Midwestoration Podcast: Beanblossom Bottoms with Chris Fox and Rob McCrea

On a perfect, sunny day, the Midwestoration Podcast met our land stewardship team at Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve to discuss what is so special about this bottomland hardwood forest habitat and Sycamore’s ongoing efforts to preserve and restore wetlands and other important ecological areas in the Beanblossom Creek watershed.

One of the first pieces of property Sycamore acquired in the 1990s, this fascinating biological hotspot is home to many threatened and endangered species and continues to be a priority area for Sycamore. In this episode, Chris Fox, Land Stewardship Manager, and Rob McCrea, Land Preservation Director, explain what makes this place so important to Sycamore and to the diverse biological community that calls it home.

Midwestoration is a podcast about restoring the world, one piece at a time. “There are countless components to the complexity involved in ecological restoration,” explains Freya Berntson, its creator. “One of the most important elements in this profession is communicating what we do… the Midwest is the literal birthplace of ecological restoration that started with visionaries like Aldo Leopold in the early 1900s. Today, there are countless restoration projects throughout the Midwest that are addressing challenges as diverse as the natural areas in this region.”

Freya begins this episode by issuing a challenge for her bird-loving listeners: Let her know how many bird calls you can identify in the background, the number captured on tape was amazing!

Listen here: https://www.midwestoration.com/episodes/beanblossom-bottoms-with-chris-fox-and-rob-mccrea