“We need geopoetics because geopolitics necessitate other ways of being… Proposing alternate narratives to the hegemonic ones we are caught in is the work and play of geopoetics.” – Erin Robinsong, Geopoetics in the Mess/Mesh Enclosed is the last episode of our 4th season: a sympoietic stream of consciousness; on language, art making, and more-than-human interconnection. Find a transcript, full credits, and citations here – – – We want to hear from you! Please take our brief listener survey Support our 5th season: Join our community on Patreon – – – The feet are the link Between earth and the body. Begin there. The lungs are the link between body and air. The hands, these uprooted feet, are the means Of our shaping and grasping. Clasp them. The eyes are the hands of the head; its feet are the ears. – Robert Bringhurst – – – With the voices and words of Michael Datura, Astrida Neimanis, Cosmo Sheldrake, Rex Weyler, Robert Bringhurst, Jan Zwicky, David Abram, Megan Gnanasihamany, Stephen Collis, Eric Magrane, Hari Alluri, Nadia Chaney, Kaitlyn Purcell, Khari McClelland, Rita Wong, Jessica Bebenek, Vicki Kelly, Mark Fettes, Marjorie Wonham, and Cecily Nicholson Music by Cosmo Sheldrake, Anne Bourne, Meredith Buck (as arranged by Vanessa Richards), Jonathan Kawchuk, the Time Zone Research Lab, Emily Millard, Khari McClelland, Ruby Singh, and Nathan Shubert, with field recordings by Julian Fisher.

We work hard to make sure our music doesn’t just complement our voices, but actually tells a story all of its own. Now that our 4th Season is complete, as per usual, we’ve compiled all the original music that went into it, and we’re releasing it as an album. This year, that album takes the form of two companion volumes. Volume 1: Electrical Storms by Sunfish Moon Light Volume 2: Sympoiesis by thumbug Of course we're not responsible for all the music you hear on our show. We've borrowed tunes from so many truly great artists, often connected thematically or geographically to the content of that specific episode. You can discover each of them, and support their work at futureecologies.net/music — — — We want to hear from you — take our brief listener survey and help make Season 5 the best yet. 💖 Join our community: support Future Ecologies on Patreon to access our discord server, an exclusive bonus podcast feed, stickers, patches, and more Vancouver: Join mendel and friends for a PWYC panel on acoustic ecologies, ecopoetics, and biosonification, at the Lobe Spatial Sound Studio Spring Equinox Summit (Saturday March 25 @ 1PM) — — — BTW: we release all of our original music from each season. Previous soundtracks (all PWYC CC-BY-NC-SA): Season 1 Season 2 Scales of Change Season 3

From a distance, mountain landscapes may appear timeless and immutable. Take a closer look, however, and montane ecologies reveal themselves to be laboratories of radical transformation: rocks weather and fall; ecosystems burst into life for brief intervals; tree-lines shift; and wildfires rage. Even the very peaks themselves inch inexorably upwards or downwards with the flow of time. Amidst all the constant, unyielding change that animates the Earth's high places, people have long sought a vantage from which to survey this shifting terrain. Who can resist the romance of a breathtaking, mountaintop view? Or then to imagine what generations past might have seen from the same spot? In the mid 1990s, a small group of scientists in western Canada grew dissatisfied with mere imagining — they wanted to see that change for themselves. And in a forgotten corner of a national archive, they found some very heavy boxes that held a rare promise: an opportunity to look back in time at a landscape scale. – – – For musical credits, select photos, citations, links, and more, click here. Support the show and join our Patreon community – – – Learn more about the Mountain Legacy Project: mountainlegacy.ca Explore all the photos and data: explore.mountainlegacy.ca More on land cover classification | Webinar | Deep Dive

Can we sequester our carbon and eat it too? For the first time in 4 seasons, we're discussing natural climate solutions, and in particular, regenerative agriculture. Joining us is agrologist and fellow podcaster, Scott Gillespie (of Plants Dig Soil) to get into the nitty gritty of farming for soil carbon — its promise, possibility and feasibility. ——— Support Future Ecologies (pay what you can >$1/month) @ futureecologies.net/patrons 🌱 — Get access to our delightful discord server, early episode releases, an exclusive podcast feed for bonus content, and more: Find a full list of citations, and a transcript for this episode: futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-8-ground-truthing

A story of memory, ghosting, and fire: how we can change the place we call home, and how it too can change around us. Another version of this story, along with many other works of art, can be found in the pages of Fire Season II – – – 💖 Support Future Ecologies: join our community on Patreon at futureecologies.net/patrons You'll get exclusive bonus content, access to one of the best discord servers out there, stickers, patches, early episode releases, and more! Find credits, citations, transcript, photos, and more at futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-7-phase-change

