Environmental Almanac

Need inspiration to act on behalf of people and wildlife in the present? Find inspiration in a group that’s been at it for fifty years.

If you're interested to do your part for monarchs by planting milkweed in your garden, maybe you could be convinced to support other wildlife with beautiful native plants in your home landscape. Tune in for thoughts on the why and how of doing so.

Have you noticed friends or coworkers looking a little sleep-deprived lately? You may be encountering birders caught up in the excitement of spring migration.

Where can you see bald eagles are river otters? Nearby our rivers, where you can also see coal ash pits. This week's segment invites listeners to stand up for clean water.

Muskrats were once a rarity in urban waterways, but they're now fairly common. Tune in to learn more about these adaptable aquatic mammals.

When Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin put out the call for observance of the first Earth Day, he did so on the premise that awareness—especially among young people—would lead to action. 

When University of Illinois student Joanna Pupa tried to change her mom's opinion of opossums, she knew she had her work cut out for her. Can she change your opinion?

The fastest animal on earth was once endangered in most of the U.S., but it has come back from the brink thanks to federal policy. Stop by to learn about the peregrin falcon.

What's scarier than a tarantula or a rhinoceros beetle? Hint: it has only two legs, and uses other animals for art and food.

Why do the robins stay in the Midwest through the winter now? Tune in to hear the answer from University of Illinois avian ecologist Mike Ward.