Heather Physioc / HP Conservation
@heatherphysioc.bsky.social
Chief Discoverability Officer at VML • Drum Search Leader of the Year • Keynote Speaker • Outdoor & Conservation Journalist + Photographer • Prints available, 50% of Sales to Conservation Causes • Dog's Best Friend • https://hpconservation.com
🌌 Kansas City isn’t exactly aurora territory… but last month a massive solar storm pushed the Northern Lights far enough south that we saw them glow right over our own backyard. I grabbed my camera and raced north in the dark, and somehow came home with this shot. hpconservation.com/domestic/kan...
Northern Lights in Kansas City: How to See & Photograph Aurora Borealis in KC
The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) are a rare and special treat for Kansas City. Sitting at Latitude ~39°N, KC is much further south than the typical viewing zones, like Canada or Alaska, and sight...
hpconservation.com
December 7, 2025 at 3:21 AM
🌌 Kansas City isn’t exactly aurora territory… but last month a massive solar storm pushed the Northern Lights far enough south that we saw them glow right over our own backyard. I grabbed my camera and raced north in the dark, and somehow came home with this shot. hpconservation.com/domestic/kan...
Artificial floating wetlands across North America are transforming polluted, industrialized waterways into thriving ecological habitats that support wildlife, improve water quality, and reconnect urban communities with nature. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/artif...
Artificial Islands Are Turning Industrial Wastelands Into Thriving Ecosystems
Groups across North America are turning to the power of Mother Nature to revive waterways
www.sierraclub.org
November 29, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Artificial floating wetlands across North America are transforming polluted, industrialized waterways into thriving ecological habitats that support wildlife, improve water quality, and reconnect urban communities with nature. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/artif...
"Young people feel paralyzed in the face of a media ecosystem flooded with sensationalism and polarization. When the game feels rigged, why bother playing? Fighting the algorithm can feel as futile as tilting at digital windmills." www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/trap...
Trapped by what they know: Young adults’ algorithmic cynicism
Teaching young people to trace why certain stories trend or how recommendation systems work can build a shared sense of how truth circulates online.
www.niemanlab.org
November 23, 2025 at 9:37 AM
"Young people feel paralyzed in the face of a media ecosystem flooded with sensationalism and polarization. When the game feels rigged, why bother playing? Fighting the algorithm can feel as futile as tilting at digital windmills." www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/trap...
My latest story, and first for Sierra Magazine, is about brand new wildlife crossings built into a major infrastructure project on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to help with the moose-vehicle collision problem in the region. Come behind the scenes with me. hpconservation.com/news/alaskas...
November 17, 2025 at 2:55 AM
My latest story, and first for Sierra Magazine, is about brand new wildlife crossings built into a major infrastructure project on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to help with the moose-vehicle collision problem in the region. Come behind the scenes with me. hpconservation.com/news/alaskas...
🦋 Hey everyone! I just published my latest printable coloring book page + activity sheets that teach kids about the monarch butterfly's epic 3,000-mile journey, life cycle, and story!
It's perfect for classrooms, families, or rainy-day fun. 👉 hpconservation.com/my-wildlife-... #monarch #coloring
It's perfect for classrooms, families, or rainy-day fun. 👉 hpconservation.com/my-wildlife-... #monarch #coloring
November 7, 2025 at 3:03 AM
🦋 Hey everyone! I just published my latest printable coloring book page + activity sheets that teach kids about the monarch butterfly's epic 3,000-mile journey, life cycle, and story!
It's perfect for classrooms, families, or rainy-day fun. 👉 hpconservation.com/my-wildlife-... #monarch #coloring
It's perfect for classrooms, families, or rainy-day fun. 👉 hpconservation.com/my-wildlife-... #monarch #coloring
If anyone asks, this is how I want to be buried. 🌱 "Life Beyond the Grave: These morticians are both conservation heroes and undertakers." Green burials meet conservation easements - protecting nature while returning to it. Great read by Marin Scotten for Sierra. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/life-...