What does it mean to live on an island? Is it to be independent from, or inexorably dependent on the rest of the world? And when the ecosystem's physical limitations are so clearly circumscribed, do people behave more "environmentally"? In this episode, we visit Adam's home island of Galiano, and find out just how big its ecological footprint really is. – – – Explore the full One Island, One Earth report (and interactive map) 💖 Support Future Ecologies: join our community on Patreon at futureecologies.net/patrons You'll get exclusive bonus content (like a blooper reel from this episode and extended interviews), access to one of the best discord servers out there, stickers, patches, early episode releases, and more! Full credits, citations, transcript, and lots more at futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-6-an-island-unto-itself

The North American Model is just one story of how wildlife conservation can be practiced. In part 2 of this mini-series we tell another: of restorative human–predator relationships and local self-determination. We're bringing you a success story from the Great Bear Rainforest, and another articulation of how we can relate to wildlife — complete with its own set of guiding principles, naturally. For musical credits, citations, and more, click here. Click here for Part 1 – — – — – — Just over 200 people are making Future Ecologies possible on Patreon! Meet them all at futureecologies.net/patrons You too can join our community and help the show to grow @ patreon.com/futureecologies

North America abounds in wildlife — but why? At the turn of the last century, many observers believed that species that we take for granted today would disappear forever. In this episode, we share a story about the way that wildlife conservation came to be practiced, the lives that it privileged, and the lives that it left out. But despite any controversy, one aspect of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation (or "the NAM" for our purposes) is indisputable: its principles explain the landscape of laws and institutions in which North Americans enjoy nature today. – – – For musical credits, citations, and more, click here. – – – Future Ecologies is only possible with the support of you, our listeners! Our patrons get early episode releases + other bonus content, a community discord server (which runs the gamut from meme trading, recipes and fermentation, nature sightings, media suggestions, to discussions on environmental restoration), plus stickers, patches, and more! We are an independent and unaffiliated podcast. Listener contributions make it possible for us to keep producing stories that matter, make them sound great, and keep them ad-free. Join our community of supporting listeners on Patreon for as little as $1/month

What can a brand new patch of nature tell us about Europe's ancient history? In this episode, we touch down in the Netherlands, where an unconventional experiment (the Oostvaardersplassen) has shaken up both the field of ecology and Dutch society. What started as a bird watcher’s obsession with thousands of trekking geese, led to a criticism of one of the central tenets in ecology: ecosystem succession. Enter a counter-theory that would return the rarest of birds, butterflies, and a once-extinct mega mammal to one of the most densely populated countries on earth. For photos, transcripts, citations, and musical credits, head to www.futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-3-a-tiny-wilderness – – – Future Ecologies is independent and ad-free. This podcast is possible thanks to our supporters on Patreon Join our community of supporting listeners (for as little as $1 per month) for access to early releases, a rad discord server, and more: ✨https://www.patreon.com/futureecologies ✨ If you'd prefer to support the show with a one-time donation, you can do so at https://www.futureecologies.net/donate And if you can't support the show financially, you can always leave us a nice rating (or even a review) wherever you listen. We post our favourites at https://www.futureecologies.net/#reviews 💖

At the heart of the Salish Sea lies the Fraser River Estuary: home to over half of the population of the Province of British Columbia, thousands of endemic species, and one world-famous pod of orcas. But as the human population of the region has grown, wildlife populations — including salmonids, orcas, and over 100 species at risk — have been plummeting. As economic imperatives press up against ecological thresholds, a mega-project that has been in development for over a decade is poised to further alter the character of the estuary, with massive implications for the health of Salish Sea and its many residents. In this episode, we ask: can we find ways to hear each other through all the noise? – – – For lots of photos, transcripts, citations, musical credits, and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority's responses to our questions, head to www.futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-2-terminal For more information on how to take action on the RBT2 public comment period (open until March 15, 2022), see Raincoast Conservation’s guide – – – Future Ecologies is independent and ad-free. This podcast is possible thanks to our supporters on Patreon Join our community of supporting listeners for access to early releases, a rad discord server, and more ✨https://www.patreon.com/futureecologies ✨ If you'd prefer to support the show with a one-time donation, you can do so at https://www.futureecologies.net/donate And if you can't support the show financially, you can always leave us a nice rating (or even a review) wherever you listen. We post our favourites at https://www.futureecologies.net/#reviews 💖

