How To! with Mike Pesca16 Aug 2022

How To Restore Nature in the Heart of a City

When Swiss Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud moved to Washington DC, his residence was perfect. Too perfect. The Swiss ambassador's residence sits on six acres on a hill with an awesome view of the Washington Monument. "I was amazed by the beauty of the whole setting…It looked like a golf course and I don't like golf courses… they are ecological disasters," Ambassador Pitteloud reflected. Together with his gardening team, the Ambassador has transformed the residence into a native oasis. On this episode of How To!, we're taking a field trip to the Swiss Ambassador's residence. Ambassador Pitteloud reveals how he brought back his beloved birds and even gave diplomatic immunity to local colonies of bees.

We talked last week with Doug Tallamy, who gave some wonderfully concrete advice on how you can revitalize your local ecosystem with just your yard. Ambassador Pitteloud is a living testament that you can have a meaningful impact with just your yard and he's impoloring others to follow suit. "Environmental protection has become ideological and politicized. This is not a political question… It's 5 minutes before midnight."

Resources:

Homegrown National Park

Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard

Audubon Native Plants Database

National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder

SEEK by iNaturalist

If you liked this episode, check out part one: "How To Save the Planet, Starting With Your Yard." Also check out our episode "How to (Really) Help Refugees," as mentioned at the end of the show.

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(397)

How To Keep Cool in a Crisis

Originally Aired on Oct 12, 2021 On this episode of How To!, the second in a two part-series, Dan Christensen, a bus driver in Portland, Oregon, and Matt Smith, a crisis intervention trainer and the ...

7 Jul 30min

How Constraints Make Us More Creative

Ofra splits her time among a number of hobbies in her retirement, but she wants to stop feeling rudderless and find the focus necessary to write a book of observational humor based on her twenty-year ...

30 Jun 33min

Should I Choose Passion or a Stable Job?

India splits her time between contract production and agency work, but she wants to stop prioritizing other people's projects to scale her personal brand. Enter Simone Stolzoff, workplace researcher a...

23 Jun 38min

How To Make New Friends as an Adult

Steven racks up acquaintances on group mountain bike rides, but he cannot turn a casual trailhead hello into a real friendship. For decades he coasted on the built-in connections of being in a band, ...

16 Jun 32min

Beating Yourself Up? The 10-Second Play That Outsmarts Your Inner Critic

This week we're sharing a special episode from our friends at Mentally Stronger with Therapist Amy Morin — the Webby Award–winning podcast hosted by psychotherapist and mental strength trainer Amy Mor...

11 Jun 18min

How To Ditch Your Distractions Once and For All

There's one thing that all of Helena's personal projects have in common: they remain unfinished. The family photo album is empty, as is her mom's recipe book. And the lavender garden is still unplante...

9 Jun 31min

How To Get Into Wine

Today on How To!, Ross, a TV director who enjoys a drink but feels intimidated by the pretension of the wine world, levels up his wine knowledge. Mike brings on journalist and The Corrupt Wine Writer ...

2 Jun 33min

How To Connect With An Audience

Guitarist and orchestrator Dillon Kondor knows his way around a stage. It's everything in between the songs that trips him up. Speaking to a crowd, filling the silence, not coming off stiff or defensi...

26 Mai 32min