The Backyard Club

The importance of growing your own food & how you can do it! In this podcast episode, we're talking to our special guest, Kara Grady! Kara is a fellow podcaster and Green Iowa AmeriCorps member serving at the Center for Energy and Environmental Education (CEEE) at the University of Northern Iowa. We talk to her about the Garden in Every Lot program that the members help run, the importance of community gardening and knowing where your food comes from, and learn about an upcoming documentary she is helping work on!

In this episode we're talking trash-- why you shouldn't leave any! We discuss Leave No Trace ethics and what that means, how you can enjoy the outdoors while respecting nature, and a little bit about Gina's adventure to Alaska.

All green all the time. In this podcast episode, we're talking about those 'magical' trees that never lose their leaves, the evergreens. Here we'll go over the difference between deciduous and coniferous trees, some cool ways they function, and interesting history on trees in society.

In this podcast episode, we're talking all things trees. What they are, how they manage to live for so long, and why you should not only appreciate them but plant more of them!

Sustainable Landscaping with our special guest Emily Swihart! Merging the lines between aesthetics & ecological benefits in your landscape. In this podcast episode, we're talking to our special guest, Emily Swihart! Emily is a field coordinator and landscape architect at Trees Forever here in Cedar Rapids, IA. We talk to her about the importance of balancing nature for our own use and for the benefits of nature, why she thinks turf is okay, and how it all comes down to a right time and a right place when it comes to being sustainable in our landscapes.

It's not all cute and fuzzy. In this podcast episode, we're talking about deer. We explain how deer have become such a problem in our everyday lives, why it happened and how over abundant population sizes can cause some serious trouble.

The grass is greener on the other side. The side where your lawn is sustainable. In this podcast episode we're talking greener grass. We explore the history behind lawn care, what happens when it is treated with pesticides, different types of grass (and why Olivia thinks they suck), and different ways you can keep your lawn both beautiful and beneficial to the environment.

In this podcast, we're talking aliens. Plant aliens of course! We'll discuss why plants can become aliens, what that means for our ecosystems and some examples of these that you may see in your everyday life.

Welcome to our first episode! Here we give a little introduction about ourselves and why we decided to start this podcast series. We will also talk about conservation and our favorite: Native plants! We hope you enjoy and join us on our adventures throughout this series.