Queen Bee Sessions

About Queen Bee Sessions

The Queen Bee Sessions are monthly conversations with Wisconsin Women in Conservation, a collaboration between four Wisconsin agricultural organizations seeking to connect more women landowners and farmers with conservation resources. This monthly podcast is hosted by WiWiC communications specialist Kriss Marion and features some of the many amazing women working together to protect land, water and wildlife in Wisconsin. Get involved at WiWiC.org.

Publisher

Wisconsin Women in Conservation

Category

education · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

21 Mar 2022

Latest episode

24 Jan 2024

Latest episodes

11 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   24 Jan 2024

   Queen Bee Session 11: Heidi Hankley

   The Queen Bee Sessions are monthly-ish conversations with Wisconsin Women in Conservation (WiWiC), a collaboration between four Wisconsin agricultural organizations who are seeking to connect more women landowners and farmers with conservation resources and funding. The podcast is hosted by WiWiC Communications Specialist Kriss Marion. In July, Kriss chatted with Heidi Hankley, a prairie property owner in rural Green County. Heidi won the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources “State Natural Areas Volunteer Stewards of the Year Award in 2022 for a decade of efforts to preserve and enhance the York Prairie State Natural Areas, a 145-acre public prairie down the road from her. In this Session, we talk about State Natural Areas that protect “little gems,” the best times for collecting native seed from prairies and roadsides, balancing volunteerism with family, combining art and land stewardship and how it all started with salamanders and cousins. Listen in!

2. 

   6 Jul 2023

   Queen Bee Session 10: Patty Schevers

   The Queen Bee Sessions are monthly(ish) conversations with Wisconsin Women in Conservation, a collaboration between four Wisconsin agricultural organization seeking to connect more women landowners and farmers with conservation resource and funding. This podcast is hosted by WiWiC Communications Specialist Kriss Marion. In July, Kriss talks with Patti Schevers of Our Thunder Moon, a fourth generation land steward on her family’s Century Farm in Oneida, WI. Patti, her family, and her partner Brad took the family's 100 acres through a conservation transformation in 2020. With the help of Pheasants Forever and federal conservation programs, they were able to plant 10,000 trees and shrubs, plant 90 acres of native prairie wildflowers and grasses and create three wildlife “scrapes” or ponds. Patti talks about how the project was funded, how the plan evolved, and what her hope is for this incredible property.

3. 

   31 May 2023

   Queen Bee Session 9: Lauren Langworthy

   In May 2023, we're talking with Lauren Langworthy of Blue Ox Farm in Wheeler.  Lauren calls herself a grass farmer and explores her farm history from organic veggies to grazing diverse livestock. She’s also the director of Special Projects with Wisconsin Farmers Union and discusses the importance of mentorship and support in the farm community. The Queen Bee Sessions feature Wisconsin women farmers, landowners and conservationists who are making strides to protect soil, water, and wildlife in our fair state. The Sessions are hosted by Wisconsin Women in Conservation communications lead Kriss Marion, who practices managed grazing with sheep and hosts farmstay guests at Circle M Market Farm in SW Wisconsin. For more information on Wisconsin Women in Conservation events and to receive The Buzz monthly e-newsletter, visit WiWiC.org.

4. 

   15 May 2023

   Queen Bee Session 8: Joy Miller

   This month we’re talking with Joy Miller of Keewaydin Farms in Viola, Wisconsin, and the Executive Director of Driftless Curiosity, a land-based non-profit that seeks to foster the public's connection to conservation and land. Miller helps run the farm’s CSA and hosts 30 experiential events on the farm each season. Follow her Driftless Curiosity Journal on instagram and Facebook. Read the Journal and sign up for events at Drifltesscuriosity.org. For more information on Wisconsin Women in Conservation events and to receive The Buzz monthly e-newsletter, visit WiWiC.org.

5. 

   21 Mar 2023

   Queen Bee Session 7: Una VanDuvall & Ife Olatunji

   The Queen Bee Sessions feature Wisconsin women farmers, landowners and conservationists who are making strides to protect soil, water, and wildlife in our fair state. The Sessions are hosted by Wisconsin Women in Conservation communications lead Kriss Marion, who practices managed grazing with sheep and hosts farmstay guests at Circle M Market Farm in SW Wisconsin. She kicks off Women’s History Month 2023 by talking with history makers Una VanDuvall of Milwaukee, a community organizer with Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (https://www.michaelfields.org/), and her talented daughter Ife Olatunji, visual anthropologist and founder of Freedom Lover Films. These women have deep and enduring roots in Nicodemus, Kansas, the frontier community established by African Americans at the end of the Civil War that still survives today. The family continues to support and organize the famous Nicodemus Homecoming (https://www.nicodemushomecoming.org/) every July. 2023 will be the 145th Emancipation Celebration in Nicodemus! Listen in as they explore the power and promise of history, family, community and hope. Check out the links, and follow Freedom Lover Films and Michael Fields Agricultural Institute on Facebook.

6. 

   20 Oct 2022

   Queen Bee Session 6: Kirsten Jurcek

   The Queen Bee Sessions are monthly conversations with Wisconsin Women in Conservation, a collaboration between four Wisconsin agricultural organizations seeking to connect more women landowners and farmers with conservation resources. The host is Kriss Marion of Circle M Market Farm, who is the WiWiC Communications Lead and a small-scale sheep grazier in Lafayette County. Her conversation with Kirsten Jurcek of Brattset Family farm covered a wide range of topics with this experienced beef grazier: regenerative agriculture, working lands conservation easements, community, soil health and human health, among other things. Kirsten farms on nearly 300 acres in Southeast Wisconsin - including woodlands, hayfields, pasture and wildlife habitat. She is one of the Conservation Coaches for Wisconsin Women in Conservation. That means she serves as a mentor and guide to other women farmers and landowners who want to implement more conservation practices on their land. But she is a busy professional mentor to both men and women, in many capacities, including her role as a grazing specialist with Glacierland Resource, Conservation and Development - where she develops grazing plans for clients and also arranges field days for folks to see conservation practices in place on farms across the eastern part of the state. Kirsten embodies the Glacierland motto: “Conservation that Works! Bringing together science and community to grow Wisconsin’s economy and protect our natural resources.” For more information about Glacierland RC&D see glacierlandrcd.org (http://glacierlandrcd.org/). For more information on Wisconsin Women in Conservation events and to receive The Buzz monthly newsletter, visit WiWiC.org (http://wiwic.org/).

7. 

   13 Sept 2022

   Queen Bee Session 5: Ayla Graden-Dodge

   The Queen Bee Sessions are monthly conversations with Wisconsin Women in Conservation, a collaboration between four Wisconsin agricultural organizations seeking to connect more women landowners and farmers with conservation resources. The host is Kriss Marion of Circle M Market Farm, who is the WiWiC Communications Lead and a small-scale sheep grazier in Lafayette County. On Labor Day, Marion interviewed Graden-Dodge, the mother of three young children and the primary manager at Blackbrook Farm in Amery, the 140-acre diversified organic meat and produce operation she owns with her husband James and a crew of six.  The farm is a mixture of tillable land, pasture, woods, pond, stream and pollinator habitat. The farm is home to pasture-raised hogs, Highland cattle, and chickens who improve the soil for 5 acres of organic vegetables sold through a Community Supported Agriculture model. “We seek to increase the diversity of this land’s biology, both above and below ground, by using regenerative farming practices that nurture the soils rather than just the crops,” says Dodge. “To be able to see the increase in toads, worms, and all kinds of birds and wildlife on our farm brings me great joy and reinforces in me that at stewards of the land, we need to continue protecting our water, wildlife and land in conjunction with using it.” Visit blackbrookfarmstead.com. For more information on Wisconsin Women in Conservation events and to receive The Buzz monthly newsletter, visit WiWiC.org (http://wiwic.org/). *Note: Please excuse the audio quality of this recording; sometimes that’s the reality of rural internet/reception challenges.*

8. 

   16 Jun 2022

   Queen Bee Session 4: Harriet Behar

   In the June 2022 Queen Bee Session, host Kriss Marion visits with Harriet Behar of Sweet Springs Farm, a 160-acre veggie, herb, egg and honey operation in Gays Mills. 26 acres of the property are restored prairie installed by Behar and her husband, an much is in woods and streams as well. Behar has been an organic educator for 40 years, through UW Madison and Marbleseed. She is an organic inspector and has been on over 2,500 farms as part of her work. Behar is now a Conservation Coach with Wisconsin Women in Conservation, and mentors women who want to implement more conservation on their land. “Working with nature’s tools is first of all, just so interesting,” says Behar. “And I’m also really interested in people’s motivations and stories about wanting to work with nature.” For more information on Wisconsin Women in Conservation events and to receive The Buzz monthly newsletter, visit WiWiC.org (http://wiwic.org/).

9. 

   26 May 2022

   Queen Bee Session 3: Marci Hess

   In the May 2022 Queen Bee Session, host Kriss Marion visits with her neighbor Marci Hess, a native habitat steward in rural Lafayette County, on the edge of the Driftless Region. Marci believes the Driftless should be declared the 8th wonder of the world, for all the unique geology and diverse habitat. She talks about “chunking out” the hills and ravines of her property - taking on different sections to rehabilitate each year so that the task of prairie restoration isn’t so overwhelming. Marci discusses her library of 500 references books, research on her kestrel nest boxes, how fire is just one of many prairie-maintenance tools and why insects are essential to human life.  She also talks about living with the daily grief of lost species and climate crises. For more information on Marci's research, see her blog at driftlessprairies.org.  For more information on Wisconsin Women in Conservation events and to receive The Buzz monthly newsletter, visit WiWiC.org.

10. 

    28 Apr 2022

    Queen Bee Session 2: Jennifer Nelson

    Queen Bee host Kriss Marion has an early-spring conversation with Jennifer Nelson of Humble Pie Farm in Plum City, on the banks of Plum Creek. That’s right - Jennifer’s greenhouse nursery operation is just miles from the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder and it’s just as lovely and aspirational a landscape as you’d imagine from reading the books. A former elementary teacher and farm market manager, Jennifer was also a founding member of the Wisconsin Women in Conservation Team, but has recently moved on to devote herself full time to growing organic flower, herb and veggie transplants for retail and to taking care of herself as she deals with a recurrence of Lyme’s Disease symptoms. Jennifer and Kriss talk soil health, body health, mental health, community health and earth health in a gentle, nurturing conversation after a long week in Jennifer’s greenhouse. For more information on Wisconsin Women in Conservation events and to receive The Buzz monthly newsletter, visit WiWiC.org (http://wiwic.org/).

11. 

    21 Mar 2022

    Queen Bee Session 1: August Ball

    We kick off the series in Women’s History Month by visiting with a true conservation trailblazer - August Ball of Cream City Conservation and Consulting (C4). Ms. Ball and the business are located in Milwaukee but have a far wider reach, influencing organizations across the Midwest and globally. For more information about the work of C4, visit creamcityconservtion.org. For more information on Wisconsin Women in Conservation events and to receive The Buzz monthly newsletter, visit WiWiC.org (http://wiwic.org/).

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.