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ReWild Yourself

Welcome to the ReWild Yourself Podcast! I’m Daniel Vitalis, and I’ll be your guide through the world of human ecology and lifestyle design. We’ll explore the strategies that our ancient human bodies and minds need to thrive in a modern world — awakening our instincts and freeing ourselves from the degenerative effects of human domestication.
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Now displaying: October, 2017
Oct 25, 2017

Toa Hunter Gatherer embodies the new generation of hunter-gatherers with a true connection to the natural world. From a very young age, Owen Boynton — Toa Hunter Gatherer — has been passionate about wild country, learning the habitats of the animals with a sense to always want to stay connected. Born in Te Urewera, the ancestral home of the Tuhoe people also known as “children of the mist," Toa's hunter-gatherer bloodline remains strong. Kaitiakitanga — guardianship for the natural world — guides Toa’s compass in life and work. Toa’s inspiring TV series “Toa Hunter Gatherer” focuses on sharing the traditional knowledge and techniques that have been lost since using modern ways to source kai, or traditional Maori food.

In this episode, Toa shares from the heart on what it means to him to be a “full circle” hunter-gatherer. We get to experience hunting in New Zealand through Toa’s lens as we discuss the animals he hunts and the history of their introduced invasive species. We get to hear his perspective on conscientious hunting and gathering, from hunting terminology to “real trophy hunting” to showing reverence for elders. Toa affirms that — no matter what our ancestry is — we can all find connection to our place on this earth through participating in ecology and being devoted guardians of the natural world. Hunt - Gather - Provide!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt + gather updates: Canoeing the cranberry bog, a delicious wild food meal & bear fat
    • Q&A: Soaking wild rice
  • Introducing Toa Hunter Gatherer
  • The meaning behind “Toa Hunter Gatherer"
  • Toa’s background and the Maori culture
  • How hunting works in New Zealand
  • What animals Toa hunts in New Zealand
  • Introduced invasive species
  • Being mindful about hunting terminology
  • Hunt, gather, provide — the full circle of the hunter-gatherer
  • A typical episode of Toa Hunter Gatherer
  • Hunting with elders
  • A generational shift in hunting
  • The real trophy hunting — providing for family and community
  • Finding connection to your place on this earth
  • Toa’s prognosis for the future of the human species
  • Bowhunting
Oct 20, 2017

Doniga Markegard is a rancher with a background in ecology and permaculture, and she’s here to share how regenerative agriculture can help to restore the biodiversity of prairie grasslands while simultaneously producing grass-fed, nutrient dense meat. 

In her youth, Doniga was mentored by some of the leading wildlife trackers, naturalists and Native spiritual elders. She spent years alone and with a small group of passionate youth in the Western Washington Wilderness learning the ways of the ancestors, immersing in nature, bird language, survival skills and wildlife tracking. Fast forward to today, she now stewards 10,000 acres of land in California where she — along with her husband and four children — owns and operates Markegard Family Grass-Fed LLC raising grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured pork and dairy. Doniga is passionate about large-scale restoration of Western Rangelands through cattle grazing, and she and her family have developed grazing and conservation management plans that encourage a resilient and diverse landscape.

Doniga believes that humans are an integral part of the complexity of life, and in this episode, we hear how her family stewards land based on the principles and patterns found in nature. She takes us back in time to her wild childhood and her time spent tracking wolves in Alaska and Idaho. We discuss living with apex predators and her unique perspective on ranching alongside wolves, as a rancher with an ecological background and passion for wildlife. We also hear about her family’s misleading feature in the controversial film Cowspiracy, which sheds a grim light on the credibility of this film’s message. Tune in for a refreshing take on sustainable, holistic agriculture and Doniga’s captivating evolution from wild child to conservationist and rangeland steward!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction
  • Introducing Doniga Markegard
  • What brought Doniga to her work in sustainable ranching
  • On grasslands
  • The life-centric focus of regenerative agriculture
  • Doniga reflects on her childhood and shares about her book, Dawn Again
  • Living with apex predators
  • The truth about “Cowspiracy”
  • Life on Doniga’s ranch
  • Transitioning back into the world after time spent in wilderness immersion programs
  • Doniga’s prognosis for the future of the human species
Oct 18, 2017

It was an absolute pleasure to talk with Lori McCarthy — a third generation Newfoundlander — about the importance of preserving cultural food heritage for future generations. Lori has dedicated her life to preserving the cultural food of her homeland, Newfoundland and Labrador, through her company Cod Sounds and the Livyers Cultural Alliance. Her core values embrace locally sourced regional cuisine and this is reflected in her food experiences and through her cooking school.

