Tag: science

Putting a Price on Carbon: Who Pays, and How?

It’s not uncommon that a Carbon tax or Cap-and-Trade is dismissed as some sort of scheme, just another example of the government taking the people’s hard-earned money. Thing is, this simply isn’t true, and both options carry some serious weight in terms of the impacts they could have on reducing pollution. For one, neither a…… Continue reading Putting a Price on Carbon: Who Pays, and How?

Japan’s Solar Surge + How Solar Works

30% of Japan’s energy comes from nuclear reactors, at least it did until March 11th, 2011 when an earthquake lead to a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. 11 others shut down that day. Within a year, the countries remaining nuclear power plants all shut down in order to make upgrades and undergo…… Continue reading Japan’s Solar Surge + How Solar Works

Behind the SCiENcES with Dr Gilad Bino

Before you sit down with us to learn all about platypuses, join us for a glimpse Behind the SCiENcES with Dr Gilad Bino. Dr Bino is passionate about conservation and science. He seeks to address the ongoing biodiversity crisis by understanding the underlying processes that shape biodiversity at multiple spatial and temporal scales to inform…… Continue reading Behind the SCiENcES with Dr Gilad Bino

Series Preview: Why Us?

First, an ask: please excuse the audio quality, and focus on the content 🙂 Devon Bowker here, I wasn’t originally going to post this. This was a recorded conversation that we had when talking about the reasons behind our upcoming series ‘Us’, an ongoing series examining our connections and impact on the environment, sustainability, and…… Continue reading Series Preview: Why Us?

To Keep Things Going

Hey readers, If you’re a regular follower you may know that I have just been admitted into a biology graduate program beginning this August. I am incredibly excited about this opportunity, admittedly nervous at how my work-life balance will look as I continue to teach full-time, but excited. Here’s the honest truth, though. It’s going…… Continue reading To Keep Things Going

Dispatches from Somewhere #5| American Alligator

This is one of my favorite shots I’ve ever managed to capture. I snapped this in 2015 at one of my all-time favorite parks, @brazosbendstatepark near Houston, TX. It sorta looks like she’s lunging forward, but in reality, she was sitting in a quickly flowing stream with her mouth open against the flow, presumably to catch fish…… Continue reading Dispatches from Somewhere #5| American Alligator

Dispatches from Somewhere #4| Antheraea polyphemus

Admittedly, this photo isn’t from any time recently. I took this during the summer of 2014 at Springbrook Nature Center in Fridley, MN. It was while I was working for a nonprofit organization called Tree Trust building a 180-foot swamp foot boardwalk with local high school students. It was also my first time seeing one…… Continue reading Dispatches from Somewhere #4| Antheraea polyphemus

TWL NEWS| Wildlife Weekend Update: August 3, 2021

Vermont’s 25th annual rabies bait drop to begin Thursday On a similar note, Michael Scott’s Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Fun Run Pro Am Race for the Cure will be taking place this Friday Beginning on Thursday, technicians will begin distributing 450,000 quarter-sized blister packs containing a rabies vaccine that will…… Continue reading TWL NEWS| Wildlife Weekend Update: August 3, 2021

Bears! with Brogan Holcombe

Get to know Brogan Brogan is a Master’s Student working in the Wildlife Habitat & Population Analysis Lab at Virginia Tech She’s also the one behind #SundayScientistShoutout on Twitter which she does every week for scientists or STEM activists from underrepresented groups. Follow Brogan @Brogan_Holcombe or look up her #bearseyeview for awesome bear videos! GET…… Continue reading Bears! with Brogan Holcombe

Help us make a difference

We’ve just made some significant updates to our Patreon!The Wild Life & the work we do is entirely member & donor-supported.Please consider joining us in our mission to inspire hope of a green & just future through open access to the natural worldhttps://www.patreon.com/TheWildLife Preview the tiers and their rewards/benefits here: $1Exclusive access to our Patreon…… Continue reading Help us make a difference

Book Club| Dr Jessica L Ware’s Picks!

Each episode, we ask our guests for their personal book recommendations. Our latest guest was Dr Jessica L Ware! She is the assistant curator in invertebrate zoology at the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Ware’s research focuses on the evolution of behavioral and physiological adaptations in insects, with an emphasis on how these occur…… Continue reading Book Club| Dr Jessica L Ware’s Picks!

Nature’s Pooper Scooper (Dung Beetles!) with Professor Marcus Byrne

Professor Marcus Byrne teaches us about the fantastical and unexpected world of dung beetles, their ecological importance, their connections to human culture and history, and how this lowly creature finds its way home by looking to the stars.

Book Club| Professor Marcus Byrne’s Picks!

Each episode, we ask our guests for their personal book recommendations. Our latest guest was not only able to suggest one of his own (which you should totally read), but also two other absolute must-reads. Want to join our book club to find other nature-nerds who may be interested in reading the same things as…… Continue reading Book Club| Professor Marcus Byrne’s Picks!

