecologies

At the heart of the Salish Sea lies the Fraser River Estuary: home to over half of the population of the Province of British Columbia, thousands of endemic species, and one world-famous pod of orcas. But as the human population of the region has grown, wildlife populations — including salmonids, orcas, and over 100 species at risk — have been plummeting.As economic imperatives press up against ecological thresholds, a mega-project that has been in development for over a decade is poised to further alter the character of the estuary, with massive implications for the health of Salish Sea and its many residents.In this episode, we ask: can we find ways to hear each other through all the noise?This episode was originally published in March 2022. We've added a brief update about some recent developments in 2023. Read more about the news here– – –This episode features Janie Wray, Misty MacDuffee, Steven Slə́qsit Stark, Marko Dekovic, and Stephanie Kwetásel'wet WoodWith music by Ruby Singh (with Dawn Pemberton, Inuksuk MacKay, Russell Wallace, Shamik Bilgi, Tiffany Ayalik, and Tiffany Moses), Thumbug, and Sunfish Moon Light.This episode was produced by Mendel Skulski and Adam Huggins, with help from Megan Hockin Bennet and Lili Li.A full list of citations and a transcript can be found at our website: futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-2-terminal

Dams remain one of the ultimate demonstrations of human power over nature. Wild rivers can be tamed to deliver energy for industry, lakes for recreation, and water for agriculture. But severing the link between land and sea has come with grave ecological costs. The impact of dams on salmon populations has been especially obvious and painful.This is part one of a two-part series on dam removals. In this episode, we go to the Klamath river to examine the fierce conflict (and unlikely partnerships) in pursuit of the deconstruction of 4 major dams. Part 2 is here.This episode was originally published in November 2018. We've added a brief update about some recent developments in 2022. Read more about the news here– – –This episode features Ryan Hilperts, Erica Terrence, Bill Tripp, and Senator Jeff Merkley.Music for this episode was produced by Brian D. Tripp, Loam Zoku, Kieran Fearing, Sour Gout, the Western Family String Band, the Clan Stewart Pipe Band, and Sunfish Moonlight.A full list of citations and a transcript can be found at our website: futureecologies.net/listen/fe1-9-swimming-upstream

We're sharing an episode from our friends over at Drilled. Four years ago, the Drilled podcast asked a question that changed how people thought about climate stories: What if we stopped acting like the climate crisis was inevitable and instead treated it like it truly is...the crime of the century? Now, the original true crime podcast about climate change is back with a new season all about the opportunistic oil industry.The season is packed with high stakes court cases, intrepid journalists, and a whole lot of intrigue, set in the world's largest oil boom town.We're dropping you straight into the action with Episode 4. Get all the background, and follow the rest of the story at https://link.chtbl.com/futureecologiesdrilled

We work hard to make sure our music doesn’t just complement our voices, but actually tells a story all of its own. Now that our 4th Season is complete, as per usual, we’ve compiled all the original music that went into it, and we’re releasing it as an album. This year, that album takes the form of two companion volumes.Volume 1: Electrical Storms by Sunfish Moon LightVolume 2: Sympoiesis by thumbugOf course we're not responsible for all the music you hear on our show. We've borrowed tunes from so many truly great artists, often connected thematically or geographically to the content of that specific episode. You can discover each of them, and support their work at futureecologies.net/music— — —We want to hear from you — take our brief listener survey and help make Season 5 the best yet.💖 Join our community: support Future Ecologies on Patreon to access our discord server, an exclusive bonus podcast feed, stickers, patches, and moreVancouver: Join mendel and friends for a PWYC panel on acoustic ecologies, ecopoetics, and biosonification, at the Lobe Spatial Sound Studio Spring Equinox Summit (Saturday March 25 @ 1PM)— — —BTW: we release all of our original music from each season. Previous soundtracks (all PWYC CC-BY-NC-SA):Season 1Season 2Scales of ChangeSeason 3

