Nature is the Solution

Exciting news! Nature is the Solution is a finalist in the 2026 Signal Awards' Science category for Brand Storytelling. This recognition celebrates the communities, scientists and partners across Massachusetts and New England who are showing what's possible when we let nature lead. Please vote for the show to help us win. Every vote helps amplify stories that inspire action for people and nature. https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting?utm_campaign=signa5_entrant_finalistnotification_092926&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cio#/2026/brand-storytelling/genre/science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this final episode of the season, we speak with Senator Bill Frist, Global Board Chair, and Catherine Machalaba, TNC’s first planetary health scientist, to explore how environmental change is becoming a defining public health challenge—and how nature can help protect people. We then travel to Lynn, Massachusetts, to see how the environment is affecting community health. Together, the episode connects local lived experience with global science to show why a healthy planet is essential to healthy people. Host: Kris Sarri, Massachusetts State Director Also featuring: Senator Bill Frist, TNC Global Board Chair; Catherine Machalaba, TNC Planetary Health Scientist; Cardeliz Paez, Ward 5 City Councilor, Lynn; Gargi Cooper, Nurse Practitioner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode explores natural climate solutions—the powerful, often overlooked ways nature can help address climate change. From forests to farms to coastal ecosystems, we share how working with nature creates real climate impact on the ground. Hear from a landowner, a forester and science leaders as we connect local action to a bigger picture of climate solutions hiding in plain sight. Host: Laura Marx, Climate Solutions Scientist Also featuring: Peter Ellis, Global Director of Natural Climate Solutions Science; Jack Lockhead, forest landowner; and Otis Wood, forester Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meeting our climate goals means building more renewable energy. But expanding that capacity requires land and careful navigation of competing needs across energy, housing, conservation and communities. With so much of our landscape already supporting critically important forests, farms and wildlife habitat—and many communities already doing their share—figuring out where everything fits becomes a real puzzle. In this episode, we’re joined by solar operators, an agrivoltaics farmer, and a local planning and energy official to explore how we can expand clean energy while protecting the nature we rely on and communities we live in, and what makes a good solar site for people, nature and the climate. Host: Steve Long, Director of Policy and Partnerships Also featuring: Andy Finton, TNC Senior Conservation Ecologist; Brandon Barlow, ENGIE; Joe Czajkowski, farm owner; Michael DeChiara, Shutesbury Town Planning Board; Kristen Gardner, ENGIE; Madeleine Klein, ENGIE; and Jake Marley, Hyperion Systems Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Take a deep look at Native-led land conservation and the connections between Indigenous communities and their homelands. Host Karen Lombard visits with partners from Native Land Conservancy and members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to learn how they honor, protect and restore the landscapes of Cape Cod and the life that depends on it.  Host: Karen Lombard, Director of Restoration and Stewardship Also featuring: Diana Ruiz and Paula Peters, Native Land Conservancy; Asa Peters; Ramona Peters; Vernon (Buddy) Pocknett; and Seequan Weeden  Learn more about TNC's commitment to working with Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode explores why connected Appalachian ecosystems are essential for wildlife, people and climate resilience. TNC joins partners from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and local Berkshire Wildlife Linkage community partners along the Interstate I‑90 corridor. Together, they examine how this major roadway intersects a 2,000‑mile biodiversity corridor and discuss designing infrastructure that reduces barriers, supports wildlife movement, protects public safety and strengthens a thriving, connected Appalachian landscape. Host: Barbara Charry, Director of Rivers and Lands Also featuring: Heather Furman, Appalachians Program Director; Angela Sirois-Pitel, Watershed Conservation Manager; Dave Paulson and Lindsey Forg, Massachusetts Department of Transportation; Meredyth Babcock, Wild & Scenic Westfield River Committee; Jane Winn, former Executive Director, Berkshire Environmental Action Team. Learn more about TNC's work in the Appalachians and Berkshire Wildlife Linkage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, the series shifts from ocean to rivers and lands as we explore the science and stories behind freshwater restoration and ecological connectivity. Host Marea Gabriel is joined by Alison Bowden and Herring Commission and Assawompset Pond community member Tom Barron for a boat ride in the Taunton Watershed of southeastern Massachusetts. Together, they reflect on the relationship between people and rivers, community safety, local history and the ongoing work to reconnect waterways across the watershed. Host: Marea Gabriel, Senior Freshwater Manager Also featuring: Alison Bowden, Director of Conservation Science and Strategy; Tom Barron, Middleborough Lakeville Herring Commission Learn more about TNC and partners' work in the Assawompset Ponds Complex and Nemasket River.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As rising seas and stronger storms threaten homes and infrastructure, some coastal residents are wrestling with a fundamental question: when is it time to move away from flood-prone homes? We examine what it means to relocate thoughtfully—ensuring safety, preserving community ties, and planning for a sustainable future. By shifting with the coastline rather than resisting the changes, relocation is a forward-looking strategy that can open pathways to long-term resilience for people and nature alike.  Host: Emma Gildesgame, Climate Adaptation Director Also featuring: Leigh Meunier, CREW; Carrie Hulet, CH Consulting; and community members, town counselors, and others from Winthrop, MA. Note: In the months since we recorded this episode, the town of Winthrop has made news for another reason—it’s being sued by the Massachusetts Attorney General for being out of compliance with the Commonwealth’s MBTA Communities zoning laws. This means that the town is no longer eligible for the state funding it desperately needs to act on climate resilience. The Winthrop Citizen’s Advisory Commission on Climate, which you’ll hear from in this episode, voted to suspend its operations until the town council takes action to change this. As of this episode’s release in February 2026, we’re not sure what’s going to happen next. There are still many people who are advocating and working towards action to keep people in Winthrop safer from climate impacts. Regardless of what happens in this one place, conversations like the one you’re about to hear are happening up and down the Massachusetts coast as people wrestle with hard but essential conversations about our shared future. Learn more about the proactive relocation initaitive and find resources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does a truly resilient shoreline look like? In this episode, we travel to Collins Cove in Salem, Massachusetts, where a living shoreline is helping the community adapt to rising sea levels and more powerful storms. By using natural materials and ecological design, they constructed marsh habitat to support wildlife while creating a more inviting and accessible space for local residents. We explore how rethinking and rebuilding our shores using nature-based solutions like living shorelines can protect homes and infrastructure, strengthen ecosystems and shape coastlines where both people and nature thrive. Host: Chris McGuire, Ocean Program Director Also featuring: Dan Goulart, Coastal Project Manager; Emma Gildesgame, Climate Adaptation Director; Julia Knisel and Deanna Moran, Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management; Tom O'Shea, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game Learn more about these nature-based solutions and how TNC is helping scale them in the state and region. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oyster reefs in the Northeast are like the coral reefs of the tropics—natural powerhouses that clean the water, shelter marine life and buffer our shorelines from storms. Yet most of these reefs have all but disappeared. This episode follows an inventive partnership between oyster farmers and conservationists with a shared goal of bringing oysters back. Through the intertwined worlds of oyster reef restoration and aquaculture, we explore how rebuilding reefs strengthens ecosystems, supports coastal economies and brings much needed resilience to our coasts. Host: Steve Kirk, Coastal Program Director Featuring: Dr. Boze Hancock, TNC Senior Marine Habitat Restoration Scientist; Island Creek Oysters; Honeysuckle Oyster Farm; Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group; and Tom O'Shea, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game Learn more about our oyster aquaculture and restoration projects over the years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices