From Meghan Duffy:Today’s post is a guest post by Sue Baker, a Research Fellow at the University of Tasmania. Here’s the post: In this post I will share my experience of being an ecologist while also being chronically ill. I was inspired by Meghan’s posts sharing her experiences of battling anxiety. I think chronic illness…
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The coronavirus challenge –> Lifestyle adaptations… plus an existential encounter scenario
by Alexis Heinz, former EEB woody plants GSI, conservation ecology and landscape architecture graduate The coronavirus challenge has certainly altered the typical daily routine of many Americans. Because the issue is one of public health, enhancing immunity seems like the most pertinent topic to cover. Exercise. Regular exercise is paramount to survival in…
Hope in the time of COVID-19
Seeing this little friend bloom as my first flower of spring did a lot of good. by Kaitie Janecke Soltesz, Environmental Educator at Blandford Nature Center, University of Michigan and EEB alumna (BS 2015) When the shelter-in-place order came out, I decided to avoid the endless scroll of news, to pass on searching for every…
News and notes from your librarian: Strange Days edition
Scott and his mammoth. Mammoth says “We got this.” by Scott Martin, Biological Sciences Librarian, University of Michigan Library Hey all! When the call went out on Twitter for submissions to the blog, I figured I’d better get in line early. Nobody wants to be the follow-up act to Sharon the shark, right? Like many…
Some advice for PhD students and their mentors in the time of coronavirus
From Dynamic Ecology by Meghan Duffy, a University of Michigan ecologist and professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Dana Turjeman, Ph.D. student for Quantitative Marketing U-M Ross School of Business This blog post started as an email conversation between Dana Turjeman and Meghan Duffy. Dana turned her initial outline into a…
What’s in a word: Preservation, restoration, conservation
by Alexis Heinz, former EEB woody plants GSI, conservation ecology and landscape architecture graduate As a landscape architecture student at the University of Michigan, I was enthused that the department was in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment (now the School for Environment and Sustainability). In response to political events and environmental…
Productivity, planning, and self-care: work-life balance requires planning ahead
From Dynamic Ecology by Meghan Duffy, a University of Michigan ecologist and professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology As I’ve done work related to Michigan’s Grad Student Mental Health task force, and done my own “regular” work this semester, I’ve realized that discussions related to self-care and work/life balance often focus on…
Graduate student mental health at Michigan: some key factors & potential things to address
From Dynamic Ecology by Meghan Duffy, a University of Michigan ecologist and professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology As I’ve written about before, I am chairing a task force for Michigan’s Rackham Graduate School that is focused on graduate student mental health. We started our work last summer, and have spent the…
On reaching one’s destination and realizing it’s a starting point
From Dynamic Ecology by Meghan Duffy, a University of Michigan ecologist and professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Last summer, I gave a talk at the Evolution meetings in a session focused on science communication. My main message was: there’s value in preaching to the choir. But, as I’ll explain in this…
Name those southeast Michigan ecological locations
by Alexis Heinz, former EEB woody plants GSI, conservation ecology and landscape architecture graduate Copyright 2020 by Alexis Heinz. For questions or permissions contact akheinz@umich.edu
Three fish, two fish, free fish, you fish
by Alexis Heinz, former EEB woody plants GSI, conservation ecology and landscape architecture graduate Landscape ecology teaches concepts titled connectivity, landscape pattern, and adjacency. Essentially, ecology functions across landscapes, connecting habitats through various processes such as species migration, seed dispersal, and surface water flow. Conservationists and ecologists employ multiple techniques to enhance these processes…
What to focus on in winter
by Alexis Heinz, former EEB woody plants GSI, conservation ecology and landscape architecture graduate While the weather may seem challenging in winter, appropriate clothing facilitates landform, plant, and bird identification fun. Ann Arbor natural area in winter Without leaves on the trees, from a landscape perspective, glacial landforms are clearly visible. Zooming…
An environmental cycle of behavior, values, and infrastructure
by Alexis Heinz, former EEB woody plants GSI, conservation ecology and landscape architecture graduate Reading the landscape produces inferences abut culture, both individual and societal. Our current ecological situation stems from our treatment of the landscape, which often results from our environmental values. Previously known as pro-environmental behavior in the literature, environmentally responsible behavior refers…
Change infrastructure to encourage pro-environmental behavior
by Alexis Heinz, former EEB woody plants GSI, conservation ecology and landscape architecture graduate Stewarding of natural areas is a common practice within ecological circles as evidenced with the amount of volunteer group activities. The concept is seemingly less common throughout the American public. Individuals attending a conservation activity Encouraging conservation values is complex. According…
Exploring energy, design, and construction
by Alexis Heinz, former EEB GSI, conservation ecology and landscape architecture graduate Having graduated from the School for Environment and Sustainability, I have an awareness of energy costs. In addition to familiarity with the Sustainable Systems track at Michigan, previously at Cornell, I participated in the High Performance Building Committee plus I organized the Sustainable…