“We need geopoetics because geopolitics necessitate other ways of being… Proposing alternate narratives to the hegemonic ones we are caught in is the work and play of geopoetics.”– Erin Robinsong, Geopoetics in the Mess/MeshEnclosed is the last episode of our 4th season: a sympoietic stream of consciousness; on language, art making, and more-than-human interconnection.Find a transcript, full credits, and citations here– – –We want to hear from you! Please take our brief listener surveySupport our 5th season: Join our community on Patreon– – –The feet are the linkBetween earth and the body. Begin there.The lungs are the link between body and air.The hands, these uprooted feet, are the meansOf our shaping and grasping. Clasp them.The eyes are the hands of the head;its feet are the ears. – Robert Bringhurst– – –With the voices and words of Michael Datura, Astrida Neimanis, Cosmo Sheldrake, Rex Weyler, Robert Bringhurst, Jan Zwicky, David Abram, Megan Gnanasihamany, Stephen Collis, Eric Magrane, Hari Alluri, Nadia Chaney, Kaitlyn Purcell, Khari McClelland, Rita Wong, Jessica Bebenek, Vicki Kelly, Mark Fettes, Marjorie Wonham, and Cecily NicholsonMusic by Cosmo Sheldrake, Anne Bourne, Meredith Buck (as arranged by Vanessa Richards), Jonathan Kawchuk, the Time Zone Research Lab, Emily Millard, Khari McClelland, Ruby Singh, and Nathan Shubert, with field recordings by Julian Fisher.

From a distance, mountain landscapes may appear timeless and immutable. Take a closer look, however, and montane ecologies reveal themselves to be laboratories of radical transformation: rocks weather and fall; ecosystems burst into life for brief intervals; tree-lines shift; and wildfires rage. Even the very peaks themselves inch inexorably upwards or downwards with the flow of time.Amidst all the constant, unyielding change that animates the Earth's high places, people have long sought a vantage from which to survey this shifting terrain. Who can resist the romance of a breathtaking, mountaintop view? Or then to imagine what generations past might have seen from the same spot?In the mid 1990s, a small group of scientists in western Canada grew dissatisfied with mere imagining — they wanted to see that change for themselves. And in a forgotten corner of a national archive, they found some very heavy boxes that held a rare promise: an opportunity to look back in time at a landscape scale.– – –For musical credits, select photos, citations, links, and more, click here.Support the show and join our Patreon community– – –Learn more about the Mountain Legacy Project: mountainlegacy.caExplore all the photos and data: explore.mountainlegacy.caMore on land cover classification | Webinar | Deep Dive

Dive into the hidden jungle of soil where tiny warriors thrive! Discover the resilient nematodes that survive Antarctica's chill, and meet springtails, the unsung heroes of soil ecosystems. Explore the complex relationships among soil organisms that recycle nutrients and sustain plant life. Learn about the vital importance of soil biodiversity, not just for ecosystems but also its potential medicinal contributions. Celebrate the whimsy and wonder of life beneath our feet!

Our latest episode — on soil carbon and regenerative agriculture — could never have fit everything that needs to be said on the topic. So, we're leaning on a couple of other podcasts that we think you'll love. First up, we're running an episode from Hot Farm, from our friends at the Food and Environment Reporting Network. It's all about what farmers are doing (or could be doing) to take on the climate emergency. In this episode you'll hear about a novel grain that farmers are starting to grow, and that could be part of the solution. This is Hot Farm part 3: "Is Kernza the Grain of the Future?" Find more episodes of Hot Farm wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://thefern.org/podcasts/hot-farm/ Catch up on our own treatment on soil carbon sequestration and regenerative agriculture: on FE4.8 — Ground Truthing https://www.futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-8-ground-truthing

Can we sequester our carbon and eat it too?For the first time in 4 seasons, we're discussing natural climate solutions, and in particular, regenerative agriculture. Joining us is agrologist and fellow podcaster, Scott Gillespie (of Plants Dig Soil) to get into the nitty gritty of farming for soil carbon — its promise, possibility and feasibility.———Support Future Ecologies (pay what you can >$1/month) @ futureecologies.net/patrons 🌱 — Get access to our delightful discord server, early episode releases, an exclusive podcast feed for bonus content, and more:Find a full list of citations, and a transcript for this episode: futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-8-ground-truthing