“Ecological restoration is no longer a nicety, it’s a necessity,” proclaims the Blackland Collaborative , a group working to help make cities more biodiverse and inclusive, and to help heal human communities while restoring vulnerable species. Bridging science and design, the Collaborative "brings people and nature home"; and they believe in"humans’ capacity to improve and protect". John Hart Asher is a co-founder and senior environmental designer with the Blackland Collabor

Dr. Jared Barnes is a big G gardener – and has been since his earliest expressions of self as a toddler. Now a professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, Jared is also a writer under the name of Meristem , and the host of The Plantastic podcast . where he exclaims that: "Plants can’t talk, but we can! The Plantastic Podcast is a show for plant killers, green thumbs, and everyone in between." He wants everyone’s expression of self t

This week on Cultivating Place , host Ben Futa is in conversation with Rebecca McMackin, a dedicated public servant working in the context of ecological horticulture. Rebecca is on a mission to empower more people to grow more plants in more places while cultivating empathy, compassion, and advocacy for the natural world. We last heard from Rebecca here on CP in 2021, and a lot has happened in her growing life since then! Rebecca is an ecologically obsessed horticulturist and

This week, we finish up Artober on CP, in conversation with artist Mary Jackson, a renowned  sweetgrass basket weaver known for combining traditional methods with contemporary designs.  Based in the Low Country of South Carolina, Mary is the descendant of generations of Gullah basket weavers. Born in 1945, in 2008, Mary was awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship ("Genius Grant") for "pushing the centuries-old tradition in stunning new directions" .  From the 1970s throug

This week on CP, host Abra Lee is joined in conversation by Tracy Qiu, a horticulturist, researcher, advocate, and artist who explores how plants, stories, and culture intersect. Tracy holds a masters in Public Horticulture from the University of Delaware, is a Longwood Fellow , and is finishing her doctoral thesis at Concordia University in Montreal. Tracy's work explores the colonial roots of botanical gardens, and in this conversation, Tracy and Abra will follow Tracy’s jo

Welcome to our next airing of a CP LIVE* , this time in celebration of Artober in conversation with Sofia Laçin and Hennessy Christophel, of LA-based Studio Tutto . On highway underpasses, school walls, public park welcome centers, and city water towers, the epic hand-crafted murals of Studio Tutto are telling visual stories of invisible nature to help people connect and become familiar with what is surrounding us, but we often do not notice. Their “ thoughtful site-specific

In a world that needs a great deal from us right now, we can almost never go wrong by igniting our creativity. This week on CP we dive...

This week on CP we kick off ARTOBER. Host Ben Futa is talking all things Wild By Design, the Art of Planting, in conversation with Ben...

This week on Cultivating Place , in honor of this first week of Autumn, and the idea of passing time, looking back, and the importance of...

This week on Cultivating Place , we lean into The Art of CP, exploring how the act of Cultivating Place is artful, and how the creative...

In 2008, Cincinnati, Ohio, AKA the Queen City, developed the program that has earned them their secondary nickname: Green City. The Green...

This week on Cultivating Place , we celebrate late summer and fall on the horizon in conversation about one of fall’s stars in the...

This week on Cultivating Place , host Abra Lee dives into the world of pathways to plant professions with Jazmin Albarran, Executive...

As autumn and harvest begins to color the edges of our awareness, this week on Cultivating Place we’re joined by two people whose work...

Looking back, even just this year, Cultivating Place has had multiple conversations with plantspeople from around the country about the...

Hot August nights turn to bright August nights at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, WI. The Garden's annual GLEAM light show is...

Cultivating Plac e and Cultivating Place Live  are made possible in part through the generosity of the Catto Shaw Foundation. Are you...

The garden in summer is at its fullest sensory delight and overwhelm – the peak of sunlight, growing hours, heat, and growth, ripening...

This week we’re getting back to nature for summer camp: ALL ages invited. We’re in conversation with Rebecca Schwarz and Paige Manges of...

This week on Cultivating Place you are in for a real summer adventure on a global garden armchair tour of sorts with a plantswoman who...