Love gardening and birds and want to help Mother Nature? Join host Catherine Greenleaf, former gardening columnist for the Boston Herald Sunday Magazine and a certified wildlife rehabilitator with 20 years of experience rescuing and rehabilitating injured wildlife, for discussions about organic gardening and restoring native habitat to help the birds and other wildlife in your backyard. Catherine Greenleaf talks about the natural history of birds and interviews the leading experts about how to turn your backyard into a native oasis for birds and pollinators.
Turtle Killer Charles Puccio, Jr. Convicted in New Hampshire
TRIGGER WARNING: SOME OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS INTERVIEW MAY PROVE VERY DISTURBING. Join us today as we speak with Dallas and Drew Huggins, the founders and directors of New Hampshire Turtle Rescue in Nottingham, New Hampshire, and Josh Megysys, Turtle Biologist for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, as we talk about the recent arrest and conviction of a man for wantonly attacking and killing turtles in a protected marsh habitat. Just a warning that some of the details of this show will be extremely difficult to listen to.
On September 1st, Drew and Dallas submitted “Oka’s Rule”, a petition to NH Fish & Game under RSA 541-A:4 and Fis 214.01 to initiate rulemaking proceedings to amend the Fish & Game rules to close the gap in protections for non-listed native turtle species.
Here is the link to "Oka's Rule": https://nhturtlerescue.org/info/legislation/2026/okas-rule
Turtles are extremely long lived compared to other wildlife and take a very long time to reach reproductive age. The stability of their populations is heavily reliant on adults remaining in the wild long-term. Allowing the “take” of these species has far reaching negative impacts.
Let NH Fish & Game know that you support stronger protections for our native turtles!
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
- Reach out to NHFG’s Executive Director at [email protected]
- Let them know you support the petition for “Oka’s Rule”
- Share this podcast and ask your friends to lend their support as well.
Join Catherine Greenleaf, a certified wildlife rehabilitator with 20 years of experience rescuing and rehabilitating injured birds, for twice-monthly discussions about restoring native habitat and helping the birds in your backyard. Access the BIRD HUGGER Newsletter here: www.birdhuggerpodcast.com. Send your questions about birds and native gardening to [email protected]. (PG-13) St. Dymphna Press, LLC.
8 Oct 2026
BIRD HUGGER CLASSIC: Planting Bare-Root Native Plants With Becky Brewer
THIS IS A REPLAY OF A PAST EPISODE: In today's episode, we talk to Becky Brewer from Prairie Moon Nursery in Minnesota about the many benefits of bare-root natives and how to plant them. (prairiemoon.com) Join Catherine Greenleaf, a certified wildlife rehabilitator with 20 years of experience rescuing and rehabilitating injured wildlife, for twice-monthly discussions about restoring native habitat and helping the birds in your backyard. Send your questions about birds and native gardening to [email protected]. (PG-13) St. Dymphna Press, LLC.
24 Sept 2026
BIRD HUGGER CLASSIC: Prepping Your Yard For Natives With Kathy Connolly
In today's episode, we speak with renowned ecological landscape designer and gardening consultant Kathy Connolly about the best way to prepare your site and soil for a native garden. Plants mentioned in the show: Carolina Rhodedendron; low-growing Juniper; Northern Sea Oats; Big Bluestem; Little Bluestem; Switchgrass; Prairie Dropseed. Go to: The Magical World of Moss Gardens by Annie Martin at: https://www.amazon.com/Magical-World-Moss-Gardening/dp/1604695609. Conway School of Landscape Design: https://csld.edu/. Reddit HOA: https://www.reddit.com/r/NativePlantGardening/comments/t3luin/hoa_anger/. Join Catherine Greenleaf, a certified wildlife rehabilitator with 20 years of experience rescuing and rehabilitating injured birds, for twice-monthly discussions about restoring native habitat and helping the birds in your backyard. Access the BIRD HUGGER Newsletter here: www.birdhuggerpodcast.com. Send your questions about birds and native gardening to birdhuggerpodcast@gmail.com. (PG-13) St. Dymphna Press, LLC.
Who has been a guest on BIRD HUGGER
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Danae Wolfe
Martha Retallick
Gina Kent
Matthew Shepherd
Marta MacDowell
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
18 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 39 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
45
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
85
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Guest appearances
Books guests
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