By Jeff Robbins, Wisconsin Public Radio

This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.

If you’ve never tasted the fruit from a pawpaw tree, you’re not alone. Due to its extremely short shelf life that renders the fruit edible for only days after being picked, pawpaw is an all-too-rare treat.

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Although wildfires are commonly associated with the West, the Great Lakes region has seen its share of destructive blazes. Lee Frelich, director of the University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology, warns that we will likely see more wildfires due to heat waves and droughts caused by climate change.

Vern Northrup is a former fireman and is a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe.

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By Zaria Johnson, Ideastream Public Media

This story was originally published by Ideastream.

An exhibition at the Cleveland Botanical Garden features more than 30 artists whose work explores the role nature plays in overcoming painful emotions and experiences.

The botanical garden partnered with local gallery Deep Roots Experience to bring together The Nature of Healing, an exhibition exploring ways the outdoors can help process grief and trauma.

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Toward the end of 2023, I was newly unemployed and living by myself for the first time. 

In between jobs, searching for employment and a means of fulfillment and community, I began to reflect on how my mom got into gardening. In the dead of winter, memories of childhood summers spent pulling weeds, tilling soil and fleeing the occasional garter snake alongside her began to color my mind. 

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By Jena Brooker, BridgeDetroit

This article was republished here with permission from BridgeDetroit.

An origin story, a teacher of life, a relative, and a source of crucial nutrition, manoomin now has a new protector.

Once covering much of Michigan’s inland lakes and streams, the wild rice (also known as mnoomin or mnomen) is indigenous to the Great Lakes region but has largely disappeared due to colonization, environmental degradation, and climate change.

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This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.

By Shealyn Paulis, Great Lakes Echo

Within Minnesota’s wetlands, forests and prairies, thousands of different species of wildflowers bloom annually – some only once and in the evening. In their second book, two Minnesotan women put their passions to paper and set out to uncover all the state flora has to offer.

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This is a part of “A Year in the Wild Kitchen of the Great Lakes,” a series in partnership with expert forager Lisa M. Rose, with the mission of nurturing a deeper connection with the natural world through foraging. To get started with your foraging journey, begin here with our “Framework to Sustainable and Safe Practices.” 

In the Great Lakes, the maple syrup harvest season begins when daytime temperatures rise above freezing while nights remain cold — typically from mid to late February for much of the region, and a bit later further north.

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By Katie Myers, Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, & Izzy Ross

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist, BPR, a public radio station serving western North Carolina, WBEZ, a public radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan region, and Interlochen Public Radio in Northern Michigan.

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The emerald ash borer (EAB) has devastated ash trees across North America. But researchers in Ohio discovered something unexpected — some ash trees are surviving. These ‘lingering ash’ not only resist EAB but can even kill its larvae.

Scientists suspected genetic resistance and tested their theory by cloning and crossbreeding surviving trees.

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By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

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