Postbaccalaureate graduate! I did it.

I graduated from University of Washington with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Resource Management! It was sort of surreal to graduate with another bachelor’s degree eleven (!!!!) years after the first one. Who would have thought this is where my life would lead me?!

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend getting a second bachelor’s degree (post-bacc) but for me, it worked. I took that time to learn the basics, get into the weeds on subjects I literally knew nothing about beforehand and ultimately it helped me decide what it was I wanted to focus on within ecology. I learned about forest and agricultural soils, fire ecology, forestry management, genetics and molecular ecology, wildlife research techniques, climate change impacts, indigenous stewardship and leadership, and watershed and river ecology. I learned about birds, insects, plants, trees, fungi, math, statistics, and chemistry. This experience fully awakened me to the natural world and the countless relationships and reciprocities at work every second on the land, within the forest and within our watersheds and oceans. It gave me perspective on how humans fit into it all. It gave me perspective on the harms we have caused this earth and each other.

Choosing to go back to school was intimidating. There were many moments when I felt completely out of my depths and like I didn’t belong. But, it will always be worth taking a chance on / investing in yourself. For me, that was changing careers so that I could engage more fully with that things that gave me a sense of wonder, or as Roland Barthes would say, ‘pricked’ me (punctum). He was of course referring to details in photographs that are visceral and leave an immediate impact, like a sting, but I think it applies here too. It is how I feel when I find mushrooms in the forest. They feel like gifts. Treasures. I’ll always be chasing that feeling and the sense of discovery that comes with it.

I’m very much looking forward to starting my PhD in the fall at Syracuse University. I’m excited to dive into my research topic and build community there.

East coast, here I come! Onward and upward!

Informal scientific photographic journal? Yeah, let's go with that.

Howdy friends, welcome. I started a blog.. what is it 2006?!

I suppose I should introduce myself in case any people besides my mother stumbles upon this page. I grew up in Phoenix but now live in Seattle. I’m a photographer and am in process of getting my second bachelors in environmental science. From there, more school… there is no end in sight on that front! More on that soon.

As I fumble through how an artist becomes a working scientist I want to share what I learn along the way by keeping an informal scientific photographic journal of sorts.

Gunnera manicata (also called giant rhubarb, or dinosaur food) covered for winter. It is sensitive to freezing temperatures so covering it in it’s own leaves keeps it insulated before spring. It looks fully gnarly and gorgeous.

Gunnera manicata (also called giant rhubarb, or dinosaur food) covered for winter. It is sensitive to freezing temperatures so covering it in it’s own leaves keeps it insulated before spring. It looks fully gnarly and gorgeous.

My oldest sister Chere, who we all called Sissy, used to say ‘What’d you learrrrrn?’ and it always made me laugh. It was normally after someone did something stupid. I thought that was appropriate to use here as a sort of catch all.

Thanks for coming along for whatever this becomes. There is no real plan other than to get it down, so to speak. Cheers!