Can This Shepherdess and Her Sheep Prevent Wildfires?

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Today, Grasslands are the least protected habitat on earth. And due to factors - such as development, wildfires, industrial agriculture, and extreme biodiversity loss - our Grasslands continue to be in serious danger. Shannon Waldron has made it her life’s mission to live and work as a nomadic shepherdess in California, where she utilizes sheep grazing to help heal the California landscape.
Women of the Earth is a new show on PBS Terra, produced by Summer Moon Productions, featuring stories of women across America who are leading a new movement to restore and protect the land. By focusing on women in land stewardship roles like farmers and shepherds, the series will explore women’s unique relationship to the earth and their innovative undertakings to heal the earth from climate change.
Original Production Funding Provided by
National Science Foundation - Grant No. 2120006
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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[@dywaldron]

I birthed this Shepherdess. And well she is a woman that will change the Earth Yip yip More please DYW XO love my girl

[@sabinadonofrio8863]

I'm 73. And I have a huge smile on my face. Thank you for being human and women. And being a better answer for a healthy future.

[@Dzmcgee]

Wow what a cool woman, I bet she comes from a really great family.

[@dryzalizer]

;)

[@happynaturalist1793]

This sound suspiciously like a dad or uncle comment… 😏

[@clivematthews95]

I love the idea of using nature and natural processes to combat climate change, this is very beautiful I hope more people take to such initiatives, we all need this earth and we should all protect it Very positive message ❤

[@clivematthews95]

@@larrymartineau7507 this screams, ignorance Sad 😔

[@Alex-ki1yr]

Really appreciate the land and idigenous acknowledgement at the end 🙏

[@mehere8038]

yeh, first time I've seen it on a US video. It's normal in Australia. I hope it grows in frequency there too!

[@hckyislife09]

AMAZING!!!! SHANNON YOU ARE A GREAT EXAMPLE FOR THE REST OF US!!! Action is what we need! Can't wait to pick your brain on how I can be a Shepard out near my spot some day soon! PERENNIAL GRAZING FOR THE WIN!!!!!! I have tears in my eyes and hope left in my heart thanks to people like you!

[@ksbrook1430]

Yes! We need to support the rebuilding of the soil.

[@happynaturalist1793]

7:02 “we’re giving them a hard back so the way forward is the best decision for them” - yet another lesson from this way of life more in touch with the earth.

[@whoareyou5278]

Sheeps are the best, they are so gentle and easy to work with im glad to see someone putting an old art to use. You’re giving me ideas and I really appreciate that! Great work and wish you further success!

[@tommyboycoonig3694]

Wow. Such a clear and concise explanation and Shannon is awesome!

[@jwaldron1988]

A million ways to create a life❤ bravo to Shannon Waldron, Christian Cain, & the filming & editing team at PBS! We love hearing these stories

[@CrashCourseFTW]

This was so soothing to watch! LOVE this idea for a new series within PBS Terra. Can't wait for the next one.

[@novampires223]

Oh my, if I was younger, what a life. Thanks for showing this lovely person and her sheep.

[@estebancorral5151]

I hate to break to you, but Vampire describes the majority of the California state legislature irrespective of party affiliation.

[@thomasdecarlo8543]

She is a true inspiration

[@1969kodiakbear]

Shane and the sheep. By the way, I have difficulty communicating because I had a stroke in Broca’s area, the part of the brain that controls speech. 2/8/2021 but I lived again. (My wife helped me compose this.)

[@beebo7071]

It’s a really nice life they’ve made for themselves. She definitely inspires me

[@gardenboots7464]

"Just go simple, and TRY, because there's a million ways to create a life." Well-said! And from a BEAUTIFUL heart! Thank you 💓✨️

[@jessicaoppegard6578]

This is epic! As a woman who is raising women I will definitely show them this video! That couple with their packs and flocks are amazing!!

[@alexhemingway6549]

Shannon is glory, personified. Beautifully done PBS crew

[@chiupipi]

Very inspiring that there are good souls out there caring about earth, land, micro-ecosystem. More importantly, it's not an industrial solution which often creates more problems than it can solve :).

