AMES, Iowa – Keeping Iowans safe in the outdoors is the goal behind a new series of podcast episodes airing on the Habitat University podcast.

The “Habitat Safety Miniseries” will cover topics such as prescribed fire safety, pesticide safety, heavy equipment safety, as well as chainsaw safety.

The series will feature safety advice from experts in Iowa and across the nation, and is narrated by Adam Janke, extension wildlife specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, as well as Jarred Brooke, forestry and natural resources wildlife specialist with Purdue University.

“I’m hoping and challenging you all to take a second, slow down and listen to these sessions and think hard about how we can be safer in our outdoor work,” says Adam Janke, in episode one, which aired Sept. 3. “We want to work in way that ensures we get to go home every night and go back out there the next day and continue doing great work for wildlife and conservation.”

Janke is timing the release for National Farm Safety and Health Week, which runs Sept. 15-21. The safety lessons apply to farmers and anyone else who uses a chain saw or works with outdoor equipment and conservation.

Janke said it can be easy to rely on self-taught knowledge about what it means to be safe outdoors, but taking some time to review one’s knowledge can be life-changing.

“These sessions will hopefully get people to think about the ‘science of safety,’” he said. “And the harsh reality that if you want to make a difference in the outdoors, you need to be alive and well.”

The sessions

• Sept. 3: Habitat Safety Introduction, with Rich Gassman, director for Iowa’s Center for Agricultural Safety and Health at the University of Iowa
• Sept. 10: Prescribed Fire Safety, with Jennifer Fawcett from North Carolina State University and the Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability
• Sept. 17: Herbicide Safety, with Fred Whitford, clinical engagement professor and director of the pesticide programs at Purdue University.
• Sept. 24: Equipment Safety, with Clint DeMenge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s heavy equipment manager for Region 3 in the upper Midwest.
• Oct. 1: Chain Saw Safety, with Chris Evans from the University of Illinois

For more information, Adam Janke can be reached at 515-294-7429 or ajanke@iastate.edu. You can follow the release of the podcast episodes on the Habitat University website or by subscribing on any major podcast distribution system you use.

(contributed press release, ISUANR)