Dispatches from Somewhere #1: What a Wasp

I’ve had this picture on my camera roll for almost a year now and I figured I should finally get to posting it. If you’re wondering what this scorpion looking flying insect is, it’s the Pelecinus polyturator, a type of wasp. The adults drink nectar and are pretty harmless, unless you’re a June Bug. That’s…… Continue reading Dispatches from Somewhere #1: What a Wasp

The Danger Zone

This was originally written as an essay in 2015 based on a New Yorker article by Elizabeth Kolbert entitled “A New Climate-Change Danger Zone?” and reflects my opinions at the time. Much has changed in the world and the climate crisis has only gotten worse and my understanding of that crisis as well as the…… Continue reading The Danger Zone

An Absolutely Major Announcement

The Wild Life was born out of a desire to help alleviate something that, at the time, we were calling the nature accessibility gap. Initially, it was clear that this gap existed along economic and other demographic lines, exposing a stark pattern of under-representation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) individuals and communities in…… Continue reading An Absolutely Major Announcement

The Wild Life of the Nicobar Pigeon

Order| Columbiformes While it may come as a shock, the Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica) is indeed a Pigeon. It’s also the closest living relative of the now extinct Dodo bird! These birds are named for an island chain of the coast of India where many of them live, though they can be found all the…… Continue reading The Wild Life of the Nicobar Pigeon

The Journey So Far

The other day, I was going through a pile of junk (which I have a lot of) and came across this. This intentionally blurred piece of paper was the very beginning of #TheWildLife. It’s just a bunch of notes and ideas that I was jotting down while I tried to decide what I wanted to…… Continue reading The Journey So Far

The Wild Life of Red Pandas

Red Panda Order| Carnivora Family| Ailuridae Red Panda’s, like the Giant Panda, eat mostly bamboo (and are impossibly adoreable). But here’s the thing, they aren’t pandas. They’re actually more closely related to skunks and raccoons, and make up their own subfamily alongside skunks, raccoons, and weasels. Much like the Eau de Popcorn smelling Binturong, the…… Continue reading The Wild Life of Red Pandas

88.1 KVSC Interview: The Untold Story of Distance Learning During COVID-19 with ISD 742’s Devon Bowker, Science Teacher, Naturalist, and Blogger

KVSC, the radio station of my Alma Mater, St Cloud State University, recently interviewed new for there segment ‘Untold Stories of Central MN’. It aired on Earth Day 2020 and was an incredible honor and opportunity to speak about my passions. For those of you more familiar with The Wild Life side of my life,…… Continue reading 88.1 KVSC Interview: The Untold Story of Distance Learning During COVID-19 with ISD 742’s Devon Bowker, Science Teacher, Naturalist, and Blogger

The Wild Life’s 50th Episode Celebration: Live Trivia Show!

Well, we’ve come a long way. We’re at our 50th episode! We will be hosting a live show on Zoom!and YOU are invited. On May 1st at 7pm CT, we’ll be playing trivia (of course, based on topics from our first 49 episodes [and no, you don’t have to have listened to all of them…… Continue reading The Wild Life’s 50th Episode Celebration: Live Trivia Show!

Become a Wildlife Ambassador

So, here’s the thing: we, at this moment, are rolling out a new newy thing. It’s super cool—the Wildlife Ambassador program! Basically, when you become a member at Patreon.com/TheWildLife, you can pick a species of some kind of personal importance to you and we will donate 10% of your contributions each month to either a…… Continue reading Become a Wildlife Ambassador

Home Is Where The Log Is: A Velvet Worm Short Story

When most people think of Australia, their mind conjures up images of a Mad Maxian landscape—brick red sand blemished with gray-green freckles of saltbrush. Standing tall in a rigid defiance, the occasional gum or eucalyptus serves as safe haven for koalas and kookaburras under a big hard sun. Maybe they think of the Great Barrier…… Continue reading Home Is Where The Log Is: A Velvet Worm Short Story

Is it a Worm? Is it a Wasp? No! It’s the Elm Sawfly!

This past weekend as I sat below an old oak tree while drinking my morning cup of coffee and looking out on a glassy Lake Darling in Alexandria, Minnesota, something fell from the sky and landed at my feet. Small and curled up like a slightly puff green and yellow sour gummy worm. It’s face…… Continue reading Is it a Worm? Is it a Wasp? No! It’s the Elm Sawfly!

The Dragonhunter

In the skies across Minnesota (and much of the eastern US and southeastern Canada, for that matter), roams a fierce and agile predator, capable of taking down prey you would never imagine—and some many wouldn’t dare to try at themselves. Hagenius brevistylus, is a clubtail dragonfly known as the Dragonhunter, and is one of nearly…… Continue reading The Dragonhunter