Thats cute, you think youre tough. The biggest population of it keeps repeatedly getting cleared by a well-intended, albeit somewhat oblivious, road grader. A knowledge of the relationships between living things and how we have all evolved to survive over time is a coping mechanism and a glimmer of hope in the age of increasingly dire predictions about the progress and effects of climate change. Is there anything you miss about living in Chicago? Makes the turd of, uh, uh, life in modern society easier through a swallow, helps it go down easier. There's another one just coming up right in the middle of the road, it's a goddamned big prostrata. email me. Just imagining the possibilities of like planting something that would get bigger or, you know, dwarf your lifetime and your physical size. Theophrastus, a Greek philosopher who first studied with Plato and then became a disciple And then I realized, I didn't know anything about the country I lived in and it was a big ass country, so why not travel? Unfortunately, it seems this particular coyote pup may have already had something wrong with it when Santore stumbled upon it. Unfortunately when I found her, I was so far out in the middle of nowhere and I didnt really realize how sick she was until later that night when I brought her home, he says. When Joey Santore went searching for a biological "origin story" of sorts, he stumbled into the world of botany. I saw it (the coyote) running across the road, it looked grossly malnourished. This rekindled his love for the sciences, but it wasn't until he found a used astronomy textbook that he really started to get obsessed. The main plus-side to any of this viral stuff is that maybe it'll encourage more people to look at the world like that. All Rights Reserved. I've had everyone from teenagers to suburban dads tell me, Hey, I saw your page. Luckily, it seems like most of the comments have been from these middle-aged women in the middle of the country who just love seeing this cute pupgetting a bath. Which is to say: sometimes what it takes to get us to give a shit about the natural world is a foul-mouthed amateur scientist. Santore: Being, uh, important members of the natural ecosystem, you know, you don't want to see them, uh, get, get smacked. But he did link to Crime Pays But Botany Doesnt, the YouTube channel where the clip originated, among a collection of nature videos about plants narrated in that same recognizable Chicago accent. Theyre very unpredictableThis gentleman couldve easily been bit or scratched., She went on to say that he brought up some legitimate concerns in the video. Santore is an amateur, self-taught botanist who posts videos nearly every day to his YouTube channel Crime Pays But Botany Doesnt,which he describes as alow-brow, crass approach to plant ecology as muttered by a misanthropic Chicago Italian.. When I was a kid, a lot of my friends had dads like that. And maybe you have a better likelihood of accepting. Theyre normally crepuscular or theyre out at night.". Whether its oaks or Oaklanders, theres a lack of suitable habitat for many. Larsen: This is journalist Jesse Will, who profiled Joey for Outside Online. Every time it feels like an apocalyptic story with this plant. In real life, his lilt isnt nearly so exaggerated. And even more specifically, conifers. There's a wealth of stuff in the Chicago area that people should check out. Soon, he was in deep. Well, he's not pilfered. But please dont bite me. These are just names Im channeling in the form of an ongoing science project to make the information more captivating because the typical dry and boring delivery you usually see has failed people., [Photos: Baby animals from around the world]. I would be a lot more angry of a person if I didn't have this. So we shouldn't start trying to, we shouldn't, we shouldn't burn down the library before we understand what's in it, you know. The 23-minute videoreleased the week before the murals revealis the work of a tattooed, foulmouthed Chicago transplant who for the past few years has been quietly greening up Oakland. It's botany 101, mashed up with expletive-laced tirades about consumerist, car-based American culture. He's going to take that opportunity to, uh, go drive the vroom vroom around and what the shit, you know, let's keep going. "I liked trees originally because they are so big. But if it gives me a chance to get more people excited about botany and plants and viewing the world outside of this depressing human infrastructure in society that I think is killing so many of us slowly, then I guess its good then I guess the clickbait coyote video served a purpose and its all part of my grandiose plan to get more people interested in science and ecology and I guess, this sounds corny, the natural world in general.. If you want to take a look at what I've been up to more seriously, check out my resume. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Then there are people who got sucked in because of one of those viral videos. And it clearly has a special place in Joey's heart, based on a t-shirt he sells. Despite Santores good intentions, its never a good idea for humans to interact with a wild animal in this way regardless of the situation, Victoria Monroe, the California Department of Fish and Wildlifes Conflict Programs Coordinator says. But then Monday when I woke up and was about to head back down south and take her to the wildlife rehab, she had already passed that night., Santore says that although the coyotes death wasnt entirely unexpected, it still hit him hard. You got to get out of the road. Oh, what's going on here? Sorry. Magazines, Digital Larsen: Jesse's assignment was to cover Joey's search for a local plant called lophophora williamsii: otherwise known as peyote. Explore. I wasnt going to be able to make it there that day, so I figured I would take it Monday. And that's why he's lovingly bullying it out of the road, just like he did that rattlesnake. Braidwood Dunes is another really good one. Consider this your heads-up that there are going to be quite a few curse words in this episode. The self-taught botanist sounds off on going viral, preserving the natural world, and the story behind that accent. So I put all this narration through this voice of a 50-year-old Chicago mook from the West Side. Think Dan Aykroyd in The Blues Brothers dialed to 11. The mannerisms at least among the white people out there were super soft and delicate and kind of passive, with an NPR voice. It's doing pretty good. Larsen: Joey made "Guide to Illegal Tree Planting" when he was living in Oakland, California, where a project to enhance the extra-wide median of parkway left him a bit uninspired. You can hit the Explore button [iniNaturalist] and see what grows around you and then just start learning plants by family and genus, which is how they're all grouped together. Its like get a side hustle and then use it to fund your pursuit of knowledge in the world and be able to share that with others, he explains. Subscribe to one or more of our free e-mail newsletters to get instant updates on local news, events, and opportunities in Chicago. It's just the way it is. That's a Crotalus Organus NorPac. The Chicago vernacular is kind of dyin out, especially as cities get more gentrified and you get more dog day care and coffee boutiques moving into these old Chicago neighborhoods. At certain times of year, especially this time of year, they are often active during the day. But she was covered in fleas and ticks and mites and also had some nasal discharge. The Thick Chicago Accent Guy Addresses the Sad Fate of the Coyote Pup From the Video. Trees are a side pursuit. My yard now looks a little different from the neighbors next thing you know, it's going to be all milkweed. Everything I know (about nature and botany) I basically learned myself, he said. I don't know, six or seven years give or take. By Saturday morning, the clip more than 6 million views and hundreds of thousands retweets and likes. Releasing a coyote pup or a juvenile coyote after rehab as a single animal is not going to achieve a successful outcome.. Joey was interested in science and growing things from an early age: he recalls trips to the Field Museum and propagating elm trees in his backyard. I want to share themand [talk about] what a tragedy it is that people don't know this stuff is here. Anyone who lives in Chicago knows that Tony Santoro is an actual person. Asclepius prostrata, the prostrate milkweed. Usually, we just see his hands, which are covered in tattoos. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Take it easy, buddy. Just to get more voices into the fold to invite more people to care about this stuff, because any interest that they get is, is a good thing. I went to college and studied sociology and communication but dropped out to travel. Come along. It was like a blank canvas, he says, very much like graffitiing except less likely to piss people off., Santore goes for species that are fast-growing and resilient, preferably native. Uh, where you get summer rain. and he says that accent as a joke, like it just makes him laugh. I'm not trying to harass you. Then there are people who got sucked in because of one of those viral videos. I was like, I feel like an ignoramus. The man behind the voice is a La Grange native and amateur botanist who for reasons of maintaining privacy has posted his videos in character under names such as Joey Santore and Tony Santoro and others. I thought, "Oh, shit!" What is plant systematics? Perhaps because the accent (and its attendant colloquialisms) has become such a rarity, when it does turn up in a piece of media, people notice which could be one of the reasons why the coyote video has generated so much attention. You have to reach almost a critical mass, like a minimum number of coyote pups of similar age in a rehab situation to rear so that way theyre positioned for success when you release. Even if it gets really ugly, it's still gonna be okay. Personal Quotes (3) I just want people to take a closer look at the nonhuman world and ask more questions. He admits to being borderline contemptuous of maples and rosebushes. About that Chicago accent: He lays it on thick for the camera. Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles, 'It Just Kind of Struck Me.' When he ran out of room in his California backyard, he began planting them without permission in public places, including Mandela Median Parkway in Oakland. Hes published 492 videos, and has over a quarter million subscribers. By Saturday morning, the clip more than 6 million views and hundreds of thousands retweets and likes. Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie is another excellent one, down by Joliet. This episode was brought to you by Mississippi, a wonderland for outdoor adventurers. I associate them with a place to like get away from people and, kind of open air playground. another adaptation to that, uh, aridity that, that dry climate. So I found this astronomy textbook and then was reading it on a train once. Released on 03/11/2022. Okay. Maybe I should have just left her alone. Absolutely. He undoubtedly spurred people who'd never heard about milkweed to give a damn about the plant. And maybe they'll look at the plants in their backyard in a different way, or maybe they'll yank out some of those plants and replant something. I just don't think what you're doing is safe behavior. You can follow Joey Santore on his YouTube channel, Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't, or on his instagram and podcast of the same name. Today I'm here to answer your plant questions via Twitter. I've been breaking relatively unimpactful laws my whole life. You need help! Okay. You'll see guys posting photos of dead coyotes they shot over the weekend. Kind of a bummer! But then the next day, it kind of messed me up a little bit more. Theyre extremely opportunistic, theyre extremely intelligent animals, so they do whatever they need to do to seek resources. Got a tip? To find enough real estate to survive, these prostrata often end up finding their home in the middle of the road. Larsen: And they did find some. Larsen: He was kicked out of military school and got into graffiti and the punk scene. You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. But I also try to keep [the videos] lighthearted. His priority is making habitats, not only leaves and pretty flowers. Because what better way to understand the guy who created "Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't" than to join him on a hunt for a plant that's a schedule 1 controlled drug? Grew these both from seed. But it's his voice that's the real star of the show. You get, for instance, a cactus that's native to the Chicago area. He started growing rare conifers from seed. It plays into some of the more gross elements of human nature. It's this squat plant. While some scientists bristle at Joey's swearing or his abrasive politics, most professional plant lovers recognize that his approach is having an important impact. A shantytown of homeless people has sprung up adjacent to the neighborhood where hes been doing much of his planting. I mean, on some level it looks, it looks like a weed. And despite his cynical-seeming exterior, Joey finds beauty in all of this, too. I don't want to hear that. Plants, Redwing boots, dogs. Will: It's the oldest psychedelic substance known to man. This plant has adapted to lie dormant in its underground rhizome for years until conditions are right. Larsen: In other words, as the ecosystems around us erode under humanity's touch, understanding the ways they fit together is more crucial than ever. We have since expanded our show and now offer a range of story formats, including interviews with the biggest figures in sports, adventure, and politics, as well as reports from our correspondents in the field. I ended up bringing it to the house I was staying at about 15 miles away and called around for wildlife rescue and the nearest one was about a 2 hour drive south. First in his backyard in Oakland, and then, as he ran out of space, at the median park close by that became the star of that illegal tree planting video. Most important is the Garfield Park Conservatory, which is free and features plants from all over the world. "I'm stuffing envelopes proper now," he advised me from his house in West Oakland. you're seeing people that comment and say things like this, guys, the reason why I got interested in plants. Like I just got really excited when I would read about this stuff. He now works as a freight train driver in Oakland, where he frequently makes trips into the wilderness in search of native plants. 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