Life Beyond the Grave
These morticians are both conservation heroes and undertakers
www.sierraclub.org
November 4, 2025 at 9:37 AM
If anyone asks, this is how I want to be buried. 🌱 "Life Beyond the Grave: These morticians are both conservation heroes and undertakers." Green burials meet conservation easements - protecting nature while returning to it. Great read by Marin Scotten for Sierra. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/life-...
“More Indigenous territory has been claimed by maps than by guns.” Great piece about "counter-mapping" projects: Indigenous nations are using maps to reclaim their stories by charting ancestral routes & sacred places to assert rights and un-erase their presence. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/these...
These Inuit Maps Are Reimagining the Arctic
Counter-mapping projects are supporting Indigenous sovereignty in a shifting landscape
www.sierraclub.org
November 3, 2025 at 4:26 PM
“More Indigenous territory has been claimed by maps than by guns.” Great piece about "counter-mapping" projects: Indigenous nations are using maps to reclaim their stories by charting ancestral routes & sacred places to assert rights and un-erase their presence. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/these...
Interesting that the major tech companies quickly kowtowed to the unilateral order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America," yet it didn't stick in news outlets. www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/nine...
Nine months later, that body of water down south is still the “Gulf of Mexico” to news outlets
Since the start of summer, "Gulf of America" has been losing what little popularity it had in newsrooms.
www.niemanlab.org
November 1, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Interesting that the major tech companies quickly kowtowed to the unilateral order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America," yet it didn't stick in news outlets. www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/nine...
Reposted by Heather Physioc / HP Conservation
An Indonesian songbird once nearly extinct in the wild, the Bali starling, is making a comeback through community-led conservation.
Villages embraced traditional awig-awig regulations to protect the starling, creating powerful cultural, social and financial deterrents to poaching.
Villages embraced traditional awig-awig regulations to protect the starling, creating powerful cultural, social and financial deterrents to poaching.
Indigenous-led protections spark Bali starling’s recovery in the wild
NUSA PENIDA, Indonesia — Two young conservation workers rattle up on a motorbike and dismount at the edge of a coconut grove. Picking through husks, fallen fronds and stray plastic bottles, they scan…
news.mongabay.com
October 4, 2025 at 10:53 AM
An Indonesian songbird once nearly extinct in the wild, the Bali starling, is making a comeback through community-led conservation.
Villages embraced traditional awig-awig regulations to protect the starling, creating powerful cultural, social and financial deterrents to poaching.
Villages embraced traditional awig-awig regulations to protect the starling, creating powerful cultural, social and financial deterrents to poaching.
Not to play favorites, but this story was special... hpconservation.com/abroad/revit...
Quechua: Inside the Fight to Preserve Indigenous Culture in the Andes
Quechua is a most widely spoken Indigenous language in the Americas - yet it’s endangered. Learn about the threats to its survival and the innovative approaches to preserve this vibrant cultural herit...
hpconservation.com
October 23, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Not to play favorites, but this story was special... hpconservation.com/abroad/revit...
"A quadrupling of area burned.”
"Forests are being knocked back to the Pleistocene."
"Not so much reset as annihilated."
“Some of our forests will never be forests again."
A piece by Zack Metcalfe for Sierra Magazine.
www.sierraclub.org/Sierra/wildf...
"Forests are being knocked back to the Pleistocene."
"Not so much reset as annihilated."
“Some of our forests will never be forests again."
A piece by Zack Metcalfe for Sierra Magazine.
www.sierraclub.org/Sierra/wildf...
From Forest to Fireweed
The ecological upheaval of Jasper National Park
www.sierraclub.org
October 19, 2025 at 8:37 AM
"A quadrupling of area burned.”
"Forests are being knocked back to the Pleistocene."
"Not so much reset as annihilated."
“Some of our forests will never be forests again."
A piece by Zack Metcalfe for Sierra Magazine.
www.sierraclub.org/Sierra/wildf...
