"A Bad Naturalist": Learning to Steward the Land with Paula Whyman

When Paula Whyman first climbs a peak in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in search of a home in the country, she has no idea how quickly her tidy backyard ecology project will become a massive endeavor. Just as quickly, she discovers how little she knows about hands-on conservation work.  

Bad Naturalist is a memoir about Paula Whyman’s attempts to restore native meadows on a 200-acre mountaintop--about the obstacles she encountered, the mistakes she made, the failures and the all-important successes, and the discoveries she made along the way.  

In conversation with Jennifer Sterling, Whyman will share the story of her efforts to restore the land, and how her land ethic evolved in the process.  

Douglas Tallamy, founder of the Homegrown National Park movement, on Bad Naturalist: "How can someone who knows nothing about ecological restoration successfully rehab 200 acres of retired farmland? In Bad Naturalist, her self-deprecating, humorous, and thoroughly engaging book, Paula Whyman tells us exactly how. She describes the many pitfalls, explains how she triumphed over them, and details the many benefits of persevering, both for herself and for her mountaintop ecosystem. Why should landowners read this book? Because they own—and need to restore—most of the landscape, an awesome responsibility whose meaning Whyman has distilled for us.” 

This program aired live on Thursday, September 11, 2025.