When I first embarked on my learning journey as a Field Naturalist three decades ago, my eyes were opened to an approach for making sense of the world that exists at the intersection of two scales: spatial and temporal. The places we explored as members of the K Team offered endless opportunities to investigate spatial patterns at the landscape scale, while simultaneously contemplating the past, present, and potential futures of those places as parts of a dynamic timeline. I was also immediately drawn to the cyclical timelines of phenology, the lens through which we studied how life responds to the unfolding of the seasons (and the shifts in climate) in a given location.
In my present role as director, I’ve expanded my focus on this intersection of time and geography to include the Field Naturalist Program itself. One of my favorite moments in the phenology of the FN world occurs when a new cohort assembles for the first time in late summer on the shore of Lake Champlain for orientation at Shelburne Farms. It marks the beginning of a two-year odyssey in integrated field science and communication, – hallmarks of FN training for 40 years – with the local landscape serving as the primary classroom.
The FN Program could theoretically take place almost anywhere, but it has flourished here in Vermont. Why? It’s at the right scale. A relatively small state with a diverse geography, where nature and culture intertwine and unfold through time in fascinating ways, sets the stage for immersive opportunities to study the diversity of life and its conservation. It’s at a scale where environmental policy makers and government agencies (increasingly staffed by our program alumni) are accessible and responsive to the needs of communities and the interests of students. All of this combines to make Vermont an incubator for innovation, especially when it comes to restoring ecological integrity.
As we celebrate our 40th year as a program, our growing network of engaged alumni is truly our greatest asset for attracting a diversity of talented students from across the country, training them while they’re here with us in Vermont, and launching them back into the world equipped with the knowledge, skills, and leadership capacity to serve on the front lines of the biodiversity crisis for many years to come.