"Forests are being knocked back to the Pleistocene."
"Not so much reset as annihilated."
“Some of our forests will never be forests again."
A piece by Zack Metcalfe for Sierra Magazine.
www.sierraclub.org/Sierra/wildf...
🔥 🌳 Pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) clouds, wildfire-driven fire storms that inject smoke, ash, & moisture high into the sky and trigger hurricane-force winds below, generate lightning, ignite fires, and rain embers. They used to be rare. Not so anymore. buff.ly/5ONKAH7
From Forest to Fireweed
The ecological upheaval of Jasper National Park
buff.ly
October 18, 2025 at 3:26 PM
🔥 🌳 Pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) clouds, wildfire-driven fire storms that inject smoke, ash, & moisture high into the sky and trigger hurricane-force winds below, generate lightning, ignite fires, and rain embers. They used to be rare. Not so anymore. buff.ly/5ONKAH7
Peekskill, New York, last 40 years: 1 ton of lead, 40,000 tons nitrous oxide, 840 pounds mercury, 8 million tons toxic ash, 31.8 million tons greenhouse gas emissions, home to sewage treatment, chemical and gypsum plants on the polluted Hudson River. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-...
October 18, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Peekskill, New York, last 40 years: 1 ton of lead, 40,000 tons nitrous oxide, 840 pounds mercury, 8 million tons toxic ash, 31.8 million tons greenhouse gas emissions, home to sewage treatment, chemical and gypsum plants on the polluted Hudson River. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-...
We love a good wildlife corridor reconnection + wildlife crossing + educated Bear Smart community! Way to go #Montana. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-...
Montanans Are Making Space for Grizzlies
Wildlife corridors and conflict prevention help keep bears safe
www.sierraclub.org
October 17, 2025 at 3:26 PM
We love a good wildlife corridor reconnection + wildlife crossing + educated Bear Smart community! Way to go #Montana. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-...
Can buying hunting licenses help save Florida's black bears? There is NO scientific grounding to support a bear hunt in Florida to "control the population," which shows absolutely no signs of being over-populated. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/can-b...
Can Buying Hunting Licenses Help Save Florida’s Bears?
A creative solution to limiting the number of bears killed in the state’s newly approved bear hunt
www.sierraclub.org
October 17, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Can buying hunting licenses help save Florida's black bears? There is NO scientific grounding to support a bear hunt in Florida to "control the population," which shows absolutely no signs of being over-populated. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/can-b...
Broad Hurricane Helene FEMA cleanup damaged sensitive waterways and rare species, prioritizing speed and volume over care. Local rafting and fishing guides are taking a more thoughtful approach, and it's restarting outdoor recreation industry in the region. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/one-y...
One Year After Helene, Conservation Meets Recovery in North Carolina
The nonprofit MountainTrue is prioritizing river cleanup strategies that protect sensitive habitats
buff.ly
October 16, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Broad Hurricane Helene FEMA cleanup damaged sensitive waterways and rare species, prioritizing speed and volume over care. Local rafting and fishing guides are taking a more thoughtful approach, and it's restarting outdoor recreation industry in the region. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/one-y...
New Landscape Ordinance Passes Unanimously in Kansas City: Intentional native plantings are now allowed to grow to their natural heights, even if they are over 10" tall... can't believe we had to fight for that. deeproots.org/new-landscap...
New Landscape Ordinance Passes Unanimously in Kansas City - Deep Roots
With unanimous support, the Kansas City, Missouri City Council passed a new ordinance on September 9th allowing for more native plantings in the City.
deeproots.org
October 16, 2025 at 8:37 AM
New Landscape Ordinance Passes Unanimously in Kansas City: Intentional native plantings are now allowed to grow to their natural heights, even if they are over 10" tall... can't believe we had to fight for that. deeproots.org/new-landscap...
October 15, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Companies like Cloudflare are claiming to build systems to monetize traffic from AI bots, which assumes tracking bots is straightforward, and that a website can reliably tell them what to do. Neither is a safe assumption. mediacopilot.substack.com/p/publishers...
