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I have been a nature enthusiast my whole life. Some of my earliest memories involve bugs! I was barely three years old when my Dad sat me on his knee in our driveway and gently tried to convince me that giant rhinoceros beetles were actually quite friendly. I felt reluctant, but didn’t require much convincing, as a few moments later I had three of them on my shirt and marched proudly into the house to show my mom…who was much less enthusiastic! Even at that age I noticed the claws at the ends of their legs, the stout hairs between their body sections, the way their coloring was slightly iridescent in the sunlight. I fell in love that day, and I remember it vividly. It was the beginning of a life-long fascination with all living things!
I have spent time all over the world, but a desert ecosystem feels most like home. I feel most like me when there is sand between my toes and vast blue sky overhead. I spent my childhood in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, with scorpions, dromedary camels, helmeted turtles, leaf-nosed bats, many lizards, and my beloved rhinoceros beetles. It was here where my love of wide emptiness and unique desert rock formations, the salt of the ocean, and living creatures began. I was raised by the desert and billions of stars on dark nights. As Paulo Coelho says in The Alchemist; "the magic of the desert is hard to define."
I later discovered rugged mountains and snow, eventually living in Montana, and then California. In 2011 I found myself back in a desert ecosystem (albeit quite a different one) when we made Utah our home base in 2011. I firmly believe that the entire state needs to be upgraded to National Park status! So many places to explore, so little time!
I have spent a lot of time in the Tongan Islands, where I prefer to stay underwater, scuba diving and pretending I’m a fish. As an advanced scuba diver and a certified rescue diver, I have extensive experience in the big aquarium. I have a deep love for the sound of pistol shrimp. I love the lilting swim of leaf fish, and the sight of moon jellies will always fill me with awe.
I recently lived in Germany, where I discovered city living for the first time. I adored that designated wild green spaces are the norm there, and are valued in and around dense cityscapes. And truly, nature can be found anywhere if you look close enough!
I have a teaching degree and a bachelor's in Biology with an emphasis in Zoology and Ecology. I have a minor in Exercise Science. I have experience working as an undergraduate researcher, collecting and analyzing field samples. During several of these research stints I came to love stream ecology and aquatic invertebrates. I have also spent hundreds of hours staring at sidewalks and the ants that occupy them. This followed with species identification and experiment design in a lab setting, where I came to the conclusion that ants are the most beautiful creatures on the planet.
I have several years experience teaching high school and junior high, but since 2012 I have been a Science Specialist for Bonneville Elementary School in the Salt Lake City School District. Here I have built a program of hands-on science extension for all grade levels. I help kids learn how to do real science and value their own abilities as scientific thinkers.
I am an avid hiker, backpacker, rock climber and camper. I love knowing everything I can about the natural world. My favorite people to hike and explore with are kids…my peers tend to be less enthusiastic when I want to stop constantly to look at lichens and cool bugs! I have a talent for remembering names of species and can typically remember scientific names better than common names, which honestly is much less useful and possibly annoying when hiking with friends?
As an educator, my biggest goal is to keep the curiosity alive in those that I teach. I love asking questions and finding answers to those questions, whether through my own observations or research. I love when I can help kids fuel this passion as well. Nature has been calling me from my earliest memories, and I am so incredibly grateful for the people in my path that nourished my curiosity. And yes, I am aware that the phrase “Nature Calls” can have many meanings…but when it comes down to it, it’s all science, right?
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