The RegenNarration Podcast
The RegenNarration podcast features the stories of a generation that is changing the story, enabling the regeneration of life on this planet. It’s ad-free, freely available and entirely listener-supported. You'll hear from high profile and grass-roots leaders from around Australia and the world, on how they're changing the stories we live by, and the systems we create in their mold. Along with often very personal tales of how they themselves are changing, in the places they call home. With award-winning host, Anthony James.
The RegenNarration Podcast
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Unwitting Gift to the Osage: ‘They’re growing pineapples in Oklahoma’
In last week’s episode with Dr Jann Hayman, winding up our series from the Osage Nation, I mentioned we’d just been on a tour of their astounding Greenhouse. The woman who kindly gave us that tour, Dawn Wormington, had been recruited for the job by the Osage. And in this brief bonus to the Osage series, we hear from Dawn about the unexpected, unintended gift that keeps on giving, out of the filming of Killers of the Flower Moon.
If you happen to have come to the Osage series here first, you can hear my brief scene-setting introductory episode to the series with filmmaker Nicol Ragland here, my conversation with Chief Standing Bear here, and subsequent conversation with Dr Jann Hayman here (recommended in sequence).
I’ll share more photos of our visit, in addition to those appearing on the website, with paid subscribers this week.
Recorded 4 April 2025.
Title slide: AJ & Dawn astride the pineapples in the greenhouse (pic: Nicol Ragland).
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Music:
Music by Jeremiah Johnson.
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All right Dawn. Tell us the story about the pineapple we're standing in front of.
Dawn:Okay. So back when they did the movie we had the chefs from California. They kept their food here in our cooler and our freezer and one day they were going out whacking the tops off of pineapples to go feed the people and our horticulturist asked if he could grow them and I said absolutely not, because it takes about three to four years. Well, in a greenhouse it only takes about a year. He made us famous. The news came out. Everybody was here. They're growing pineapples in Oklahoma. So our first round we were getting two and three babies. After you harvest your pineapple, that's all. You get one pineapple and then the plant produces starter plants for you. Last year we got two to three starter plants and this year they're shooting off 16 starter plants.
Dawn:So we won't be able to keep all those. I mean, we don't have that kind of room here. We are 40,000 square foot.
AJ:We can export to California.
Dawn:Yes, we have other things to grow, so we'll be donating those and seeing if anybody wants to try growing them at home.
AJ:Far out. So let me get this straight. So Leonardo starring for this film.
Dawn:Yes.
AJ:They've got this full high-level kitchen operating and they imported these pineapples from California en masse, yes, and out of that sprung the opportunity. Was it you that you?
Dawn:said no, it was a horticulturist.
AJ:His name was Cody Vavra he used to work for us and he said hey, yeah. I could use those he did.
Dawn:And he made us famous. He sure did.
AJ:That is outstanding, and Nicole asked before whether Leonardo knows this. But we suspect not. I suspect not. I suspect he'd enjoy it, because now I'm looking at a full row. Because now I'm looking at a full row, there we go. We're looking at the line Pineapples everywhere. It's extraordinary. But while we're on it, dawn, it's worth saying the greenhouse is amazing. How long has this been here?
Dawn:So this was built in 2020 when the pandemic hit and we were planting in 21. It was COVID money.
AJ:Good, it was great, yeah, amazing. And that's when you came across, then we were planting in 21. It was COVID money, good, good, covid money. It was great, yeah, amazing.
Dawn:And that's when you came across then, being able to take care of the people if anything happens again.
AJ:That's what it's for Exactly, and you came across for this, or you were here already.
Dawn:They came to get me.
AJ:Brilliant Thanks, dawn.
Dawn:Thank you, it's great to meet you and thanks for showing me around. Oh you got around, oh okay. Well, if you get a chance while you're over there, you go through the double doors. You'll see the lettuce growing in aquaponics.
AJ:Oh cool.
Dawn:Aquaponics is fish water.
AJ:Outstanding, so the aquaponics works well.
Dawn:Yes, yeah, we still have a lot of issues because we kind of were thrown into all that. All that stuff was purchased with the COVID money before any of us were hired and nobody knew what they were doing. But they had plans. They had great plans on what they wanted to do. So it's a great start. It just you know we're in four years. It's going to take some time to make sure everything's running properly the way it should. We still have a lot of aquaponics to set up. We still have half of those beds to set up. Right now we're just working with the two and five hundred head of fish.
AJ:Yeah, there you go, cool, Thank you.