Publishers want to charge bots. First, they have to find them
A new report from TollBit shows how bot traffic is growing—and why it’s getting harder to track.
mediacopilot.substack.com
October 15, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Companies like Cloudflare are claiming to build systems to monetize traffic from AI bots, which assumes tracking bots is straightforward, and that a website can reliably tell them what to do. Neither is a safe assumption. mediacopilot.substack.com/p/publishers...
"When tech giants interact with publishers and writers, it’s a lot like when Lennie pets the puppy in Of Mice and Men." mailchi.mp/aboard/zkd26...
October 15, 2025 at 8:37 AM
"When tech giants interact with publishers and writers, it’s a lot like when Lennie pets the puppy in Of Mice and Men." mailchi.mp/aboard/zkd26...
AI trained on low-quality Wikipedia translations risks accelerating the decline of vulnerable languages, not saving them. Smart, sobering piece from MIT Tech Review: www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/25/1...
How AI and Wikipedia have sent vulnerable languages into a doom spiral
Machine translators have made it easier than ever to create error-plagued Wikipedia articles in obscure languages. What happens when AI models get trained on junk pages?
www.technologyreview.com
October 13, 2025 at 3:26 PM
AI trained on low-quality Wikipedia translations risks accelerating the decline of vulnerable languages, not saving them. Smart, sobering piece from MIT Tech Review: www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/25/1...
The world’s rarest orchid, Rhizanthella gardneri, flowers underground and depends on a 3-way symbiosis to survive. A fragile system, now at risk:
'It lives underground and is fabulous': The race to save the world's rarest orchid
The world's most mysterious and elusive orchid lives underground in Australia. Scientists are trying to rescue this botanic marvel from going completely extinct.
www.bbc.com
October 13, 2025 at 8:37 AM
The world’s rarest orchid, Rhizanthella gardneri, flowers underground and depends on a 3-way symbiosis to survive. A fragile system, now at risk:
🦋 Monarch butterflies captivate humans with their beauty, transformation and epic multigenerational migrations. Once hundreds of millions strong across North America, #monarchbutterfly populations have plummeted due to habitat loss, pesticides, and climate stress.
📸 Shot on @canonusa.bsky.social
📸 Shot on @canonusa.bsky.social
October 7, 2025 at 11:03 PM
🦋 Monarch butterflies captivate humans with their beauty, transformation and epic multigenerational migrations. Once hundreds of millions strong across North America, #monarchbutterfly populations have plummeted due to habitat loss, pesticides, and climate stress.
📸 Shot on @canonusa.bsky.social
📸 Shot on @canonusa.bsky.social
Most people want platforms (not governments) to be responsible for moderating #content, according to this study across 8 countries. This preference holds for social networks, video sites, messaging apps and search engines. 🤔 reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/most-pe...
Most people want platforms (not governments) to be responsible for moderating content
Our finding is consistent across countries and demographics. But many also want tech companies to be held responsible for falsehoods on their platforms.
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk
October 7, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Most people want platforms (not governments) to be responsible for moderating #content, according to this study across 8 countries. This preference holds for social networks, video sites, messaging apps and search engines. 🤔 reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/most-pe...
“The North American model remains strong, but there are modern threats that echo this case — the privatization of public lands and wildlife are still a real risk. What makes America, America and Wyoming, Wyoming is our public lands and our public wildlife.” www.publicdomain.media/p/karen-budd...
A Top Trump Interior Official Once Pushed To Privatize Wildlife
In the 1990s, Karen Budd-Falen challenged Wyoming’s authority to regulate hunting on behalf of ranchers.
www.publicdomain.media
October 6, 2025 at 3:26 PM
“The North American model remains strong, but there are modern threats that echo this case — the privatization of public lands and wildlife are still a real risk. What makes America, America and Wyoming, Wyoming is our public lands and our public wildlife.” www.publicdomain.media/p/karen-budd...