07 - Natural Places, Native Species, The Inscrutable and The Unknown with Ben Heuser

Creating a Cooler World

Does this week’s episode artwork depict an epic comic book battle between our hero, Venus Flytrap, and the rampaging Emerald Ash Borer?
Why yes, yes it does.
Will Venus Flytrap thwart Ash Borer’s plans to take over the world? And what does any of this have to do with zombie crepe myrtles?
These topics came up randomly in our conversation with Ben Heuser, our guest for this week’s episode of Creating a Cooler World.
All joking aside, Ben does important work as a Natural Areas Steward at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill. In this episode, Ben shares thoughts about his work, our place in the natural world, and why conserving natural spaces should be important to all of us.
Here's the link that Ben mentioned: learn about the Piedmont Nature Trails at https://ncbg.unc.edu/ncbg/piedmont-nature-trails/
Want to go down a mycelium rabbit hole? Here are some places to start:
“The surprising world of mushrooms” - https://www.bbcearth.com/news/the-surprising-world-of-mushrooms
“Fungi to save the world: How fungi roots might help build a sustainable planet” - https://mae.ucdavis.edu/news/fungi-save-world
“How do fungi communicate?” - https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/04/24/1071363/fungi-fungus-communication-explainer/
And here are 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Venus Flytraps - https://cnr.ncsu.edu/news/2021/01/five-things-you-didnt-know-about-venus-flytraps/

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