Newfoundland and Labrador have a rich and fascinating history — grounded in the cod fisheries that once sustained them. Lori gives us a firsthand look at the land she calls home and shares how deeply the collapse of the local cod fisheries affected the fisherman and surrounding communities. Today Newfoundland and Labrador are home to a thriving food and restaurant industry, and Lori is at the forefront of keeping the area’s traditional, local and wild food in the spotlight. Lori’s work is incredibly inspiring and serves as a model that we can all learn from. Lori encourages us to join together with people from our local community to celebrate our local ecology and our own unique cultural food heritage — and to work together to pass this treasured knowledge down to future generations!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt + gather updates: A successful bear hunt
    • A bear hunt Q&A
  • Introducing Lori McCarthy
  • Describing Newfoundland and Labrador
  • How Lori got started in her work
  • The rich food-based history of Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Winters and the growing season
  • History of the cod fisheries
  • The cuisine of the local landscape + Lori’s journey into wild foods
  • Preserving cultural food heritage
  • A foraging year in Lori’s local ecosystem
  • Eat It Wild
  • Predictions for foraging in the future
  • Lori’s prognosis for the future human species
Oct 11, 2017

Ben Falk returns to ReWild Yourself Podcast to add his perspective to our invasive species conversation series! Ben lives in an intentional, resilient, forage-able ecosystem on his homestead in Vermont's Mad River Valley that he designed and continues to evolve. As someone who works closely with his local landscape, he is intimately enmeshed with both native and non-native invasive species and has valuable input on this complex issue.

Ben — an innovative permaculturist and intentional ecosystem designer — developed Whole Systems Design as a land-based response to biological and cultural extinction and the increasing separation between people and elemental things. Life as a designer, builder, ecologist, tree-tender, and backcountry traveler continually informs Ben’s integrative approach to developing landscapes and buildings. Ben has studied architecture and landscape architecture at the graduate level and holds a master’s degree in land-use planning and design. He has conducted more than 300 site development consultations across the US and abroad, and has facilitated dozens of courses on property selection, permaculture design, and resilient systems. Ben is also the author of the award-winning book the Resilient Farm and Homestead.

In this episode, Ben and I grapple with some of the critical questions of the invasive species conversation: Who has the right to be considered native to a specific ecosystem when we are all native to this planet? Can we eat our way out of the invasive species problem? How do we define natural? Ben brings a balanced viewpoint to our invasive species series. He believes — as do I — that the conversation on invasives can be hugely advanced by active ecosystem participants (rewilders!). Tune in, and let's continue to be conscientious participants in the conservation of our ecology!

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt + gather updates: Striper and mackerel fishing, squirrel hunting, acorn gathering and pack basket making
  • Introducing Ben Falk
  • Ben’s permaculture intentional ecosystem
  • Food yield on Ben’s homestead 
  • The processing that goes into a permaculture ecosystem
  • Backstory to Ben’s viewpoints on invasive species
  • Invasive species and native local plant communities — who has the right to stay?
  • Thoughts on eating invasives
  • Creating forage-able landscapes
  • Tying a bow on the invasive species conversation
  • Defining what’s natural
  • Ben’s prognosis for the future of the landscape
Oct 4, 2017

Living in a society that promotes the idea of painful childbirth as the norm, it’s hard for many to imagine that childbirth does not only not have to be painful, but it can actually be orgasmic. Debra Pascali-Bonaro is here to shed light on the myths of childbirth and remind us that birth can be full of pleasure and delight.

Debra has trained thousands of doulas and birth professionals around the world in the practices of gentle birth support. She is the creator and director of Orgasmic Birth, a documentary that examines the intimate nature of birth, an everyday miracle. She sees the powerful role birth plays in women’s lives when they are permitted to experience it fully. Debra is a sought-after inspirational speaker, chair of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Organization, and co-author of the book Orgasmic Birth, Your Guide to a Safe, Satisfying and Pleasurable Birth Experience. Her newest baby Pain To Power Childbirth is an online childbirth class that will provide you the keys to move from pain to pleasure in childbirth and beyond!

An orgasmic birth is not defined as literally having an orgasm during birth — though that’s certainly possible! — rather it describes an overall birth experience that is safe, satisfying, gentle, joyous and pleasure filled. In this episode, Debra shares how mothers can create a birth ambiance that sets them up for a nurturing birth in any setting. We discuss the industrialization of birth and what the typical cascade of medical interventions looks like. Debra also explains the importance of staying connected to your sexuality during birth and many more invaluable pieces of information in this fantastic conversation. It’s time for orgasmic birth to become the cultural norm! As Debra so lovingly puts it, let’s “dance our babies into the world!"

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

  • Show Introduction:
    • Hunt + gather updates: Hunting squirrels, butchering chickens, harvesting acorns and our upcoming course on eating acorns
    • Q&A: Daniel answers your questions on parasites & eating squirrels
  • Introducing Debra Pascali-Bonaro
  • Debra’s passion for birth 
  • Permission to fully experience birth
  • What is orgasmic birth?
  • Industrialized birth
  • What birth looks like around the globe
  • Dancing our babies into the world
  • The typical cascade of medical interventions
  • Staying connected to sexuality during birth
  • Explaining midwives, doulas and dude-las
  • Males delivering babies
  • Creating birth ambiance
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