a Better Bubble™
Inducted into the Garden Writers of America Hall of Fame in2005,
JeffLowenfels
plants his messages eloquentlyinto the minds and hearts
of plant-lovers everywhere. HisbookÂ
"Teamingwith
Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil
FoodWeb" is a ground-breaking (ha-ha, Jeff) tour of
MotherNature's network of plant-boosting relationships.Â
Meet these underground powerhouse communities: from mycorrhizalnetworks to nitrogen-fixing bacteria to the nematodes andprotozoans that convert atmospheric Carbon into usable plant food.Jeff Lowenfels knows and loves them all - and explains theyimportance to gardeners and farmers at every growing scale.
Intrigued by this Earthworms introduction to the Soil Food Web?Don't miss Jeff Lowenfels' FREE St. Louis talk on Weds May 11. In theWild Ideas Worth Sharing speaker series, this talk is presented bythe Deer Creek Watershed Alliance, BiodiverseCity St. Louis and theAcademy of Science St. Louis. The event is FREE at MICDs,5-11-16 6:30-9:30 p.m. but registration isrequired. Also speaking: James Sotillo, one of the nation'sleading Soil Life Consultants, currently working on rebuilding soilhealth for the renovated Gateway Arch grounds in St. Louis.
Once you hear Jeff's perspectives on soil life, you'll neverdish the dirt again!
Music: Extreme Stomp - Performed by PokeyLaFarge and Ryan Spearman at KDHX-St. Louis.
Brian Ettling wears many hats: the Smokey Bear Stratton of a National Park Ranger, some cool driving/cycling caps, and the Green fedora of a citizen spokesperson for the (international) Climate Reality Project. Brian talks to Earthworms today by phone, en route to his summer seasonal ranger gig at Crater Lake National Park - where one of his interpretive duties is to talk to visitors from around the globe about the issue of Climate Change.
What are some conversational keys to engage one's fellow humans with this topic, especially when the guy you're talking to is convinced it's all a hyped-up myth? And how can HOPE always figure in to a topic that's so huge it freezes up people's capacity to care and respond? Brian Ettling has worked this out - as you, dear Earthworms listener, will hear, and can see in some of his personal postings.Â
This conversation also says HAPPY CENTENNIAL to our U.S. National Park Service, in the first of this year's Earthworms spotlights on this jewel of nature and culture.
Music: Cadillac Desert - performed live at KDHX-St. Louis by William Tyler.
Related Earthworms Interviews: David Henry, Climate Walker (12-15-15)
Plants, Indigenous People and Climate with Ethnobotanist Dr. Jan Salick (12-22-15)
Dr. Peter Raven, Science Advisor to Papal Climate Encyclical (6-22-15)
Around our world, artisans in all media are able to thrive because of stores like Zee Bee Market, a proud local member of the Fair Trade Federation. St. Louis retailer Julio Zegarra-Ballon, a native of Peru, melliflously articulates the principles of fair trade in this Earthworms conversation.
Goods Julio has brought to the KDHX studio embody collaborative relationships between seller and maker, to develop product lines both novel and useful. These exchanges go beyond protection, to enhance the social, economic and environmental well-being of global cultures, sources of Zee Bee's wares.
Located at 3211 South Grand Boulevard - in one of St. Louis most vibrant business districts - and online, Zee Bee Market is a delightful and ethical shopping destination.
Thanks to Stacey Bernard, host of Backroads, Saturday mornings on KDHX, for introducing Earthworms to Zee Bee Market and its owner, Julio Zegarra-Ballon.
Music: Infernal Piano Plot, performed live at KDHX by the Claudettes.
Head south in St. Louis to Cherokee Street for a new celebration of Earth Day at The Blue Pearl. Owner Julie Sommers and friends are gathering music - speakers - poetry - great food and drink, and Green activities for kids to celebrate our Blue Planet! Festivities start at 3 p.m. on Friday April 22 - EARTH DAY!Â
One special speaker is Earthworms guest Tabitha Tripp, a life-long tree lover, dirt worshipper and resident of Southern Illinois. Tabitha reports on issues - and the beauty of her part of her state - from the Heartwood Forest Council and SAFE, Southern Illinoisans Against Fracturing our Environment. She shares some original, personal poetry from her activist experience. In her spare time, Tabitha is a mom, a poet and painter and one hellacious cook.Â
Other Blue Pearl Earth Day speakers will address Pop-Up Prairies, Cool Roofs, Energy and Nuclear Waste issues - and much more. Music will jam up all spaces!
