Journey With Nature

The writers, editors and Michael Atwood have enjoyed working on Journey with Nature, and are sad to say that this segment will be its last.

The Wabash River is known as Indiana's River, and it needs our protection.

Spinn Prairie in White County is an amazing reminder of Indiana's vanishing prairie landscape.

Hot, humid summer days we begged for comes with a price - mosquitoes are back.

The native Brown-headed Cowbird is notorious for its unusual approach to raising its young, or the lack thereof.

The pretty pale purple coneflower is a unique bloom found in our prairies and savannas.

A little bit of the Deep South can be found at Twin Swamps Nature Preserve in Posey County.

Chasing after the blinking glow of fireflies on a warm, summer evening is a favorite childhood memory for many Hoosiers. Unfortunately we may be chasing after fewer this summer.

Indigo usually describes a bright, blue violet, but not in our prairies. Wild white indigo is a beautiful white native wildflower.

A failed attempt of developing a silkworm industry in the United States definitely left its mark in Indiana. The invasive white mulberry tree is found in every one of our counties.

The Nature Conservancy is grateful for its partnership with WFYI and other public radio stations across the state.

Douglas Woods has a spectacular, must-see wildflower display. Don't miss out and visit this northeastern nature preserve this spring.

Though elusive and recluse, the bobcat still makes its home in Indiana.

2011 has been declared the International Year of Forests by the United Nations General Assembly. Why? Because we really need trees!

Come and join in on some good, clean fun and learn how to better take care of our planet at Earth Day Indiana on Saturday, April 23, 2011.

The Blue-eyed May is an uniquely colored spring wildflower so lovely, it's bound to be a favorite of many more Hoosiers.

Participating in Earth Day can be as simple as the type of food you put on your plate.

The native Hellbender Salamander may not be much to look at, but protecting it - along with its only home in Indiana, the Blue River - is incredibly important to the Conservancy.

While any season is a good time to visit Shraeder-Weaver, springtime is hard to beat. Every year, Hoosiers travel to this living museum to witness its gorgeous wildflower display.

Those bothersome chubby, black starlings are so common in Indiana, it’s hard to believe that they don’t belong here. And they don’t; starlings are native to Europe and are considered to be an aviary pests in North America.

With a name like bloodroot, one wouldn’t expect to find that it is a rather beautiful white wildflower.

Cedar Bluffs Nature Preserve, just south of Bloomington, provides a stunning display of species adaptation and survival in a harsh environment.

They fly through the air with the greatest of ease, but contrary to their name, flying squirrels don’t fly. They glide, and some do their gliding here in Indiana.

When the glaciers moved in across Indiana, the enormous sheets of ice brought with it a few hitchhikers. Little pinecones, less than an inch tall, dropped to the ground as the ice melted and were planted in Southern Indiana. From these tiny seeds came large, coniferous trees know as Eastern Hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis).

As Hoosiers, we see a lot of snow. But do you know by this time of year, many of us are ready to see it go. But before the snow melts away, let’s take a closer look as to how all this white stuff came to be.

Despite what they are called, groundhogs are mostly known for one thing - predicting the end of winter.

Through dedication and teamwork, AmeriCorps members help increase crucial conservation action across the United States.

The sundew is a species that is both attractive and built with a hearty appetite. A deadly combination to any insect that comes across this carnivorous plant.

When it comes to identifying trees, sometimes it's best to follow your nose! Confused? This podcast illustrates how all your senses are needed in order to identify trees in the winter months.

While many birds fly south for the winter, there are those that stay to bear the cold months with us. The Tufted Titmouse is such a bird.

Some Hoosiers may not have the time or means to take such a trip, but you don't have to go far to admire deeply cut gorges, sheet rock walls and plunging waterfalls. Clifty Falls State Park near Madison in Jefferson County has all that and more!

It may be winter, but the fish are still biting. When Indiana's lakes and ponds have frozen over, anglers who can bear the cold go ice fishing.

It may surprise some Hoosiers to learn that the American badger is native to our state.

The Black Locust tree is a troublesome invasive species as it poses a danger to Indiana's fragile prairies and savannas.

The rugged character and lack of established trails make hiking at Hardin Ridge challenging but rewarding.

Your old computer or television set may be junk, but it certainly doesn't belong in the trash!

The Short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) is unlike most of its kind. Unlike the majority of its species, this owl is partially diurnal or active during the day.

To burn or not to burn? Land stewards must ask this important question when managing natural areas both big and small.

The Asian Longhorned Beetle has destroyed tens of thousands of hardwood trees in the United States, and luckily not a single one in Indiana.Unfortunately this doesn't mean that these killer beetles aren't headed our way.

The muddy Muscatatuck River drains over a thousand square miles and meanders though a sparsely populated agricultural community in southeastern Indiana. It is also the the largest least-fragmented complex of bottomland forest in the Midwest.

Conservation groups including The Nature Conservancy are working together to protect the water quality of river as well as the species that rely on it. Early this year, these organization gained a great ally in protecting the Wabash.

Hedgeballs, horse apples and green brains - the fruits of the Osage orange tree is called many things. When stumbled upon in nature, not many know exactly what is though it certainly makes quite an impression.

The ever-so-popular muppet, Kermit the Frog, was modeled after the American green tree frog (Hyla cinerea) that is native to most of southeastern United Stated as well as Indiana.

Crown vetch sounds like a plant fit for a king, but this invasive plant is more of a royal pain in the you-know-what. Unfortunately landowners who plant this pretty perennial aren’t aware of its insidious ways until it is too late.

Some fish fly and some birds fish. The osprey is such a bird. The osprey is a migratory, medium-sized raptor (or bird of prey) that makes its home in Indiana.

Neither flashy nor rare, the spicebush is a popular native plant with sweet yellow flowers and a delightful fragrance. Whether planted in your backyard or found in the wild, this bush brightens any landscape.

Swamp Angel Nature Preserve ranks as one of the most outstanding natural areas in all of northeastern Indiana. Despite its name, this preserve is much more than a swamp.

Buckthorn is the perfect example of how, in our interconnected natural world, one action or one species affects another in sometimes unexpected ways.

Located in a working class neighborhood of Gary in Lake County, Ivanhoe had originally been plotted into individual lots for residential development. The Nature Conservancy began acquiring these lots in the mid-1980's through tax auctions and donations. Today the preserve totals more than a hundred acres.

Last week Journey with Nature featured the Devil’s walking stick, a thorny plant that redeems itself with showy gorgeous blooms. This week's segment discusses the other walking stick found in Indiana - the slow moving, camouflaging insect know as the Walkingstick.

Aralia spinosa is known by many things - prickly ash, Hercule's club, Angelica tree, toothache bush - but is widely known as the Devil’s walking stick.