Cultivators: Susan Fenimore Cooper

Womanica

Acast Creative Studios

History, Society & Culture, Education

4.3 • 920 Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Susan Fenimore Cooper (1813-1894) was a writer and amateur naturalist, best known for her “Rural Hours,” her nature diary of Cooperstown, New York. The book was reprinted nine times in her lifetime, and she is considered one of the first American nature writers. Through her writing, she sought to educate readers about the natural world and encourage them to value and protect it.

For Further Reading:

This month, we're talking about cultivators — women who nurtured, cross-pollinated, experimented, or went to great lengths to better understand and protect the natural world.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn't help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we'll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Adrien Behn, Alyia Yates, Vanessa Handy, Melia Agudelo, and Joia Putnoi. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.

Original theme music composed by Brittany Martinez.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Nicola Cochlin and for BBC Radio 4, this is history's youngest heroes. Rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.
0:10.2	She thought, right, I'll just do it. She thought about others rather than herself.
0:14.8	Twelve stories of extraordinary young people from across history.
0:18.7	There's a real sense of urgency in them, that resistance has to be mounted,
0:22.4	it has to be mounted now.
0:24.4	Follow History's youngest heroes, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:31.6	Hello, I'm Joya Putneyi, a production assistant here at Wonder Media Network,
0:38.9	and I'm so excited to be guest hosting this episode of Womanica. This month, we're talking about cultivators,
0:45.1	women who nurtured, cross-pollinated, experimented, or went to great lengths to better understand
0:50.7	and protect the natural world. In order to truly understand nature, you don't
0:56.0	have to be a scientist. Today's Wamanican proved that curious wanderers can make meaningful
1:01.7	contributions to the study of the natural world, if they're willing to embrace it. A simple walk
1:07.5	through your neighborhood and careful observation of your surroundings can go a long way.
1:13.3	That's exactly what led this woman to become a pioneer of American nature writing.
1:18.7	So get out your notebook and step outside.
1:22.1	Let's meet Susan Fenimore Cooper.
1:24.3	Music Fennemannemore Cooper.
1:39.6	Susan was born on April 17, 1813 in Scarsdale, New York, the second child of Susan Delancey and James Fenimore Cooper.
1:42.5	Her father was a novelist and the son of William Cooper, the founder
1:46.5	of Cooperstown, a prosperous settlement in New York State. And Cooperstown is where Susan grew up.
1:54.4	She had fond memories of her childhood spent in the family's large red farmhouse, built by her
1:59.6	grandfather. Young Susan, or Sue, as her
	...

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