Environmental Studies

Aldo Leopold Nature Center, Breaking News, Diversity, Environmental Protection, Environmental Studies, Madison, Nelson Institute, Wisconsin / 02.09.2019

As a journalist I believe my primary function is community engagement. It has been my intention from the beginning of my career to encourage and inspire those within my sphere of influence to become thoroughly engaged in both outdoor recreation and environmental conservation. That’s why I’m pleased to announce that I have accepted a position at the University of Wisconsin, Madison Nelson Institute For Environmental Studies as Community Partners Liaison. This title and a small salary are meant to formalize my place on the UW Madison Campus. Though I...

Environmental Studies, Essays, Short Story / 06.07.2018

Most mornings I started my run about an hour before the ferry arrived from the mainland. The game wardens and lab technicians undoubtedly thought I was a bit odd. Who in his right mind would run in the jungle heat for exercise? Of all the professors, grad students, and undergraduates like me conducting research on Barro Colorado Island I was the only runner. To the Panamanians I was simply “El Negro Gringo Loco”. I arrived in Panama a few weeks earlier. I quickly came to appreciate the Latin propensity...

Commentary, Diversity, Environmental Protection, Environmental Studies, Nelson Institute, Public Land / 08.05.2017

When it comes to discussing complex social issues it’s hard to know where to start. This summer I'm scheduled to teach a course on diversity and inclusion in outdoor recreation called Outdoors For All at the University of Wisconsin Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies. As a linear thinker my first inclination was to begin the class with an  in-depth exploration of the cultural circumstances that got us where we are today, a nation tragically divided alone racial and socio-economic lines. For a variety of different reasons there are...

Breaking News, Diversity, Environmental Studies, National Forests, National Parks, Nelson Institute / 17.04.2017

[caption id="attachment_2064253" align="aligncenter" width="602"] Photo by Marissa Hyland[/caption] [dropcap]T[/dropcap]here is a moment in the life of an idea when it becomes a reality. For a few years now I’ve been thinking about teaching a university class on diversity and inclusion in the world of outdoor recreation and environmental conservation. Having written a book on the topic, along with more than a few magazine and newspaper articles, I’m considered something of an expert. Despite having no formal training as a professor more than a decade of research and reporting has given...