E24: Advice from the Golden State Naturalist, Michelle Fullner

About this episode

The episode features a conversation with Michelle Fullner about conservation, communication, and the balance between nature and technology.

In this episode, I chat with Michelle Fullner, aka, the Golden State Naturalist, to discuss the convergence of conservation and effective communication through the lens of the All Land is Beautiful perspective and the work of land trusts. The overarching theme of this conversation, at least what I can best summarize, is the inherent opposition between the values of the natural world and those of the technological. We use Michelle’s origin story in becoming the Golden State Naturalist as a backdrop to discussing the importance of things like understanding the behind the scenes work of protected lands, what responsibility we have in respecting and giving back to the places we love, as well as the balance between idealistic and pragmatic conservation approaches. Through sharing her journey toward reconnecting with nature, we delve into narrative storytelling's role in social media to make conservation efforts engaging and relatable, how that relates to environmental organizations, and Michelle’s efforts in providing resources for those tasked with, or trying to communicate important conservation stories. I’m so appreciative of Michelle taking the time to meet me in person, and on a…

People in this episode

Host: Marshall Gorham

Guest: Michelle Fullner

Topics covered

• conservation
• communication
• land trusts
• narrative storytelling
• environmental organizations

Keywords

• Golden State Naturalist
• conservation communication
• protected lands
• social media
• environmental storytelling

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: All Land is Beautiful

More episodes of All Land is Beautiful

• E30: Landed: The Next Hands on the Land, with Brooks Lamb (American Farmland Trust) · May 28, 2026 · 1h 16m
• E29: The Million-Acre Man - Shelton Douthit: How Land Actually Gets Protected · April 23, 2026 · 1h 17m
• E28: They Held On, Someone Stepped In: Bringing Back the California Red-Legged Frog, with Rob Grasso (Yosemite NP) · March 26, 2026 · 1h 15m
• E27: The Dirt on Saving Dirt, with Erin Tarr of the Bear Yuba Land Trust · February 26, 2026 · 60 min
• E26: Small Land Trust, Big Landscape with Ellie Routt of the Mother Lode Land Trust · January 29, 2026 · 1h 1m
• E25: Flocks and Footnotes: Discussing Prescribed Grazing with Mark Gutierrez of Pilot Creek Ranch · January 1, 2026 · 59 min