[@mehere8038]

Wow, what a fantastic idea! Awesome way to bring rotational grazing into settings that would otherwise struggle to use it & with it to reduce herbicide & pesticide use, increase soil carbon, reduce climate change & produce food & clothing in the process. Brilliant!

[@norikadolmy7274]

Fantastic! Would love to see this kind of service offered for suburban lawns for people who want to grow natural vegetation

[@mehere8038]

great idea, but might not be financially viable at the prices people would be willing to pay for the services, but maybe someone could set up a system where they owned the sheep (to avoid issues with an owner living urban) & leased them out to a group of homeowners, who had a rotational roster for where the sheep lived each day. Person who owned the sheep could be responsible for all their care & organising the roster, but homeowners required to move the sheep between properties themselves. Would be even more awesome to do in houses with kids & to have the sheep even give birth while there & let the children all watch in a really controlled way & get to see & play with the baby lambs & even learn to knit with their very own sheep's wool :)

[@nahaniyes]

This would not be a nice life for the sheep.

[@nahaniyes]

​@@mehere8038 yes because an animal would just love to live that life, and especially to give birth in this scenarios. 🙄

[@mehere8038]

@@nahaniyes in a controlled way. A lot of livestock today are breed specifically to be fine with this sort of stuff, it's like the dairy cows that are breed to be bad mums & just walk away & leave their calf & not care about it in the slightest (in most cases, some do, but they are breed out). If managed properly it should be fine, shouldn't be any more stressful for the animal than giving birth while being watched by a bunch of howling wolves that want to eat the mother & baby while vulnerable! There's wild animals in my country that seek out human homes to have their babies in or around, because they feel safer around the humans, that they know will protect them from their predators. If wild animals will choose that, then I'm sure domesticated sheep can cope just fine!

[@mehere8038]

@Teressa Stuckey no, I'm realistic. Introducing children to animals in a way that they learn to love the animals & that the animals have been domesticated to be fine with for thousands of years is good for everyone concerned. It's the opposite of animal abuse! Goats to most city kids are something they have no connection to, have one become a sort of pet for them & suddenly we have a new generation of animal welfare warriors as they remember fondly their experiences with their pet goat, when they were a child. They also get to see mum & bub together & understand how that works too. Unlike the dairy cows, goats, particularly in that situation, will be breed to be good mums & protect & care for their babies

[@0HARE]

Thanks for an excellent episode. This fine young couple, their sheep, and their dogs give me a bit of hope for the future.

[@snoopaka]

What a fantastic series! Bravo

[@suzannef138]

This is just wonderful ❤️, Great program PBS! This woman is amazing, I'm just blown away 😊 what a wonderful human being & Great inspiration ❤️

[@barbaramccoy3592]

Thank you for the work you do and the hope you give.

[@phobosthemage260]

how inspiring and what smart people. California needs more strong smart people like you. I've lost too many friends to climate change in norther California. TY.

[@maryreynolds5310]

I appreciate you folks for what you do, for the much good you are doing for us all! I’m just trying to imagine what it would be like if we had many more people just like you working together to do just this everywhere needed to get this good green earth back in balance. Your right, this is a passion, one has to really have love for this gift we are given. How beautiful it would be 😊 Thank you a thousand times ❤ You will. E greatly rewarded one day…you are doing what the good lord intended. For those who hear the calling, don’t hold back, be courageous and go for it.

[@b_uppy]

It's important to note that overgrazing can degrade soils and watertables just as badly, but sheep are a great tool especially for managing weeds, etc. Overgrazing dries the soil and leaves it prone to flooding, drought, and fire. This needs to happen a lot more. We need a lot less 'conventional' ag.

[@katherinejones8022]

And little to NO monoculture ag!

[@b_uppy]

@@katherinejones8022 It's one thing if it's a small backyard patch with a few monocultured rows, but we can grow fruits, veggies, mushroom, nuts, meats, dairy, eggs etc, and feed livestock whIle avoiding monocropping, annual-based, water-intensive, synthetically chemically-managed, overgrazed, or CAFO agriculture. Love variations of Mark Shepard's restoration ag with trees, shrubs, livestock etc, grass roots rainwater harvesting as taught by Brad Lancaster, and mob grazing on rangeland, a la Allen Savory.

