Field Notes for an Undergraduate of Ecology

I just finished reading Field Notes on Science and Nature edited by Michael R. Canfield. It is a wonderful compilation of articles written by various authors about field journaling. The field journal refers to the notebook used to record observations and research data. Traditionally, field journals were used by the great explores and naturalists of the world to record their findings and later make discoveries such as the theory of evolution by natural selection. More recently, ecology has begun to focus much more on the experimental approach, straying away from pure observation. The modern field journal has become the data sheet or Excel file. Reading this book was a great awakening to the need of returning to the dedicated use of a field journal.

But most of the book's authors were professionals--professors, researchers, consultants, etc. Although some of the authors used stories from their graduate school experiences, few if any mentioned journaling during their undergraduate tenure. I started thinking about this and realized: How can I benefit from the values of field journaling as a student in my life as an undergraduate? Now a graduate student, I can see the applicability of field journaling given the inherent nature of my thesis. But as an undergraduate, or even a high school student, how could have I benefited from journals? The following is a journal system that I suggest for the aspiring undergraduate ecologist. It consists of two formal journals and one "field" notebook.

The Notebook

• Use a small "field" notebook for your rough class notes. Ideally something handy and durable that you can access easily. Liken this notebook to your short term memory. It only has to be neat enough to help you transcribe and expand on your entries in the following journals. It would probably be a good habit to do this transcribing at the end of each day. The exact contents of this notebook will be more evident as you continue reading below, but essentially anything is fair game in this notebook.

Course Journal (the What)

• Use your Course Journal to transcribe your notes clearly, so that you can easily refer back to them, and in a way that makes rereading the material enjoyable. Use color, use mindmaps, use drawings, do whatever it takes. You can do external research for this section to fill in elements you didn't understand or missed in class. You can also use this journal to directly summarize your understanding of papers/articles you read for class assigments. This journal is both a way to reinforce what you've learned and a way to generate your own "textbook"--one written in your own words. This is a place where you can create your own field guides to help with your pursuit of natural history. While taking an ornithology class, for example, you might use field guides to generate a list of the common birds of your region.

Reflection Journal (the How and Why)

• The Reflection Journal is where you keep track of your educational experience. What are you learning? What do you understand? What don't you understand or is giving you a hard time? What do you want to pursue next? Having kept a journal similar to this, I was pleasantly surprised to find how useful it was. It helped me come to terms with and understand what I actually want to pursue in the natural sciences, as well as the best learning avenues to take. This journal is a way to reflect on yourself, giving a space to reevaluate where you are going with your education. It is a useful place to track your progress as you learn a new subject--very encouraging when the subject seems really hard. You can also journal the connections between what you are learning and your actual natural history observations. There is nothing that helps me learn more than being able to connect what I am learning directly to what I see in the natural world. Doing this helps me remember (with great satisfaction) why I am doing ecology in the first place. Although as your knowledge of natural history grows you will likely delve into journals dedicated strictly to objective observations of natural history, this reflection journal will still be a great place to bring together your understanding of the literature and your observations.

The Course and Reflection journals are similar to the two questions I describe in my article on the "Ultimate Human Ecology". The Course journal describes the What--what are you learning? The Relfection journal describes the How and Why--How are you learning, and why are you doing it? Coming to terms with the "why" has been one of the most important aspects of my undergraduate education. As soon as I knew the "why" I had something to shoot for and a solid foundation from which to push myself, helping me stay motivated when things weren't always so fun. The bottom line is that the this student journal system is designed with the intention to help you learn.

Of course, it would probably entail some extra work to sustain this journaling system, but perhaps it will pay off in the long term by helping you get more out of classes that interest you, and not having to study as much before exams. Perhaps a good compromise is to use this journal system on only the most applicable classes--the ones you are willing to put the extra effort in to get the most out of. And, of course the system is only a suggestion. I never in the past put this wholy into practice, but perhaps elements of it will inspire you. Take whatever you may from it, and remember to have fun.

So now, as a begining graduate student in plant ecology I hope to implement some of this journaling into my own daily routine. Getting into a routine is hard until you do it and then it's, well, just a routine. It also helps to have a friend you can commit with, supporting and encouraging each other to keep going. Good luck journaling!

Please feel free to comment on your experiences/ideas related to journaling as an undergraduate. I'd enjoy expanding this discussion with others.

Curiosity For Curiosity’s Sake…

I have long been curious to learn. My greatest passion is in trying to figure things out. Simply put, I love solving puzzles. Not so much crossword and jigsaw puzzles, although they provide a good analogy. One approach to learning is to understand the pieces so that you can understand the whole. The question is, is my passion for learning good for its own sake? Or is the value of learning only evident in the way that the knowledge is used? Did curiosity really kill the cat? Is there more to it?

I believe curiosity is crucial for our well-being. Let me explain. Curiosity and the need to learn has been with us for the vast majority of our existence. It has been a necessary “tool” for our survival. Think before there was anything like a Google search, or before writing. The only means of accumulating knowledge was by passing it via word of mouth or by learning it for ourselves. There was an obvious evolutionary advantage to learn where edible plants could be found, where the deer are, or where the predator is. Written history goes back only about 5,000 years, but that is a short time considering our approximately 50,000 year existence as humans in our modern form (conservative estimate). Thus my argument is that we are evolutionarily adapted to learning for ourselves and have only recently acclimated to an abundance of knowledge.

