Laura Platt

Laura loves to study forests and the organisms that call them home. Before joining the Global Environmental Change Lab, Laura spent several field seasons exploring and working in National Parks/Forests across the US. Her master’s thesis work involves characterizing the variability in historical stand structure and composition in moist mixed-conifer forests in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon using dendroecological techniques. In other words, she is counting a lot of tree rings to decipher the story that these forests have to tell regarding historic fire and forest patterns.

When Laura is not counting tree rings, she can be found outside, typically on her bike. Laura also enjoys leading trips for the campus outdoor program, where she guides college students on hiking, backpacking, skiing, snowshoeing, kayaking, and stand up paddle boarding adventures.