Feb 28 2025 42 mins
On this episode of Big Blend Radio's "Nature Connection" Show, author Paula Whyman discusses her memoir, "BAD NATURALIST: One Woman’s Ecological Education on a Wild Virginia Mountaintop," out now through Timber Press.
A few years ago, Paula Whyman decided to leave her Maryland / suburban DC empty nest to find a rural getaway -- maybe a small farmhouse where she could put her interest in conservation to work. With little experience in gardening or conservation, Whyman had a crazy idea to cultivate a small native meadow to provide an acre or two where wildlife could thrive and she could explore with her poodle. Then she set foot on 200 acres of old farmland atop a Virginia mountain about 20 miles outside Front Royal, VA and her dream became a reality.
In "BAD NATURALIST: One Woman’s Ecological Education on a Wild Virginia Mountaintop," author Paula Whyman explains how she cares for her mountain-sized ecological restoration challenge with a mixture of humility and humor. She quickly discovers it’s impossible to be a “good” naturalist. More at https://paulawhyman.com/