[@lorrie5881]

She recognized this in the video..that's why she rotates them out.

[@b_uppy]

@Lorrie Did I say she didn't?

[@RobertSaxy]

⁠@@b_uppyI must say your lack of acknowledging it made it seem like she didn’t, people don’t realize that communicating is more than just the words you use, what you leave out can be just as loud. You could have easily said something like “as she mentioned” then you go on and acknowledging three men while still not acknowledging her. I could see it being an honest didn’t come to mind to type of thing (we’ve all been there) or a bias like we all have so I don’t at all fault you for it (don’t think Lorrie was either). My apologies if this sounds like an attack, it’s not meant to be. Hopefully just constructive criticism

[@JoeTony1995]

A nomadic sheep farm? Fascinating and could do a lot to restore ecosystems if it can be brought to scale.

[@mehere8038]

I'm impressed with the scale & distance between grazing sites they're achieving actually. It's big enough to be profitable & really impact, could franchise it out & end up with huge scale in the process :)

[@JoeTony1995]

@@mehere8038 I hope this becomes the next frontier for the environmental movement. Sedentary farms have always had negative implications for the land

[@mehere8038]

​@@JoeTony1995 It's possible to do the same on large sedentary farms, they just have to divide the area into small areas & move the livestock daily & not allow them back into the grazed area until it's fully regrown. In large farms, they have the option to add "chicken tractors" to the mix too, so a few days after the sheep leave, a trailer of layer hens is moved in overnight, then in the morning, the door opened & the chickens come out & graze on the grasses, plus maggots in the manure & any other bugs, then at dusk, they put themselves back to bed in the trailer & it gets hooked up & moved to the next paddock in the sequence & so on all year. Problem is with farms of the size these people are grazing, they could only hold a handful of sheep if providing all their food for a year on that one farm, so moving them daily, setting up the fences etc, is just not economical for only a handful of sheep. Needs to be the scale of sheep seen here to make it viable, hence why they need more than 1 farm in their rotation. As an example, in Australia, in environmentally sensitive areas, the government regularly subsidises to get permanent fences in to operate this system. They converted 1 million hectares of farmland into this system in the Great Barrier Reef run off area. Lots of separate farms in that, but big enough for each one to be running many times more livestock than is happening in this operation that's covering lots of farms (around 200-500 cows each farm, cattle eating about 8 times what sheep do each, so 1 cow = 8 sheep). Government part paid for the fences & also water points in each of the new paddocks, farmers committed to operating a rotational system that eliminated run off in return for it & not only did it work, but farmers were able to increase stocking densities 2-4 times their original capacity, cause of how much more grass grows & how much more nutritious it is when livestock are eating the equivalent of fully grown wheat instead of wheat grass, as happens with stagnant grazing, so farmer made huge profits out of it & self funded purchases of additional farmland, that they then converted to the rotational grazing system themselves with their profits, while run off onto the Barrier Reef from livestock operations has been completely eliminated! All that fertiliser that was destroying the reef is now growing more grass & repairing previously eroding patches of land. Sedentary farms are fine when managed right, stopping sedentary grazing & moving to a dynamic rotational grazing system, but the farms these sheep are grazing are just too small to do it right & profitably with grazing, so this is an incredible service they're offering! Really changes the playing field for those farmers that own the grape vine land

[@Phantom-kz9bv]

Can you talk about how good trains are for the environment and how California is trying to improve their state transportation infrastructure.

[@kw9158]

I love this series so much. PBS Terra is out here making phenomenal docs, and I'm enjoying all of them. Keep up the great work!

[@ravensdotter6843]

Brilliant!!!

[@katherinejones8022]

My grandad said you can do what needs to be done for a sheep. Good for you! I loved my woolies for 18 years. I miss them. I had a very small flock: 6 or 7 ewes & 1 ram. 🥰🐑🐏 One particularly hard day, I yelled to the sky, “Grandad, send me a sign I should stay in this business!” I found a rusty shepherd’s crook sans wooden handle poking up in the pasture. He had hundreds of sheep when I was very young. Go figure! That was 35 years ago.

