about
Wandering Nature is a travelogue and podcast about nature, culture, science, and sustainability. And now grad school. All photos, audio, and writing is my own original content unless noted otherwise. Feel free to share anything if you credit me.
This blog started out as my project for the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, which provides funding to recent college graduates to pursue a year of independent, non-academic study abroad. Nowadays, since I’m in grad school, I don’t have as much time to go out and get original materials, but there’s still a big backlog of stuff from the Watson, and then there’s grad school stuff. So don’t go away, I’ll post things every now and then.
about me
I am currently in my first year of the PhD program at Michigan State University. I’m working in Dr. Doug Schemske’s awesome lab. I’ll probably study something to do with floral adaptation and pollination.
I graduated from Rice University in 2010 with a BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. When I was not doing lab- and field-based ecology research in the Rudgers-Whitney Lab, I was directing a radio news program at KTRU, Rice’s student-run radio station. Other relevant facts: I love to bake giant white-chocolate chip cookies, I’m addicted to Barry’s Irish Breakfast Tea, I collect antique portraits, and my favorite insects are the syrphid flies.
contact
Send questions, comments, concerns, and clarifications to wandering dot contact at gmail dot com
acknowledgements
A huge thank you to the Thomas J. Watson Foundation for believing in me and my project. To Pedro: you’re a genius; thanks for creating this beautiful website. Besos to my family and friends for support and for being so good at staying in touch. To my many mentors and advisors at Rice, especially Jenn Rudgers, Ken Whitney, and Kellie Butler: I am here because of all your help and advice, so thank you.
Bernabé Leal, Tatiana Salas, and the rest of their family made the Parque Nacional Chiloé truly feel like home. Thank you.
To the family of Alfonso and Sonia in Chepu, Chiloé, Chile: thank you for adopting me into your family. Your hospitality is unbelievably awesome.
To Chris and Teresa and all my wonderful friends at Parque Etnobotánico Omaere and in Puyo, Ecuador: I can’t thank you enough for how wonderful and welcoming you guys were. Thank you, Mami Tati, for welcoming me into your home.
To the folks at the Yanayacu Biological Station in Ecuador: thanks for putting up with the worst volunteer ever; my contribution to fieldwork consisted mostly of asking questions and waving around a microphone.
Thanks also to Mr. René van Peer, who helped me pick the name of the program.