Are agriculture and biodiversity always at odds? In the late 1970s, a radical environmental movement rejected this dichotomy — rebuking conventional farming in favour of holistic & mutualistic principles, with the dual promise of plentiful food and a vibrant ecosystem. When Permaculture was first articulated, it emerged from a simple question: why don’t our food systems look more like forests? In the tropics, traditional Indigenous agriculture integrated perennial foods crops so densely that their gardens had often been mistaken for jungle. Inspired by these techniques, permaculturists adapted forest gardening for the temperate world. But, in their enthusiasm, they too may have been missing the forest for the trees. Wherever you are, whatever you're going through, we hope you find solace by spending some time with us — in the garden. – – – For musical credits, episode transcript, citations, and more: https://www.futureecologies.net/listen/fe-4-1-forest-garden 🌱 Future Ecologies is independent and ad-free. This podcast is possible thanks to our supporters on Patreon Join our community of supporting listeners for access to early releases, a rad discord server, and more ✨https://www.patreon.com/futureecologies ✨

What is a border? Is it simply an edge: a sharp transition between one state and another? Or does it stretch beyond a single dimension, warping land and people through a self-perpetuating 'otherness'? In this final chapter of Goatwalker, we uncover the ties that bind ecosystems, identities, and communities of all sorts – migrant or otherwise. We'll walk a path to restorative justice: a way to foster new livelihoods through conservation programs and the many uses of an oft-overlooked keystone species of the desert southwest. Rigid borders are a foundational source of inequity. For as long as they persist, we face a growing need to care for the earth and for each other: to discover our own capacity for Sanctuary. From Future Ecologies, this is Goatwalker, Part Four: An Open Wound. --- Before this episode, we suggest you start with Part One of this series: On Errantry And then listen to Part Two: Sanctuary And then Part Three: Saguaro Juniper --- For musical credits, citations, and more, go to futureecologies.net/listen/fe-3-10-goatwalker-pt4-an-open-wound Help make Season 4 our best yet: Support the show and join our Patreon community at patreon.com/futureecologies --- As of August 2021, Jim Corbett’s "Goatwalking" has been re-issued in a new 2nd edition. You can purchase a hard copy or an e-book here A 2nd edition of "Sanctuary for All Life" is also now available from Cascabel Books on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

Having finished his work in the Sanctuary Movement, Jim Corbett allowed his focus to broaden, bringing his system of ethics to the land itself. Jim had gathered many people around him throughout the Sanctuary days: a group that shared a deep, abiding love for the more-than-human world. Together they would establish a herding community – a herd in which they would all be members – grounded in a practice of ‘pastoral symbiotics’, and guided by a prescient ecological covenant: a bill of rights for the land. From Future Ecologies, this is Goatwalker, Part Three: Saguaro Juniper --- Before this episode, we suggest you start with Part One of this series  And then listen to Part Two --- Get in touch with the community at Saguaro Juniper As of August 2021, Jim Corbett’s "Goatwalking" has been re-issued in a new 2nd edition. You can purchase a hard copy or an e-book here A 2nd edition of "Sanctuary for All Life" is also now available from Cascabel Books on Amazon or Barnes and Noble – – – For musical credits, citations, and more, click here. Support the show and join our Patreon community

In the early 1980s, the outbreak of civil war across Central America forced unprecedented numbers of refugees to seek asylum in the United States, putting the recently passed 'Refugee Act' of 1980 to the test. There was just one catch: the Reagan Administration was providing funding to right-wing governments that most of these refugees were fleeing. As a result, Central American refugees making the dangerous journey to the U.S.-Mexico borderlands were being intercepted, denied asylum, and summarily deported. As this crisis unfolded, a ragtag group of self-proclaimed 'goatherds errant', led by philosopher-turned-rancher Jim Corbett, took it upon themselves to enact U.S. immigration law at the grassroots level. In so doing, they sparked a national movement that continues to the present day, turning the concept of 'civil disobedience' upside-down. This is the story of the Sanctuary movement – the 2nd part of a 4-part series. From Future Ecologies, this is Goatwalker, Part Two: Sanctuary. 👉 We suggest you start with Part One of this series 👈 – – – For musical credits, citations, and more, click here. Support the show and join our Patreon. We've got bonus episodes, stickers, patches, and a rad discord community. – – – As of August 2021, Jim Corbett’s "Goatwalking" has been re-issued in a new 2nd edition. You can purchase a hard copy or an e-book here A 2nd edition of "Sanctuary for All Life" is also now available from Cascabel Books on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