[@secondhandrose6214]

This is absolutely GENIUS !!!

[@pennycoyote3855]

🎉😊❤... Inspirational. Educational. Enjoyable. Achieve able. ..a paradigm shift of consciousness 😊 PBS, please 🙏 give us more.

[@MBMCincy63]

Wonderful example of returning to mutual survival of species. Great video. (Shivering 🖤🔔👍🏻)

[@kevingundcusack]

Such an amazing path you guys are on. Inspiring business idea and lifestyle

[@beast_boy97]

More of this please!

[@pam2719]

You’re a modern day hero…thank you!!!

[@StarGapFarm]

Traveling shepards. I have Goats and shepatd them everyday, no fence. They made it through an entire year without eating any hay bails. Keep up the good work y'all!

[@Davlavi]

Nice to see people working at making things better.

[@kelsey809]

Pretty cool! 😊👍🏼

[@tccragun]

‘Women of the Earth’ are truly the daughters of Mother Nature !

[@Jaecinth]

Very nice, and uplifting thank you.

[@pktdbgnzwl]

History teaches us that low intensity ground fire is the best fire prevention tool, but waddabout when fire can't be used ? Bring in the Sheep !

[@mellissadalby1402]

Wow, what you are doing is really cool!

[@douglasvanderlip5774]

very good , a couple in Norfolk county ON. Have been doing the same thing on the blue line road. Love watching the sheep and guard dogs. Keep up the good work

[@beverleybarnes5656]

Well done, Shannon. 👍

[@madaddies]

Came here from a video on climate anxiety. I seriously need more positivity like this.

[@georgiannacook8874]

J have been a proponent of this practice for a long time. Kudos to you.

[@zarinaromanets7290]

This is brilliant, what a cool look at a lifestyle that doesn't involve an office and does something good besides! Does anyone know where I can get my hands on the musical score behind the video? Really loved the acoustic mix. ❤

[@dfabbot3456]

Love it... Best to you on your endeavor. A million wats to create a life . Love it

[@drain_001]

Man she's cool as hell. Rock on shepardess!

[@KOKO-uu7yd]

I L😍VE THIS WOMAN❣❣❣❣

[@pliktl]

ditto, she is pretty rad ❤

[@starmaker75]

Since us humans change the environment for the worse , it up to humans to protect and restore it.

[@crazyredwood1488]

This is really fascinating. Great stuff.

[@808bAler]

Great segment!

[@DaBrainFarts]

So many puppies!

[@jamesonpace726]

Excellent...!

[@phobosthemage260]

Thank you for the great content!

[@Sebastian-ke1fe]

hey! those are my guitar chords in 0:01

[@MsBlondable]

Love love LOVE!!! SO INSPIRING!!!!

[@Frenchylikeshikes]

Farmers are the key to a better planet. They are currently so involved in protecting the landscape, its nutrients, and so many of them are now trying to farm in a gree, responsible manner.

[@mehere8038]

Individuals/families yes, corporations not so much. We need to bring back REAL farmers! Put green dollars into supporting farmers green projects rather than taking away from farmers so the farms end up in the hands of corporates that don't care

[@beadingbusily]

​@@mehere8038 Very important distinction!

[@qwertyuiopgarth]

Rebuilding a 'native' ecology with a non-native animal! We use the tools that are available. (I wonder if the sheep tend to preferentially eat the non-native annuals...)

[@MPWorLDTech]

just awesome

[@pliktl]

This was beautiful. Filled my heart with hope. That is rare

[@DougGrinbergs]

3:33 disadvantages of a monoculture planting 8:53 native perennial grasses develop deep root systems, help contain and retain moisture and minerals 9:57 sheep help reduce unwanted annual grasses, giving perennials room to thrive

[@windlessoriginals1150]

Thank you

[@NancyHomor-fh9mu]

So amazing thank you helping improve environment 🎉😂

[@dariobigongiari875]

What you're doing is amazing the only thing missing from this video is how can people from other walks of life support people like you?

