Together we walk through Trish O'Kane's beautiful new book, Birding to Change the World, including the New Orleans disaster story that first led her into birding.

Join us for this episode of The Thing with Feathers as Trish, author and senior lecturer in environmental justice at the University of Vermont, illuminates ways we might make a difference for the birds, our neighbors, and ourselves right where we are.

From the local marsh to ill-fated fireworks, from Madison, Wisconsin to rural Vermont, making a positive ecological impact is often easier—and more important—than we imagine.

Trish was such a wise, kind guest. Our conversation inspired me to look at my own community with new eyes, new hope, and new gratitude.

You can find Birding to Change the World anywhere books are sold.

Birding links:

The Merlin Bird ID App

eBird

iNaturalist

The Thing with Feathers is hosted and produced by Courtney Ellis. Original music by Del Belcher. New episodes bi-weekly on Mondays.

Trauma-informed Certified Grief Educator Mandy Capehart knows a thing or two about sorrow. Her first deep dive into grief came with the surprising and rapid decline of her mother in 2016. From there, she began learning all she could about how we grieve and what might help us heal.

Links from Mandy's show:

Restorative Grief (Mandy's website)

The Restorative Grief Podcast

Mandy on Twitter

Mandy on Instagram

Mandy on Facebook

Birding links:

The Merlin Bird ID App

eBird

iNaturalist

The Thing with Feathers is hosted and produced by Courtney Ellis. Original music by Del Belcher. New episodes bi-weekly on Mondays.

Subscribe on Substack.

Julie Zickefoose is one of those birding writers I’ve admired from afar for a long time. When I first got into birds during that miserable pandemic, her book, “Saving Jemima” was one of the first bird-related titles I picked up at our library.

I was captivated. Who knew little birds could have such big personalities? Who knew how much creativity and courage it would take to rehab a single bird?

You can check out Julie's books, illustrations, and more at her website, too. Or follow her on Instagram or Facebook.

As a reminder, The Thing with Feathers podcast comes out bi-weekly on Mondays. If you love the show, I’d be honored if you’d share it with a friend and give it a review, too!