30 MAY. 2024 · This episode focuses on the non-plant companions commonly found in gardens, namely fungi and insects.  Chris Stafford is joined by Dr. Brad Bolman, a recent Interdisciplinary Resident at Oak Spring, and Dr. Rea Manderino, Oak Spring's full-time Ecologist and Collections Specialist.  Brad's current research and forthcoming book explore the emergence of the field of mycology or the study of fungi and mushrooms. Mushrooms were often met with trepedation in the past, but in recent decades mushrooms have become accepted as an important source of food and medicine. Brad discusses the scientist who played a key role in this shift, and more.  This interview is followed by an interview with Dr. Rea Manderino who explains the important role insects play in understanding plant communities.  Rea elaborates upon some of the ways that she is researching insect populations on the Oak Spring landscape. Dr. Brad Bolman is a Postdoctoral Member in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study. He received a PhD in History of Science from Harvard University. His first book, Lab Dog: What Global Science Owes American Beagles, is forthcoming from the University of Chicago Press and tells the story of the emergence of the laboratory dog as an experimental subject. It shows how locally bred beagles raised in labs across America became transnational laboratory commodities and how scientists came to understand themselves and what it means to be human through beagles. He is currently at work on a new book, Rotten Beauty, which tells the globe-spanning story of fungi’s fascinating, unexpected, life-sustaining, and at times deadly reign throughout human history. The book focuses on the complex and singular lives of mycologists and others who spent their lives trying to make sense of the mysteries of fungal life. It is about how the instrumental use and application of fungi helped make our modern world possible, and how that modern world opened countless avenues for new fungal perils. It is a story about balance, maintained on a knife’s edge. Dr. Rea Manderino has served as OSGF’s Ecologist and Collections Specialist since 2022. Shespecializes in insect conservation and invasion ecology. Her work bridges the conservation ofplants with the insects that rely on them at both the scale of the individual stem to the broaderplant community across the landscape. She collaborates with researchers in the area andaround the country to assess changes in insect communities over time. Rea also serves as thecurator for the preserved Biological Collection, coordinating the creation of the insect collectionand herbarium. She leads several insect-themed programs at OSGF, highlighting invertebratebiodiversity and their relationships with plants. Rea received her PhD in Entomology from SUNY – College of Environmental Science andForestry in 2021, her MS in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia in 2013, andher BA in Biology from the University of Chicago in 2009. She grew up in central Kansas andhas lived in Virginia since 2009, currently residing on 5 acres of old-growth forest in PrinceWilliam County. When she is not distracted by bugs, she enjoys gardening, crocheting,watching movies, reading vintage textbooks, planning road trips, and spending time with her family.

25 ABR. 2024 · Host Chris Stafford is joined by Sir Peter Crane, the President of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, and Rachel Heslop, Senior Projects Coordinator at Oak Spring.  In separate interviews with Chris, Peter and Rachel discuss the origins of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation; some of the foundation's current projects and objectives, while also and shedding light on Mrs. Mellon's vision for the Oak Spring property and the historical precedences of the site. Sir Peter Crane FRS is President of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Virginia. He joined Oak Spring after seven years as Dean of the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies - the Yale environment school. Originally from Kettering in the United Kingdom, Peter trained and worked at the University of Reading before moving to Indiana University in the US in 1981 for his postdoctoral studies. In addition to Yale, his career since the early 1980s has included positions at the Field Museum in Chicago, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and The University of Chicago.  Peter is a specialist in the diversity of plant life, including its fossil history, evolution and conservation. Peter and his wife Elinor, who works as a volunteer at the foundation, came to Oak Spring in 2016. Peter was attracted by the opportunity to create new programs focused on plants, gardens and landscapes that also honor the legacy of Mrs. Mellon.  Rachel Heslop is the Senior Project Coordinator at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation. Originally from the UK, Rachel holds a BA in Archaeology and History of Art and an MA in Egyptian Archaeology, both from University College London. After a decade in the rare book trade, she studied for a new career in the horticultural industry. Upon moving to the United States, Rachel worked for the landscape architecture firm Oehme, van Sweden in Washington, DC and was part of the project team that led to the renewal of the White House Rose Garden in 2020. More recently, she conducted research on the history and evolution of the Oak Spring gardens as part of a cultural landscape report.

20 MAR. 2024 · Host Chris Stafford is joined by ecologist, Michael Gaige, and artist, Elizabeth Webb. The two guests discuss their on-going projects and ways of interpreting the landscape.  Michael Gaige is an independent consulting ecologist based in upstate New York. His work explores the intersection of nature, culture, and history at the landscape level. Michael works with organizations, private landowners, and design teams on park and landscape projects, historical ecology inventories, and conservation planning for natural areas. He wrote detailed historical and landscape inventories for the Oak Spring Garden Foundation main site and its adjacent Rokeby farm. Michael teaches field studies programs for several colleges and universities.  Michael’s website: https://www.knowyourland.com/ Elizabeth M. Webb is an artist and filmmaker based in Atlanta, GA, and was an Interdisciplinary Resident at Oak Spring in 2022. Her work is invested in issues surrounding race and identity, often using the lens of her own family history of migration and racial passing to explore larger, systemic constructs and the renegotiation of their borders. She has screened and exhibited nationally and internationally, and in 2023 received a Ford Foundation JustFilms Development Grant for her forthcoming feature length film, Artificial Horizon.Webb is co-editor with Roberta Uno and Daniela Alvarez of the anthology FUTURE/PRESENT: Arts in a Changing America (Duke University Press, 2024). Elizabeth’s website: https://www.elizabethmwebb.com/ Current solo exhibit: https://jcsm.auburn.edu/exhibitions/radical-naturalism-webb/ on view at the Julie Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art Janurary 23, 2024 - July 7, 2024 Subscribe to the Oak Spring Newsletter! Website: https://www.osgf.org/ Email: mailto:program@osgf.org Instagram: @oakspringgardenfoundation Twitter: @oak_spring Facebook: Oak Spring Garden Foundation

23 FEB. 2024 · The Oak Spring Podcast is the voice of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Upperville, Virginia. The monthly podcast discusses how the legacy of Mrs. Bunny Mellon is continued through its courses, workshops, residencies and other public events. Guests include artists, writers, scientists, researchers and alumni whose work has become an integral part of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation community. Each episode will explore a topic related to Oak Spring's mission and calendar of events. Danielle Eady, Programs Director at OSGF introduces OSGF and what to expect in future episodes. Host: Chris Stafford Website: http://osgf.org Email: max@osfg.org Instagram: @oakspringgardenfoundation Twitter: @oak_spring