Hi, everybody. This is Joe Lampel, the Joe Behind Joe Gardner, and welcome to the Joe Gardner Show.

Today, we're kicking off something that I am really excited about, and it's been a long time in the works.

It's a new periodic series that we're calling the Land Ethic in Action, created in partnership with the Aldo Leopold Foundation.

And in these episodes, we will explore stories where gardening, land, conservation, culture,

and ecology all intersect.

And I'll be joined for each one by Kurt Mining, senior fellow of the Aldo Leopold Foundation,

environmental historian, and the author of the definitive biography of Leopold himself. Together, we'll talk with

people who are at the creative edge of land care and stewardship, people whose work and ideas

inspire us to think bigger about our own connections to the land, and this series is rooted in

Leopold's belief that a land ethic evolves in the minds of a thinking community.

So we're talking with folks who are helping shape that ethic today, not just on farms and

ranches, but in city parks, suburban yards, backyard gardens, and all the green spaces that

we share. And our hope is that these conversations will inspire you to see your own spaces as living

reflections of your values and your vision. And we couldn't ask for a better guest to launch this

series than Darrell Morrison, a pioneer in landscape architecture whose work in prairie restoration,

native plant design, and ecological education has influenced

generations. Over his remarkable career, Darrell has taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,

the University of Georgia, the New York Botanical Garden, and more. His projects span from large-scale

prairie and savanna restorations to intimate

gardens, all guided by a deep understanding of native plant communities. And you will hear that term

a lot today by Darrell. He's also the author of Beauty of the Wild, a life-designing landscapes inspired

by nature, which beautifully captures his

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