Podcast: Nature is the Solution

Oyster reefs in the Northeast are like the coral reefs of the tropics—natural powerhouses that clean the water, shelter marine life and buffer our shorelines from storms. Yet most of these reefs have all but disappeared. This episode follows an inventive partnership between oyster farmers and conservationists with a shared goal of bringing oysters back. Through the intertwined worlds of oyster reef restoration and aquaculture, we explore how rebuilding reefs strengthens ecosystems, supports coastal economies and brings much needed resilience to our coasts.

Host: Steve Kirk, Coastal Program Director

Featuring: Dr. Boze Hancock, TNC Senior Marine Habitat Restoration Scientist; Island Creek Oysters; Honeysuckle Oyster Farm; Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group; and Tom O'Shea, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game

Transcript: Available here

Learn more: Our oyster aquaculture and restoration projects over the years

What does a truly resilient shoreline look like? In this episode, we travel to Collins Cove in Salem, Massachusetts, where a living shoreline is helping the community adjust to rising sea levels and more powerful storms. By using natural materials and ecological design, they rebuilt marsh habitat to support wildlife and create a more inviting coastal environment for local residents. We explore how rethinking our shores through nature-based solutions can protect homes, strengthen ecosystems and shape coastlines where both people and natural systems flourish.

Host: Chris McGuire, Ocean Program Director

Also featuring: Dan Goulart, Coastal Project Manager; Emma Gildesgame, Climate Adaptation Director; Julia Knisel and Deanna Moran, Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management; Tom O'Shea, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game

Transcript: Available here

Learn More: How TNC is helping scale these nature-based solutions in the state and region

As rising seas and stronger storms threaten homes and infrastructure, some coastal residents are wrestling with a fundamental question: when is it time to move away from flood-prone homes? We examine what it means to relocate thoughtfully—ensuring safety, preserving community ties and planning for a sustainable future. By shifting with the coastline rather than resisting the changes, relocation is a forward-looking strategy that can open pathways to long-term resilience for people and nature alike.

Host: Emma Gildesgame, Climate Adaptation Director

Also featuring: Leigh Meunier, CREW; Carrie Hulet, CH Consulting; and community members, town counselors, and others from Winthrop, MA.

Transcript: Available here

Learn more: Proactive relocation out of harm's way and resources for communities 

Note: In the time since we recorded this episode, the town of Winthrop has made news for another reason—it’s being sued by the Massachusetts Attorney General for being out of compliance with the Commonwealth’s MBTA Communities zoning laws. This means that the town is no longer eligible for the state funding it desperately needs to act on climate resilience. The Winthrop Citizen’s Advisory Commission on Climate, which you’ll hear from in this episode, voted to suspend its operations until the town council takes action to change this. As of this episode’s release in February 2026, we’re not sure what’s going to happen next. There are still many people who are advocating and working towards action to keep people in Winthrop safer from climate impacts. Regardless of what happens in this one place, conversations like the one you’re about to hear are happening up and down the Massachusetts coast as people wrestle with hard but essential conversations about our shared future.

In this episode, the series shifts from ocean to rivers and lands as we explore the science and stories behind freshwater restoration and ecological connectivity. Host Marea Gabriel is joined by Alison Bowden and Herring Commission and Assawompset Pond community member Tom Barron for a boat ride in the Taunton Watershed of southeastern Massachusetts. Together, they reflect on the relationship between people and rivers, community safety, local history and the ongoing work to reconnect waterways across the watershed.

Host: Marea Gabriel, Senior Freshwater Manager

Also featuring: Alison Bowden, Director of Conservation Science and Strategy; Tom Barron, Middleborough Lakeville Herring Commission

Transcript: Available here

Learn More: 

• TNC and partners' work in the Assawompset Ponds Complex and Nemasket River
• River connectivity and restoration in the Taunton River Watershed

This episode explores why connected Appalachian ecosystems are essential for wildlife, people and climate resilience. TNC joins partners from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and local Berkshire Wildlife Linkage community partners along the Interstate I‑90 corridor. Together, they examine how this major roadway intersects a 2,000‑mile biodiversity corridor and discuss designing infrastructure that reduces barriers, supports wildlife movement, protects public safety and strengthens a thriving, connected Appalachian landscape.

Host: Barbara Charry, Director of Rivers and Lands

Also featuring: Heather Furman, Appalachians Program Director; Angela Sirois-Pitel, Watershed Conservation Manager; Dave Paulson and Lindsey Forg, Massachusetts Department of Transportation; Meredyth Babcock, Wild & Scenic Westfield River Committee; Jane Winn, former Executive Director, Berkshire Environmental Action Team.

Transcript: Available here

Learn more:

• TNC's work in the Appalachians
• The Berkshire Wildlife Linkage

Take a deep look at Native-led land conservation and the connections between Indigenous communities and their homelands. Host Karen Lombard visits with partners from Native Land Conservancy and members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to learn how they honor, protect and restore the landscapes of Cape Cod and the life that depends on it. 

Host: Karen Lombard, Director of Restoration and Stewardship

Also featuring: Diana Ruiz and Paula Peters, Native Land Conservancy; Asa Peters; Ramona Peters; Vernon (Buddy) Pocknett; and Seequan Weeden 

Transcript: Available here

Learn more: TNC's commitment to working with Indigenous Peoples and local communities

Meeting our climate goals means building more renewable energy. But expanding that capacity requires land and careful navigation of competing needs across energy, housing, conservation and communities. With so much of our landscape already supporting critically important forests, farms and wildlife habitat—and many communities already doing their share—figuring out where everything fits becomes a real puzzle. In this episode, we’re joined by solar operators, an agrivoltaics farmer, and a local planning and energy official to explore how we can expand clean energy while protecting the nature we rely on and communities we live in, and what makes a good solar site for people, nature and the climate. 

Host: Steve Long, Director of Policy and Partnerships

Also featuring: Andy Finton, TNC Senior Conservation Ecologist; Brandon Barlow, ENGIE; Joe Czajkowski, farm owner; Michael DeChiara, Shutesbury Town Planning Board; Kristen Gardner, ENGIE; Madeleine Klein, ENGIE; and Jake Marley, Hyperion Systems

Transcript: Available here

Learn more: TNC's clean energy siting efforts and other policy advocacy in Massachusetts

This episode explores natural climate solutions—the powerful, often overlooked ways nature can help address climate change. From forests to farms to coastal ecosystems, we share how working with nature creates real climate impact on the ground. Hear from a landowner, a forester and science leaders as we connect local action to a bigger picture of climate solutions hiding in plain sight.

Host: Laura Marx, Climate Solutions Scientist

Also featuring: Peter Ellis, Global Director of Natural Climate Solutions Science; Jack Lockhead, forest landowner; and Otis Wood, forester

Transcript: Available here

Learn more: Natural climate solutions in Massachusetts

In this final episode of the season, we speak with Senator Bill Frist, Global Board Chair, and Catherine Machalaba, TNC’s first planetary health scientist, to explore how environmental change is becoming a defining public health challenge—and how nature can help protect people. We then travel to Lynn, Massachusetts, to see how the environment is affecting community health. Together, the episode connects local lived experience with global science to show why a healthy planet is essential to healthy people.

Host: Kris Sarri, Massachusetts State Director

Also featuring: Senator Bill Frist, TNC Global Board Chair; Catherine Machalaba, TNC Planetary Health Scientist; Cardeliz Paez, Ward 5 City Councilor, Lynn; Gargi Cooper, Nurse Practitioner

Transcript: Available here

Learn more: Nature's Health is Our Health