White Tern and me, Midway Atoll, 2015, photo by Angela Hanson
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ABOUTMy passion is connecting people to nature. This is vitally important because everything we need to survive comes from this living planet. Furthermore, the planet belongs to everyone so it is essential that caring for our planet is radically inclusive. What most excites me is when experiencing nature gets us talking to each other.
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CONSERVATION & CITIESI’m interested in how people connect with the natural world, and how those connections change when we live in cities. Humans have always altered our environments, changing the variety of plants, wildlife, and landscapes available for us to experience. Such changes can be extreme within cities. Living in cities can shift our sense of what is natural. All the while, our city lives shape the fates of distant places where we grow food, extract and transport resources, and dispose of trash. Those far away places can seem invisible to use because we do not directly experience them.
When we have limited experience of wild places and the changes taking place there, it negatively impacts our environmental literacy and environmental ethos. This, in turn, hampers our ability to create cultures of sustainability. This is why I work in conservation biology, an area of science that helps us protect species, habitats, and ecosystems. I approach conservation from many angles, having also worked in art, museums, and community participation. |
Arid biome exhibit, College of Biological Sciences Conservatory
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Masked Booby, Midway Atoll lagoon, 2015
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FOCUS ON BIRDSI have worked on several projects to study and protect birds. I particularly enjoy how birds surprise us, providing spontaneous opportunities to observe animals interacting with their environment. Even within large cities, some bird species are abundant. Moreover, birds are relatively easy to observe birds because they fly, sing, and are frequently active during daytime.
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BIRD DIVERSITYBird life is diverse. Depending on where we live, there will be a different community of bird species available for us to notice. Within core urban environments, a handful of common species tend to dominate the bird community. For example House Sparrows, Rock Pigeons, European Starlings, American Robins, and Canada Geese. This reduced diversity (or species richness) is one theme in my research.
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Canada Goose study, Chicago, Illinois, November 2014
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Albatross colony, Midway Atoll, 2015
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SENSE OF PLACERegardless of which animals and plants make a living in our environment, observing nature engages our senses. Such attention to nature leads us to thoughtful endeavors, such as science, art, and reflecting on our place in the world. Noticing nature is important for our sense of place. In turn, nature's flourishing contributes to our sense of pride in where we live.
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CREATIVE PRACTICEIn addition to being a scientist and museum worker, I am also an artist. My artwork explores themes from biology, often borrowing visual patterns from nature. I also make art in response to human activities that disrupt natural systems. For example, how will climate change affect trees in our neighborhoods? Or, how does plastic waste in our environment change over time? And how does plastic waste get from one place to another? I am represented by Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis, where you can see my paintings, prints and drawings.
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"Shape System 2" (detail) gouache painting, 2013
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