Cherokee is one of the liveliest, oldest, most diverse street scenes in town. This year Earth lovers will flock there - and rock there! Hope to see you there too!
Music: Butter II recorded at KDHX by Ian Ethan Case
Earthworms' KDHX listening area is rich in water, surrounded by rivers, blessed with (thankfully) abundant rainfall - yet do we SEE these priceless resources around us? Artists Libby Reuter and Sun Smith-Foret are about to open our eyes.
Libby and Joshua Rowan continue to join their sculptural and photographic forces in the eloquent project Watershed Cairns, water marked with art.  Libby's glass sculptures are created to be photographed by Josh in sensitive or damaged or simply glorious watershed locales. This multi-year creative flow has built a stunning body of work, seen in St. Louis and other cities.Â
Sun Smith-Foret's new Riverwork Project incorporates river images by 60 regional artists in a regional, multi-racial collaboration that has produced a 300-foot long pieced, layered, painted and embroidered textile. Riverwork is also designed to pack up and travel - upstream, downriver and into the minds and hearts of viewers.
See Water will be exhibited at the St. Louis Artist Guild - 12 North Jackson in Clayton, Missouri - opening reception 5-8 pm on Friday April 22 - EARTH DAY! - and on view through May 12. Join a Walkabout with the artists on Wednesday May 4, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
How will you See Water after seeing this work - and hearing this Earthworms conversation?
Music: Butter II recorded live at KDHX by Ian Ethan Case
Artist Sarah Loynd creates around sustainable themes - and wears her messages, boldly. Her media ranges from an invasive plant to villages in Greece abandoned as bauxite mining takes over, to humane concerns for both cows and children. She doesn't flinch from tough topics as she fashions (literally) head-turning pieces.Â
About to earn a BFA from Maryville University, Loynd's work in the Studio Art 2016 Senior Show will be on view April 11 - May 12 in May Foundation Gallery on the Maryville campus in Chesterfield, with an opening reception on April 14, 5-7 p.m. "Creative Eradication," her bush honeysuckle gown, was recently on view at the Missouri Botanical Garden.Â
Music: Abdiel - performed live at KDHX by Dave Black.
Related Earthworms Conversations: Honeysuckle Sweep for Healthy Habitat (March 2, 2016)
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The Missouri Prairie Foundation is celebrating 50 years of studying, growing, restoring and promoting one of the most productive  - and dwindling - ecosystems on Earth. MPF Director, Carol Davit talks with Earthworms' Jean Ponzi about these "seas of grass" and their importance to both repairing and supporting human interaction with nature. Jon Wingo also joins this conversation, adding his considerable experience as Board past-President of MPF and President of DJM Ecological Services, a landscaping firm that specializes in work with native plants (enjoy Jon's and DJM's work on any St. Louis roam around the wilder areas of Forest Park).
MPF now manages Grow Native! one of the nation's most outstanding and prolifically engaging native plant promotional programs. The twofold purpose of Grow Native! is to increase supply and increase demand, working with native plants. Look for the purple tags or display areas in almost any locally-owned garden center and you'll see living evidence of Grow Native! achievements  - plus you'll be strongly tempted to try some natives on your own grounds.
MPF events this spring will include plant sales, Bioblitz on an original remnant prairie near Mt. Vernon MO, a regional celebration of National Prairie Day (June 4), Grow Native! workshops - and more. Membership in MPF brings you the quarterly Missouri Prairie Journal, a delightful hybrid of public information and scholarly research. Â
Music:Â Limehouse Blues - recorded live at KDHX by Del McCoury Band
Related Earthworms Conversations:Â
Wes Jackson, Founder of The Land Institute: Growing Our Food in Prairies (9-2-15)
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It's April 22 on the calendar - it's much more around Earthworms' town, thanks to the year-round Earth-tacular efforts of our local non-profit St. Louis Earth Day.Â
Today's guests are SLED Executive Director Jen Meyerscough and Bob Henkel (Champion of Compost), who heads up event Greening spring through fall by Recycling On The Go, and helps coordinate special SLED events.
