054: Capturing Big Trees and Cultivating Curiosity with author and professor Matt Ritter

054: Capturing Big Trees and Cultivating Curiosity with author and professor Matt Ritter

Author: Marjorie Alexander August 12, 2018 Duration: 55:05

Dr. Matt Ritter grew up in rural Mendocino County, California. After earning a bachelor's degree in microbiology from U.C. Santa Barbara, he attended U.C. San Diego for a Ph.D. in plant biology. He's a botany professor in the Biological Sciences Department at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California, where he lives with his wife and two children. He's the author of several books, including a new guide to California's flora, California Plants: A guide to our Iconic Flora (www.pacificstreetpublishing.com). He also wrote the funniest and best-selling guide to California's urban forest, A Californian's Guide to the Trees among Us (Heyday, 2011). His writing has appeared in several magazines, including a regular column on tree diversity in Pacific Horticulture. He won the Cal Poly's Distinguished Teaching Award and the International Society of Arboriculture Award for Excellence in Education. He is the California Coordinator of the American Forests Big Tree Registry, studies California's native plants, and trees that escape cultivation, particularly Eucalyptus. He's an avid woodworker, mason, and gardener.


Marjorie Alexander hosts A Sustainable Mind, a weekly conversation with people who are actively reshaping our relationship with the planet. This isn't a series of abstract lectures; it's built on the real-world experiences of environmental changemakers, from scientists and grassroots organizers to entrepreneurs and artists who put their values into practice. The discussions naturally weave through topics of science, culture, and society, reflecting the interconnected nature of sustainability itself. You’ll hear stories about the challenges and triumphs of creating change, whether that's launching an ethical business, advocating for policy, or rethinking daily consumption. The aim is to move beyond inspiration alone and into practical understanding, offering listeners a genuine sense of how action unfolds in different forms. Tuning into this podcast feels like joining a thoughtful, committed community where ideas are translated into tangible steps, all through the voices of those doing the work. It’s for anyone who has ever felt that curiosity about how to live and act more thoughtfully on the Earth and is looking for a grounded, human-centered place to start.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

A Sustainable Mind - environment & sustainability podcast
Podcast Episodes
061: Experiments in Earth-Conscious Living with Rob Greenfield [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:24
Rob Greenfield is a world-renowned adventurer and activist and is embarking on his next big project, Food Freedom. Through Rob's extreme projects from cycling across the USA on a bamboo bicycle for sustainability (three…
060: Love and The Clean Money Revolution with Joel Solomon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:10
Joel Solomon is Co-Author of The Clean Money Revolution: Reinventing Power, Purpose, and Capitalism. As a Founding Partner of Renewal Funds, a $98 million mission venture capital firm, he has invested in over 100 early g…
057: Let's talk microplastics with Jay Sinha of Life Without Plastic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:43
Jay Sinha has a background in biochemistry, ecotoxicology and law. He Co-Founded and is Co-Owner of Life Without Plastic, the one-stop shop for safe, high quality, ethically-sourced, Earth-friendly alternatives to plasti…