Spying on box turtles

About a decade ago, scientists pitched an idea to the White House: You know those endless, boring stretches of mowed grass along roads? The U.S. could turn them into places bursting with wildflowers — and I-35 from Minnesota to Texas would be the perfect place to start. Everyone seemed on board, but the project stalled. Now some states have their own visions of highway habitats and are making them come true.

Some parts of the U.S. have far more ticks than they used to, including species that can make us really sick. Humans have changed our landscapes in ways that made life easier for ticks — and harder for the animals that can keep their populations in check. But some creatures, like possums, have special tick-fighting powers.

You know that moment of panic when you find a tick on yourself? Well, we assembled a crack team of tick scientists to tell us exactly what to do when that happens — and better yet, how to avoid it in the first place. We’ll learn what repellents to use, why clothes dryers are tick kryptonite, and (gulp) how to properly remove the pesky creatures.

Justin was terrified of snakes – until he learned they’re scared of him, too. Tay’s fear was soothed after discovering the Internet’s affection for “nope ropes” and “danger noodles.” Can we ease our discomfort around critters by getting to know the animals? We spoke with psychologists, who offer their tips for overcoming phobias. This is part two of a two-part series on getting over the fears that spoil our outdoor fun.

How do you stop being so afraid? Tracy Twombly had such a strong phobia of spiders, it was messing with her life — stressing her out while she was working at her native plant nursery or hiking through the woods. So she embarked on a journey to make peace with her eight-legged neighbors (even the extra hairy ones). This is part one of a two-part series on getting over the fears that spoil our outdoor fun.

All summer long, we run mowers over our lawns to keep them the perfect height – and run sprinklers to keep them emerald green. Add fertilizer and weedkillers into the mix, and it’s a real resource drain. But there’s something else about lawns: They’re inhospitable to most wildlife. Celia joins Marielle Segarra on NPR’s Life Kit to explain how to push back against American lawn culture by killing a small patch of grass and turning it into a wildlife friendly garden.

Box turtles are cute and an absolute delight to spot while walking in the Midwest or Great Plains. But scientist Benjamin Reed wants us to know that these creatures are complex and widely misunderstood. Reed is a box turtle superspy, spending the last 13 years following the animals with radio equipment as they face daunting challenges like roads, lawnmowers, poachers and more. Reed has a laundry list of ways we can all help prairie turtles survive in a difficult world.

Climate change is altering the land we live on, and Indigenous communities are on the frontline. In this episode, we bring you to Alaska, where rapid permafrost thaw is threatening the Native village of Nunapitchuk. Then, we head to Louisiana, where the Pointe-Au-Chien Indian Tribe is watching their land disappear underwater due to sea level rise. These threats are forcing these tribes to make the difficult decision: to stay and adapt, or to leave their ancestral home. (This episode comes to us from the podcast Sea Change.)

A Texas pecan farmer spent years rethinking whether he needed so many chemicals to grow food. He cut back on things like weedkillers, but when it came to ditching insecticides, crop pests posed a challenge. That’s what brought him together with a famous bat scientist — who helped him build an insect-eating army of bats.

Astronomers need your help! And you don’t have to be an expert, because it’s as easy as stepping outside your home and taking a good look at a constellation like Orion. For 20 years, the citizen science project Globe At Night has helped advance our understanding of light pollution – as scientists figure out how fast stars are disappearing from our sky.