Collecting Plants

I have a profile out today in Smith College’s Insight magazine, on Smith College Lyman Conservatory manager Rob Nicholson. It describes his adventures in plant-collecting expeditions around the globe: An Aztec curse seemed like a minor obstacle as Rob Nicholson, manager for the Lyman Conservatory of the Botanic Garden of Smith College, climbed a monkey-hand …

Hope

Alison Hawthorne Deming, a poet and essayist who focuses on issues of science and the environment, visited Smith this week to speak from her work. She had some wonderful comments during a Q&A on her writing. I always ask environmental writers how they maintain hope in the face of the immense challenges we face: species …

Winter Notebook

There’s something special about seeking out nature in the unforgiving seasons. In memory of winter, now that spring has at last stolen over the landscape, I thought I’d share this nature notebook entry from the last days of December. The mosses were bright green in the brief melt, taking advantage of warming. Among them I …