Episode 2: Deconstructing Invasion Biology

An introduction to ethnobotany with Gabe Crawford. As people seek deeper relationships with the places where they live, Gabe offeres his perspective based on his own studies, mentorship he has received, and cultural sensitivity. Plants and Place is a 4-part series exploring people's relationships with plants and how those relationships create the places where we live. This series was recorded live during a lecture series by botanist Gabe Crawford.

Gabe Crawford breaks down our assumption about invasive species and the unscientific biases present in this young field of invasion biology. At its core, this episode asks whether it is better to attempt to preserve a vision of how the world once was or to adapt with changes and move forward to create a positive future. This 4-episode season on plants, people, and place was recorded live in summer of 2022 during our ethnobotany lecture series by botanist Gabe Crawford.

In this episode, we break through the myth of pristine wilderness, asking how people always have altered and tended their landscapes, and how we could continue to be active agents in the ecologies where we live. This 4-episode season on plants, people, and place was recorded live in summer of 2022 during our ethnobotany lecture series by botanist Gabe Crawford.

In the American West, few living beings are as hated as Russian Olive and Siberian Elm. These two tree species that are originally from Eurasia grow well in the soils of the Colorado Plateau, and farmers and ranchers put forth tremendous effort to kill them. Fighting well-adapted species is a losing battle though. This episode asks what it would mean to accept these newcomers as permanent fixtures on the land and to learn to live with them. This 4-part podcast series was recorded live in summer of 2022 during our ethnobotany lecture series by botanist Gabe Crawford.