Cheers to a year of blog posts! And cheers to starting the 4th year of my Ph.D. program. I am grateful to Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens for their support and guidance during my time as a Botany in Action Fellow. The encouragement to try different things, like creative writing about my work and scientific experiences, has been insightful and fun. As I flew back to Hawai‘i, I reflected on my visit to Phipps for Science Engagement Week. Last year I couldn’t visit in person, but the coordinators kindly worked with me remotely. When I received another year of funding, I couldn’t wait to meet folks in person and see Phipps, especially the new Hawaiʻi Tropical Forests: Aloha ‘Āina exhibit. I had three full days with incredible fellow Fellows, outreach opportunities, and trainings. We all participated in improv (who’d have known 9 scientists would have so much fun with improv) and a Storytelling seminar. It was gorgeous weather, Pittsburgh was showing off, and the Aloha ‘Āina exhibit gave me a little taste of Hawaiʻi even being so far away. In the exhibit, I even spotted the plant I shared about for Herbs in Action with Pittsburgh’s Saturday Light Brigade in 2021, māmaki (for 2022, I shared about uhaloa). Māmaki, Pipturus albidus, in the Hawaiʻi Tropical Forests: Aloha ‘Āina exhibit at Phipps. As Science Engagement Week came to a close, I said goodbye to some wonderful people who taught me many lessons and who I shared many laughs with. Since I was already on the East Coast, I extended my trip and made my way to Baltimore for the Society of American Foresters conference. Here I presented one of my dissertation chapters and practiced new skills gained at Phipps. View of Baltimoreʻs Inner Harbor. My visit in Baltimore even included an evening leadership reception at the National Aquarium. Here I was reminded of the interconnectedness of our world and how it takes collaborative effort to tend to our planet home. In Hawaiʻi you hear ma uka and ma kai a lot. Sometimes heard in a directional sense (towards the mountain or towards the ocean – a constant reminder to our natural surroundings), sometimes heard in a philosophical sense (the relationships and interconnectedness of our mountains and oceans). I love plants and trees, I think they are amazing, photosynthesis alone deserves more accolades. And I also love water. This love has only grown since living in Hawaiʻi and being with an incredible and supportive partner who has a blue mind. Quote wall in Baltimoreʻs National Aquarium by Sylvia Earle, "With every drop you drink, every breath you take, youʻre connected to the sea". Informational placard about how forests support streams at the National Aquarium. Sign at the Hawaiʻi Tropical Forests: Aloha ‘Āina exhibit at Phipps, "He moku he waʻa, he waʻa he moku". Mahalo, Phipps for everything! And mahalo nui to Drs. Maria Wheeler-Dubas and Sarah States who are incredible science education, communication, and outreach teachers.
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AuthorI started this blog as part of my Botany In Action Fellowship through Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens Archives
June 2023
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