[@megamanx466]

Counting those sheep get in that truck trailer must be tiring! 😏

[@zwenkwiel816]

as a shepherd I can tell you that joke (or some variant) is literally the most heard comment when we're out and about...

[@lilliansgut]

Please make more of these shorts, please.

[@LilithCrimson]

Crazy to see that place in Sonoma County mentioned, as I used to live near there.

[@kenlynnr-c1588]

Beautiful

[@stevenelson9420]

Well explained, looks like you have wool and hair sheep. We have hair sheep and every day is a learning experience.

[@debscamera2572]

Regenerative Agriculture - WTG Shepherdess

[@BananaPantsChannel]

This makes me so home sick for my Northern California (and my sometimes dream to quit corporate life and do more for the earth)

[@Pandawill123]

Is it the same as this applies to the camels with the sand storm? Galumphing with the animals Underneath the ground the fungi system is waking up Busy guarding the bacterias And partnering with the greens to come out to view the sun With plenty of solar energy Their roots drill down and firm Holding the soils in places From the above it’s just a perfect sight Whole land grants our healthy souls

[@tonysirawid]

Can I volunteer to help you for a month? Looks like a hard job but looks like my dream job.

[@rotten_sphinx]

How can he count them without falling asleep!?

[@krobbins8395]

Thanks for being a good Shepard of the land. There was a story on National Geographic about restoring grasses in a wasteland called Selah in Texas years ago. Yesterday I was watching and solar and agriculture mixed use so maybe tech and nature can work together to create better lives.

[@hyperverbal]

W00t!

[@ninjabreadman09]

Would bison have performed similar functions as the sheep when they were more numerous?

[@mr.mrs.d.7015]

❤

[@j.103]

Best way to prevent fires…get rid of the fuel that drives it…that’s why homes are supposed to clean up the plants well around your home.

[@vivalaleta]

Mob grazing technique??

[@meander112]

Engagement for the engagement god!

[@COEXIST-ny4db]

Maybe a stupid question..... But I'm wondering if they've thought about growing hemp to help restore their lands as well?? It be a really great duo!! These sisters are doing absolutely AMAZING things using hemp crops to bring land back to its beginnings!!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHLTl2x-eLh3qck

[@usernamesrtoostupid]

Idk. I don't think introducing non-native species is usually good for ecosystems. Those native plants rely on natural wildfires, not sheep. Idk.

[@timfoinc.6879]

Female Farmers will make and bring the results up. Because soils are very much alike as taking care of females skin care routines.

[@SadullahDemirkaya]

👋🏻👋🏻🤠 🐑 🇹🇷

[@santoast24]

Sure Sheep are great, but have you tried Garlic Bread?

[@zwenkwiel816]

I tried but the Garlic bread didn't want to eat the grass....

[@laurier3348]

We need more wolves to make sheep grazing great again.

[@guineapigfarmer6064]

Shepherd is a Gender neutral term for a person that Herds Sheep. In the same way that a Trucker is someone that drives trucks.

[@zwenkwiel816]

truckster, trucktress? XD

[@nahaniyes]

So basically the earth needs to flick humans off and replace us with sheep (the LITERAL kind).

[@tanjiasiang]

Wait, isn't that animal farming reportedly produces more green house gases, and shepherding on a monoculture farming is like cosmetic rejection of plastic wastes?

[@eric2500]

Who's a good wooly girl? Ewe are!

[@JonathanSmith-ov9yn]

I didn't know Shepherd was a gendered term. I thought a woman Shepherd was just a Shepherd. Ya' learn something everyday...

[@thesilentone4024]

Anyone noticed that here sheep don't want to be next to her. Makes you wonder why don't it. Also she has no dam trees for shade for those sheep just like a cow farmer no God dam shade for the animal.

[@zwenkwiel816]

sheep are prey animals, they're naturally skittish. you have to actively tame them to be comfortable real close to people also she's wearing a thick sweater and a scarf it's probably cold as fuck out there, sheep are fine without shade unless it gets real hot in summer (sheep aren't sheered yet so it's not filmed during summer) sheep are fine you have no idea what you're talking about... source: I am a shepherd.