I bring this together with my own experiences to extrapolate that our mental, physical, and dare I say spiritual health would greatly benefit from stirring up those “curiosity” genes through experiential learning. Lower down I describe a few activities that I have done with great success.

I found that tapping into this awareness of the world around me has made me a much happier person. No, I haven’t made any huge discoveries to benefit humanity (yet :-) ), but I have discovered that a red fox lives near my house. To me, seeing the fox made me really content in that moment, but also deeply grateful with a fulfilled heart—as if I had just taken a good dose of vitamins for the soul. To those that have never seen an animal in the wild (besides common squirrels, chipmunks, etc.) it is an experience that I can’t explain in words.

Our recent acclimation to knowledge-at-our-fingertips (literally… think Google) has a few side effects. One of them is what Richard Louv coined “nature-deficit disorder.” The symptoms of this disorder include behavioral and physical problems as described in the simple article Parents: 10 Reasons Kids Need Fresh Air by Kevin Coyle. But this is not limited to children. Look at yourself and look at the people around you. So many of us are just walking zombies. We go through a blind whirl each day, doing one thing only so that we can get to the next. Going to work only so that we can go on vacation. Living so that we may one day be able to die happy. But why not be happy and live fully now?

Learning about the wilderness through my own observation and exploration has been a key to helping me feel fully alive and present. I am not a hermit in some cabin miles from “society.” I am in front of my computer, building electrical circuits (yes indeed), and reading about the great inventions of Nikola Tesla. Technology is awesome, but we shouldn’t forget how we humans have lived for the vast majority of our existence. I realized that those vitamins I described above are actually essential for our well-being.

Here are some things you can do:

Learn the basics about your knowledge of place—where you live. Keep in mind that answers to these questions used to be common knowledge even for children. It’s like asking a city kid what the McDonalds "M" means. These are just some questions to get you started, but if you want to see a more comprehensive set, see Jon Young’s Tourist Test, part of his Kamana Naturalist Training Program. As you try some of what I suggest below, use resources such as field guides and the internet to help you out along the way. Because the internet (and even books) can have faulty information, it is imperative to use multiple guides and to talk to knowledgeable people for confirming what you learn—especially if it involves edible or medicinal plants.

• First it’s always good to form a basic awareness of the natural hazards where you live. Poison Ivy? Stinging insects? Disease carrying ticks? Venomous snakes? What are the most poisonous plants in your area? How would you identify these? This is not meant to scare you away from the woods. Once you are aware of the common hazards, you can quickly learn how to avoid them so that you can enjoy the wilderness without worrying. It’s kind of like saying “what’s the worst that can happen?” to help you realize that there isn’t as much to worry about as you might have thought. My questions here are definitely not exhaustive though.
• What can you use to help with some of these hazards? For example, what local plants help with bee stings or poison ivy rashes? How do you prevent yourself from getting a tick disease?
• What three local plant species are easy to identify, abundant, and healthy to include in your diet? Only ever ingest something wild when you are 150% sure you know what it is. There are several edible species that have poisonous look-alikes, so be SURE you are aware of these hazards. There are way fewer poisonous species than edible ones (at least in New England), but it only takes one to get you pretty sick. I only make it sound really scary so that you don't do something silly and then blame me for it. Just use common sense and a lot of resources. You'll be fine.
• What do the tracks of the five most common mammal species in your area look like?
• What are the songs of the ten most common bird species in your area?
• Track some mysteries: Find an animal trail and follow it. Follow the growth of a seedling. Where did the seed come from? What did the land around your house look like 20 years ago? 100? 200? (see Tom Wessel’s Reading the Forested Landscape).

Go to a sit-spot. Find a place not to far from your house, where you can sit quietly and observe nature. If you live in a city, go to a rooftop, or in a park. Try to find a place that is away from other people, but if you can’t, then try not to interact with anyone. Just sit quietly and observe. Find a place not too far from home so that it is easier to go regularly. Although it is good to stick with one spot, find a new place when you are away from home. I’ve found that after quieting your mind and body, the natural flow resumes in about 15 minutes (obviously depending on where you are and how quite you can be). This is how I saw the red fox, and how many natural mysteries have opened up. Going for at least 30 minutes every day for the last year and a half has been by far one of the best ways I have connected to my curiosity for the natural world. Try out the 30 day sit-spot challenge. Here is another link.

Here is a video that nicely summarizes the sit-spot experience.

Leave all your worries at home because while you are at your sitspot nothing else really matters. My sitspot has helped realize that I am just a spec in the history of the universe, giving me a little humor about life.

For curiosity’s sake, and for your well-being, go outside and learn a bit about the natural world where you live. Not too long ago your species had a first hand reliance on it. Tap into your genes. Live fully and stop being a zombie of a person. You’ve got one life, why not live it up?

Term is over

Winter term is over. It was a good term--one where I learned a lot of things that I think will help me the rest of my life. Good stuff. I just finished drawing a guide to common graminoid species from the local islands. It was a really good experience even though I had to rely on digital images as opposed to plants in the field. I think the guide will be useful for identifying grasses this summer.

I'm working on an application for the Botany Club now. I will try to finish it this week.

Otherwise, not much. Time to rest now that school's out for two weeks.