Modern Texas Naturalist
Modern Texas Naturalist is a podcast about curiosity, the natural world, and the people who spend their lives exploring, understanding, and caring for it. Hosted by wildlife biologist, conservationist, and lifelong naturalist Romey Swanson, each episode is a conversation with someone whose life has been shaped by paying attention to nature—from scientists, writers, artists, educators, landowners, and conservationists to the wonderfully curious people who simply can't stop asking questions about the wild world around them. These aren't lectures. They're conversations about discovery, field experiences, careers, conservation, books, ideas, mistakes, unexpected encounters, and the places and creatures that leave their ma...
Jennifer Bristol: Finding a Way into Nature — Part Two
In Part One of my conversation with Jennifer Bristol, we talked about her journey into nature and the work she's done helping other people, especially children and families, find their own way outdoors.
In Part Two, we turn toward another important part of Jen's life: writing.
Jen has written two books about birding in Texas, and I've had the pleasure of watching that journey unfold firsthand. I even had one of my photographs published in her first book, something I'm still pretty proud of.
We talk about how years of birding, exploring, collecting...
Jennifer Bristol: Finding a Way into Nature — Part One
Jennifer Bristol has spent much of her life finding ways to connect people with nature—and helping them discover that getting outside doesn't have to be complicated.
In Part One of their conversation, Romey and Jennifer trace her own path into the natural world and the experiences that eventually shaped a career centered on helping children and families get outdoors. From her early work as a park ranger to her leadership in the children-and-nature movement, Jennifer has repeatedly returned to a simple idea: meaningful connections with nature often begin when someone makes it easier to take that fi...
Dr. Randy Simpson: A Life Among the Wild Others — Part Two
In Part One of my conversation with Dr. Randy Simpson, we talked about the experiences that shaped him as a naturalist and wildlife biologist.
In Part Two, we follow where that life took him and what he learned along the way.
Sitting beside the fire at Randy’s Cottonwood Farm in Gonzales County, our conversation moves through his early professional career, work on a South Texas ranch, and eventual return to Texas State University as a teacher and researcher.
But this part of our conversation increasingly becomes about something larger than a career.
...Dr. Randy Simpson: A Life Among the Wild Others — Part One
There was little question about who I wanted as my first guest on Modern Texas Naturalist.
Dr. Randy Simpson was my graduate advisor at Texas State University, but over the years he became much more than that: a mentor, a friend, and one of the first people who showed me what a life built around curiosity about the natural world could look like.
For this first conversation, Randy and I sat beside a mesquite-and-oak fire at his Cottonwood Farm in Gonzales County, Texas, poured some coffee, and started at the beginning.
In Part...
Introducing Modern Texas Naturalist
Welcome to Modern Texas Naturalist.
Join wildlife biologist, conservationist, and lifelong naturalist Romey Swanson for conversations with people whose lives have been shaped by exploring, understanding, and caring for the natural world.
Scientists. Writers. Educators. Landowners. Artists. Conservationists. And wonderfully curious people who simply can't stop asking questions about the wild world around them.
These are conversations about nature, discovery, field experiences, conservation, books, ideas, unexpected encounters - and the people and places that leave their mark on us.
Our first conversation arrives September 30 with Dr. Randy Simpson, Romey's graduate advisor...