Details on the Recycling Extravaganza - this year on Sunday April 3, 10 am to 2 p.m. - include just some of the 20+ businesses and service organizations who'll be on hand to accept and properly deal with all kinds of hard-to-recycle (or reuse) items, from prescription drugs to carpeting to Mardi Gras beads. Check out the lineup online and pack your bike, car or buggy to dole out your items as you work your way around the St. Louis Community College - Forest Park campus parking lot. You - and your basement - will be glad you recycled at REX!Â
And Earthworms looks ahead to the best Earth Day Festival in the USA, put on by folks who know their stuff and packed with good learning, Green eating, groovy music, unparalleled people-watching - and FUN. On Sunday April 24, 10 am to 6 p.m., join your fellow Earthlings on The Muny grounds in Forest Park for a planet party that produces almost Zero waste.
Earthworms will see you there - starting at twilight on Saturday April 23, for SLED's big-fun fundraiser Earth Day Eve.
Thanks to engineer Haley Hudson.
Music: Mayor Harrison's Fedora, performed live at KDHX by Kevin Buckley and Ian Walsh.Â
KDHX is licensed to the Double Helix Corporation, a non-profit community media organization that a Board of Directors governs. The corporation is independent of any governmental entity and is not affiliated with any religious or educational organization.
Board of DirectorsThe Board of Directors is responsible for ensuring that the organization meets its strategic vision goals.
Board members are appointed by the board or elected by the associate members (active volunteers) of KDHX. The board maintains Board Expectations to guide the board's work and to consider new board members. The board regularly reviews the Board Expectations to ensure that they serve the needs of the organization and its commitments to increased board diversity.
The most important aspect of adding board members is ensuring that new members understand the strategic vision of KDHX and the board's role in the partnership with board, staff, volunteers, and listeners. The board has a duty to recruit, nominate, and vet new board members and apply an intentional process to select new members. The By-laws of KDHX allow for up to 15 board members and do not specify a timeline for filling vacancies.
To contact the board of directors, you may email KDHXBoard@kdhx.org.
All meetings of the board of directors, during which official business will be conducted, are open to the public. Portions of each board meeting may be held in executive session due to discussions of personnel matters, proprietary matters, information obtained on a confidential basis or matters requiring confidential advice of counsel. Executive sessions are closed to the public.
Board meetings are held on the 3rd Monday of every other month. Meetings are held online via Zoom at 6:00 p.m. Changes to the meeting dates or times will be posted to this website with as much advance notice as possible.
Without advance notice, the board of directors may convene a closed executive session to discuss or conduct confidential matters.Â
**The KDHX board of directors held a closed executive session on October 14, 2023, to discuss legal, financial, and personnel matters of the station.
The Community Advisory Board shall advise the station's governing body with respect to whether the programming and other policies of the station are meeting the specialized educational and cultural needs of the communities served by the station and may make such recommendations as it considers appropriate to meet such needs.
Meetings of the Community Advisory Board are open to the public.
Unless otherwise noted, meetings are held at 6:00 pm at the Larry J. Weir Center for Independent Media, 3524 Washington Ave, Saint Louis, MO 63103. For more information, contact Kelly Wells, Executive Director, at kwells@kdhx.org.
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ÂPermaculture is a design discipline that strives to work with nature, pointing us to the solution that's found in the problem. Permaculture practitioner, teacher and advocate Tao Orion has drawn on her work in Oregon's Willamette Valley to research and write "Beyond the WAR on Invasive Species" (2015, Chelsea Green). She presents long-view ecological perspectives on the kinds of eco-problems exemplified by invasive species - and how we humans can change our thinking, our processes, our questions into accord with Earth's systems. From edible landscapes to herbicide use, this conversation challenges easy-answer thinking.
This show follows up on resources shared (March 1) by St. Louis leaders of the Honeysuckle Sweep for Healthy Habit, an effort to tackle one our region's most problematic invasive speciesÂ
Earthworms values good questions - with thanks to you for listening and considering!
Music: Magic 9 performed live at KDHX studios by Infamous Stringdusters.
Related Earthworms interviews:Â Growing our food crops as prairies? - with Wes Jackson of The Land Institute (9- 2- 2015)
Missouri's Pioneer Forest exemplifies ecological stewardship - from A Tribute to Leo Drey (6-2-2015)
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