VCE Launches a New Radio Program

Turn on, tune in and go out. Outdoors, that is.

VCE and Vermont Public Radio on Thursday launch a new nature program celebrating what’s swimming, slithering, crawling, jumping, walking, flying or even just sitting there waiting for you to wander by.

Frogs and fritillaries, ferns and fireflies, finches and fungus – anything is fair game on VCE’s “Outdoor Radio.”

“Outdoor Radio is a new breed of nature programing,” said VCE conservation biologist Sara Zahendra. “We’ll cover the biology, the beauty and even the bizarre.”

VCE, a non-profit group of biologists based in Norwich, promotes wildlife conservation across the Americas with scientific research and citizen engagement. From Canada to South America, from mountains to grasslands, VCE scientists study and protect birds, insects, amphibians and other wildlife.

Zahendra’s recent work on Vermont’s vanishing bumblebees has earned her the moniker of VCE’s “Queen Bee.” Joining her each month as co-host will be VCE senior conservation biologist Kent McFarland, whose passions include birds, insects and research on Vermont’s highest peaks.

“We’ll bring the sounds and science of nature to your radio and mobile device,” said McFarland. “From there, you can head outside with your senses tuned to wildlife and wild places.”

Outdoor Radio’s first broadcast on VPR will be Thursday, May 22, at 8:50am. Or listen online at: http://digital.vpr.net/post/outdoor-radio-peep-show. Outdoor Radio is made possible by a grant from the Vermont Community Foundation and the VPR Journalism Fund.

Bryan Pfeiffer

Bryan Pfeiffer, a VCE research associate, is a writer and field biologist whose articles and essays have appeared in Orion, Aeon Magazine, The New York Times, Field & Stream, The Progressive, Northern Woodlands and lots of other places. Bryan was lead field lepidopterist for the Vermont Butterfly Survey and is co-coordinator of the Vermont Dragonfly and Damselfly Survey. He teaches writing to graduate students in the Field Naturalist Program at the University of Vermont.