Jim Corbett was not your typical rancher. Over the course of decades roaming the borderlands of the desert southwest, he developed a practice that he referred to as 'goatwalking' - a form of prophetic wandering and desert survival based on goat-human symbiosis. For Jim, 'goatwalking' provided both physical and spiritual sustenance, and allowed him to become at home, for a time, in wildlands. To many, this modern-day Don Quixote would seem an unlikely figure to have sparked one of the most important social movements of the 20th century, but to those who knew him well, it was hardly a surprise. Even today, his influence is felt throughout the borderlands of the Southwestern United States, and beyond. This is the story of a man behind a movement – the biographical first part of a 4-part series. From Future Ecologies, this is Goatwalker, Part One: On Errantry. – – – For musical credits, citations, and more, click here. Support the show and join our Patreon community – – – As of August 2021, Jim Corbett’s "Goatwalking" has been re-issued in a new 2nd edition. You can purchase a hard copy or an e-book here A 2nd edition of "Sanctuary for All Life" is also now available from Cascabel Books on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

Mushrooms that smell? Fungi can be pungent, provocative, and at times irresistible. While we might not always recognize it, we're in constant chemical communication with the world around us through olfaction. For those with the senses to discern them, aromas, perfumes, stinks, and stenches can all convey useful information. Some scents are warnings, and others are deterrents, but the most alluring are expert portraits of our animal fascinations, honed through evolution to attract, captivate, and compel. In this episode, we stop to smell the Russulas – examining the fascinating fragrances of Kingdom Fungi, with the help of Michael Hathaway, Merlin Sheldrake, and Anicka Yi. – – – For musical credits, citations, and the Mushroom Smelling Wheel, click here. Support the show and join our Patreon community Cover artwork by Leya Tess

In collaboration with the Serpentine Galleries, Future Ecologies presents a choral, poetic collage featuring the voices of The Understory of the Understory: a virtual symposium bringing together practitioners from many disciplines to consider the ground beneath our feet across ecologies, politics and spiritualities. With vignettes ranging from co-evolution to condensation, from medicine to mycomorphism, and from death to dust and back again, and all generally rooted in a question of earth, soil, and territory. General Ecology is a long-term, cross-organisational, multi-disciplinary and cross-media research project. Harnessing the network and learnings developed over the last years, the project is the Serpentine’s think tank at the porous thresholds of art, science and the humanities, bringing together the most forward-thinking researchers, artists, activists and practitioners from all disciplines to reflect on the urgent crises of the Anthropocene by thinking ecologically both within the Galleries, across a network of individuals and organisations, and in a wider context. YouTube Playlists: The Understory of the Understory Day 1 The Understory of the Understory Day 2 – – – For musical credits, citations, and more, click here. Support the show and join our Patreon community – – – Cover image: Future Ecologies x Giles Round x Bea Leiderman

Guest producers Sadie Couture and Russell Gendron explore the concept of invasive species through a look at a small island community, a species doing some serious damage to the ecosystem, and the complex issues at play when a plant or animal moves into a new territory. Sadie and Russell talk to current and former residents of Mayne Island, Indigenous elders, and conservation professionals to think through what it means to call something an “invasive species,” how to manage our ever-changing relationships to plants and animals, and how we might prepare for the certainty of change in the future. This episode was originally a short piece on the Mayne Island Sound Map, entitled “The Joy of Cooking Fenison.” – – – We rely on listener support to make this work possible. Support Future Ecologies for $1/month, and join the producers for a discord Ask-Us-Anything on February 3rd https://www.patreon.com/futureecologies – – – For musical credits, citations, and photos click here.

Sometimes it feels like we're all living in a garbageosphere – an ecosystem of trash and detritus. But despite the extent of anthropogenic impacts, life is resilient and infinitely creative. Hyper-ecologies, novel ecosystems, freakosystems – different names for the same thing: never-before-seen assemblies of lifeforms, born of human disturbance. These profoundly weird ecologies are persistent, and (through a certain lens) often functional. In this final chapter of "Nature, by Design?", we meet again with Oliver Kellhammer and Eric Higgs to discuss what we can learn from these ruderal places, and how they can empower a new way of thinking about ecological restoration. This episode is the last in a 3-part series. Before listening to this one, you may want to catch up with Part 1: Taking the Neo-Eoscenic Route [FE3.1] & Part 2: The Path to the Wilderness Lodge [FE3.2] – – – For musical credits, citations, and more, click here. Please consider adopting an episode for transcription 💖 Support the show and join our Patreon community

This episode is the second in a 3-part series. Before listening to this one, you may want to catch up with FE3.1 - Nature, by Design? Part 1: Taking the Neo-Eoscenic Route As we continue to discuss the practice of ecological restoration, an important question emerges: is wilderness itself an illusion? We all have a picture of wilderness in our minds, but how did that image come to be? Join us for a tale of two simulacra. For musical credits, citations, and more, click here. Please consider adopting an episode for transcription Support the show and join our Patreon community