Program 695a: Belgium Pride; Favorite Gardens; Arctic Trails

A native-born Belgian shares what delights him most about his small, but justifiably proud country. Then an expert in public green spaces recommends some of her favorite gardens around the world — plus the most enticing ones she's yet to visit. And a writer who was raised way off the grid in northwest Alaska alerts us to the increasing threats to the people and wildlife of the Alaskan Arctic.

• Belgian tour guide Ferdi Menghi
• Catie Marron, author of "Becoming a Gardener" (HarperCollins)
• Seth Kantner, author of "A Thousand Trails Home: Living with Caribou" (Mountaineers Books)

• The Rick Steves online guide to Belgium.
• Catie Marron wrote "Becoming a Gardener" to document how working a garden is a way to celebrate life.
• The Garden of Ninfa is a bit south of Rome, open by appointment on weekends from April to November, and is one of Catie's favorites anywhere.
• Catie has lamented on Travel with Rick Steves program #482a that squares and plazas are not as prominent in American cities as they are in Europe. She also spoke with Rick on program #525 about her role as former chair of Friends of the High Line, the organization that oversees the elevated railroad line that was converted into an above-ground park and walkway in Manhattan.
• The latest book by Alaska author Seth Kantner is called "A Thousand Trails Home." It explores the intertwined lives of the Iñupiat people of northwest Alaska, the Western Arctic caribou herd, and the risks to the Arctic's habitat and culture.
• Seth links to articles he's written and talks he's given about Arctic Alaska on his website.