Our Wild Lives · The Wildlife Society

From Science to Song: Merging Music and Wildlife

·28 min·1 clip

Aldo Leopold's wolf story becomes a song about the Wildlife Society's past, present, and future.

1. Our Wild Lives centers on Emily Thorosky and Merlin Shoesmith using music to talk about wildlife conservation and environmental education. 2. Katie Perkins hosts the conversation for the Wildlife Society, and Emily and Merlin matter because they turn conservation work into songs and school workshops. 3. The episode asks what changes when a scientific message, a classroom lesson, and a society history are compressed into a song like 'The Eyes of the Wolf'. 4. Emily says she is from Winnipeg, Manitoba, studied environmental science at the University of Manitoba, and earned a Master of Environment. 5. She says she joined the Wildlife Society in 2016, wrote the thesis project 'Why Do Wildlife Matter', and used that work to launch what she calls an environmental musician career. 6. Merlin says he grew up on a farm in Iowa, studied at Iowa State University and Purdue University, started a PhD in Yellowstone with the University of Montana, and later finished at the University of Manitoba under Dr Bill Pruitt. 7. He says he spent 30 years with Manitoba Conservation in game research, biological services, and endangered species work before retiring in 2001. 8. Merlin tells a Yellowstone story about riding horses to a dead buffalo, then finding about 13 to 16 grizzly bears around the carcass. 9. Emily explains that she met Merlin through the University of Manitoba and the Wildlife Society, then worked with him on video and music projects. 10. They say 'The Eyes of the Wolf' draws on Aldo Leopold, the Wildlife Society, and the past, present, and future of the organization. 11. Merlin connects the song to Leopold's 1912 wolf shot in New Mexico and the lesson that one wolf matters to the whole ecosystem. 12. They explain that the green-eyes detail comes from Leopold seeing the wolf as it was dying, which changed how he understood the hunt. 13. Emily says the collaboration took about eight months to a year because Merlin brought too many words and she kept pushing him to shorten them. 14. Merlin says the final structure landed at four verses and a bridge, which he treats as the challenge of turning science into something concise. 15. Emily says her school workshops start with a short performance, then a brainstorming session about favorite animals, pollution, garbage, and recycling. 16. She says the children help write the lyrics, choose whether the song feels happy or sad, and perform the finished song for parents and sometimes at Earth Day events in Winnipeg. 17. The tone is warm and collaborative, with Katie Perkins prompting long stories, short jokes, and practical examples from teaching and fieldwork. 18. The format is a standard interview with two guests, but it also includes a sponsored break for the Wildlife Society and a recorded song discussion. 19. Listeners who like science communication, conservation, and school music projects will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for technical wildlife policy or a tightly reported field study may skip it.

As heard by us

A warm listen about turning wildlife science into a song people can remember.

Emily Thorosky and Merlin Shoesmith present wildlife conservation through song in a way that feels grounded rather than abstract. The strongest moments come from the practical details: Emily's school workshops, Merlin's reminder that lyrics have to stay tight, and the shared…

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Want conservation ideas turned into a song kids can learn from?

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