Have you ever taken a stroll in the woods, along a beach, or in a park and spotted a new animal and wondered what the curious critter was and why it was there? I do that all the time, especially when I notice often overlooked (literally) itty bitty insects. Lucky for me, I get to …
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Fog Fellows Investigate Potential Monitoring Sites at Cabrillo National Monument
Hi there! My name is Brent Wilder and I’m a PhD student in the Department of Geosciences at Boise State University where I focus on quantifying changes to seasonal snowpack due to anthropogenic global warming and disturbances such as severe, high elevation wildfires in forested ecosystems. In my research, I use a combination of airborne/helicopter …
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Lizards in Paradise
It’s been over a month since I moved to beautiful St. Croix, USVI and I’ve had a great time diving into data and fieldwork! I am currently a PhD student at Texas A&M University where I study Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, though I primarily identify as a herpetologist (someone who researches reptiles and amphibians). For …
Storytelling in Science
Now that my time in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has come to an end, I’ve reflected quite a bit on my experience and the importance of education at parks. The National Parks provide such unique opportunity for scientists to share their work with local communities, specifically young kids. I think what’s even more important is …
Twice the Parks, Twice the fun!
Rising from the ashes Rising from the ashes – sorry to be cliché, but it is quite literally true in my case. The Dixie Fire was extremely disruptive to my project and my plans for this summer overall. It was not at all what I was expecting, but I suppose it is hard to “expect” …
The Importance of Being Interdisciplinary
One of my favorite parts of my Scientists in Parks Fellowship was getting the chance to actually work in a practical setting on truly interdisciplinary projects. Unlike many of my fellow cohort members (who did extremely impressive work in their parks), I was not working on one project, one organism, or even in one ecosystem. …
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From a head in the weeds to an eye on the conservation horizon
When we finally reached our campsite in Alaska Basin the sun had nearly dipped below the horizon, casting a blaze orange hue across the befittingly named Sunset Lake. As I sat on a rock outcropping overlooking the mirror-like water, I felt an intense flood of emotions- the bittersweet of a finished field season, the astonishment …
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Expect the Unexpected
The Fun of Field Work I always tell people, field work never goes the way you want it to. There are always little hiccups and bumps along the way. It’s all part of the process. Science is messy. To be fair, this was a pilot project and we were still working out the kinks of …
Conservation success stories
As my SIP internship has come to an end, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on what made this experience so exciting and memorable. Something I keep coming back to is how much my time at the C&O Canal National Historical Park has motivated me. I feel more inspired than ever to keep working …
Wildfires, Communities, and Youth Education
One of my favorite experiences from my fellowship this summer was when I got the opportunity to actually conduct one of my lesson plans with some Youth Rangers. After doing a bit of research on local climate change impacts, I learned that one of the most substantial impacts on the island is the increasing risk …
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