Everyday Environment Podcast

In this episode of the Everyday Environment Podcast, hosts Amy Lefringhouse and Karla Griesbaum talk with Allen Lawrance, Curator of Entomology at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, to discuss the power of community science and how volunteers contribute valuable data to wildlife monitoring programs across Illinois. Allen highlights initiatives like the Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network, the Illinois Odonate Survey, and the Calling Frog Survey. These programs help track species abundance and distribution and are crucial for understanding environmental change, including the impacts of habitat loss and climate change. Allen emphasizes that anyone can participate with basic training—no science background is needed.ResourcesFederal Community Science OpportunitiesIllinois Odonate SurveyCalling Frog SurveyPeggy Notebaert Illinois Butterfly Monitoring NetworkEast Central Illinois FrogWatchNorth American Butterfly Association Butterfly CountsShare your own Everyday ObservationWas there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.Questions? We'd love to hear from you!Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] Subscribe to our NewsletterCheck out our BlogSee the Everyday Environment Archives

If you learn to listen for wildlife, you’ll start finding it everywhere. Learning a bird’s song or an insect’s call means you can sense them even when they are out of sight or pick out their call from a chaotic audio background that the brain normally filters out. There are side benefits too; sometimes an animal’s call is the only way to identify it, and it’s often the easiest way to share nature with friends. Learn more about wildlife sounds from Voice of the Wild's Brodie Dunn.Check out Brodie's Voice of the Wild PodcastSee the Everyday Environment Periodical Cicadas episodeCommunity Science Resources: iNaturalistCalling Frog SurveyFrog WatchBreeding Bird Survey (INHS)Identification Resources: Merlin Bird IDVoice of the WildiNaturalistGuide to Night Singing Insects of the Northeast by John Himmelman and Michael DiGiorgioBirding by Ear East and Centrl by Richard K Walton and Rober LawsonMore Birding by Ear by Richard K Walton and Rober LawsonField Guide to Bird Songs Eastern and Central North America by Cornell LabSongsofinsects.comBirdsong ear training guide : Who Cooks for Poor Sam Peabody?McAuley LibraryCornell’s All About BirdsSounds heard throughout the episode: Common raccoon sound by iNaturalist user Aleksandr BerdnikovWood duck chick sound by iNaturalist user DanasassoAmerican toad sound by USGS Eastern Gray Squirrel sound by iNaturalist user k2018lenaCommon nighthawk sound by iNaturalist user Ben JohnsonLyric cicada sound by iNaturalist user Gabriel DiggsWalker's cicada sound by iNaturalist user Brian WulkerDickcissel south by iNaturalist user Christopher HenselChimney swift sound by iNaturalist user Chris HarrisonLeast flycatcher sound by iNaturalist user Ty SmithGray catbird sound by iNaturalist user Megan HansonEastern chipmunk sound by iNaturalist user Christopher HenselBrown thrasher sound by iNaturalist user Christopher HenselIndigo bunting sound by iNaturalist user Christopher HenselBrown thrahser sound by iNaturalist user Christopher HenselNorthern mockingbird sound by iNaturalist user Christopher HenselBlue jay sound by iNaturalist user Christopher HenselHouse finch sound by iNaturalist user Christopher HenselRed-eyed vireo sound by iNaturalist user Christopher HenselShare your own Everyday ObservationWas there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.Questions? We'd love to hear from you!Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] Subscribe to our NewsletterCheck out our BlogSee the Everyday Environment Archives

Beneath Illinois’ soil lives a little-known but ecologically important animal — the plains pocket gopher. In this episode, hosts Amy Lefringhouse and Darci Webber talk with Nathan Alexander, postdoctoral researcher at the Illinois Natural History Survey, about what makes this gopher unique to Illinois. Nathan shares how this “angry potato” of the prairie shapes soil health, how agriculture has influenced its habitat over time, and why this subspecies has a fascinating Ice Age origin story. Listeners will also learn how community science can help researchers better understand and protect this elusive species. Share your own Everyday ObservationWas there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.Questions? We'd love to hear from you!Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] Subscribe to our NewsletterCheck out our BlogSee the Everyday Environment Archives

The Mexican long-nosed armadillo (Dasypus mexicanus) has become a recent addition to the local fauna of Illinois as a response to habitat alteration and climate change. With these new species and many others comes new diseases and exposure of pathogens. Join Southern Illinois University associate professor Agustin Jimenez as he discusses zoonotic diseases and how the movement of Illinois wildlife, particularly armadillos, is impacting our understanding of pathology. Share your own Everyday ObservationWas there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.Questions? We'd love to hear from you!Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] Subscribe to our NewsletterCheck out our BlogSee the Everyday Environment Archives

The Urban Coyote Research Project is an ongoing 25-year project studying coyotes in the Chicagoland area. Join Chris Anchor, wildlife biologist for the Forest Preserves of Cook County, as he discusses his 40-year career in wildlife management and the insights we’ve gained from this long-term research project. Learn more about Urban Wildlife: Research at the Forest Preserves of Cook CountyThe Urban Coyote Research ProjectIDNR's Living with Wildlife WebsiteShare your own Everyday ObservationWas there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.Questions? We'd love to hear from you!Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] Subscribe to our NewsletterCheck out our BlogSee the Everyday Environment Archives