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Golden State Naturalist

A love letter to California's ecological past, present, and future.

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Tide Pools with Michelle Kunst
March 1, 2024

Tide Pools with Michelle Kunst

How do sea stars move around? Why am I jealous of giant green anemones? When's the best time to go tide pooling? Why is life so hard in the in the place where the ocean meets the land? How have so many creatures adapted to t…
TEK (Traditional Ecological Knowledge / Indigenous Ecological Knowledge) with Frank Lake
Feb. 15, 2024

TEK (Traditional Ecological Knowledge / Indigenous Ecological Knowledge) with Frank Lake

Indigenous people have lived in the place now known as California since time immemorial and are still here today. In this episode, join me and Frank Lake as we discuss mutualistic relationships between Indigenous Californian…
Native Bees with Krystle Hickman
Feb. 2, 2024

Native Bees with Krystle Hickman

Photo Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times Have you ever noticed a bee that looked a little…different? Maybe it was a bit fuzzier than a typical honey bee, or maybe it was obsidian black, bright orange, startlingly…
Mythologizing Place with Obi Kaufmann
Jan. 18, 2024

Mythologizing Place with Obi Kaufmann

Author, artist, poet, and eco-philosopher Obi Kaufmann doesn't want to craft a better argument. He wants to tell a better story. But what does that kind of story look like? How do we begin to convey the incredible complexity…
7 Ways to Connect with Nature this Year (2024 REPLAY)
Jan. 9, 2024

7 Ways to Connect with Nature this Year (2024 REPLAY)

Happy New Year! 🎉 This episode has a great story, so I added a new intro to tell you about it. Here are the links mentioned in the new intro! 7 Ways to Connect with Nature zine by Kate Rutter Find Kate on Instagram @ katerut…
Mistletoe with Joshua Der
Dec. 21, 2023

Mistletoe with Joshua Der

Have you ever wondered why we bring a toxic, parasitic plant indoors during the holidays...and then kiss under it? Or what ecological role this plant plays? Come with me and Dr. Joshua Der as we discuss the ecological import…
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Recent Blog Posts

Golden State Naturalist Holiday Gift Guide

Gifts for the outdoorsy, the hikers, and the nature lovers in your life Happy Holidays, Friends!  Still need a gift for your outdoorsy friend, partner, child, or parent? Or maybe you’re the outdoorsy one, and your loved ones have asked …

Urban Wildlife Week in LA

Michelle at P-22 Day with one of the ORIGINAL puppets used to care for baby California condors in the late 1980s.  It's been four days since I drove back to Sacramento from LA, and I'm still buzzing.  This year marked the 8th annual P-22…

Best Nature Journaling Supplies for People with Too Many Hobbies

If you’re anything like me, you can’t actually put a number on the wide array of hobbies you’ve accumulated over the years. If I listed all of mine here, we'd be here all day, and we'd still never get to talk about nature journal…

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About the Host

Michelle Fullner

Host

Michelle is an English teacher, California Naturalist, mom to two kids, nature podcaster, pursuer of too many hobbies, and generally curious, adventurous type. Childhood dream jobs included: tiger trainer, marine biologist, and being on SNL. Hobbies include: having more plants than she can take proper care of, intermittently practicing Spanish, following drawing tutorials on Youtube, hiking short distances with regular stops to flip over logs, travel, iPhone photography, and creative writing.