NELSON INSTITuTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STudIES uNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MAdISON

For Alumni and Friends of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison SPRING/SUMMER 2012

New Leadership Paul Robbins brings unique view of people and environment to role as director

MEET MONICA WHITE TRENdSETTERS IN dEFENdING THE REGIONAL LEAdER First uW faculty member THE TONGASS ENdANGEREd Susan Hedman guides to focus on environmental Alumni lead conservation Novel approaches help Great Lakes restoration, justice efforts in Alaska protect lions and lemurs protection Around the Nelson Institute

The art of leadership CONTENTS Goodall to keynote Earth day conference Food for thought UNIVERSITy COMMUNICATIONS Leadership. It comes in many creative forms. Sometimes it is quiet, aris- Other upcoming Around the institute 3 Renowned primatologist Jane Goodall will be the keynote speaker at As food intern for the ing in efforts to listen for common cause among diverse voices; some- the seventh annual Nelson Institute Earth Day Conference on Monday, Nelson Institute UW-Madison GreenHouse New leadership 8 times it appears boldly, arising out of the passion, ideas and April 15, 2013, at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention environmental learning com- Paul Robbins brings determination of a single inspired individual, beckoning others to follow. events: Center in downtown Madison. The daylong conference will explore munity, Anna Zeide coordinates unique view of people We don’t always know from where leadership comes, but we rec- and environment issues related to biodiversity conservation. the Global Food for Thought ognize it when we see it. This issue of In Common celebrates different Dr. Goodall is widely known for her 50-year, ground-breaking Meal Series – a gathering of Meet Monica White 11 forms of leadership carried out every day, across the world, by Nelson study of the behavior and social interactions of wild chimpanzees Sept. 14 GreenHouse residents and New professor will focus on Institute students, faculty and alumni. in Tanzania’s Gombe National Park. In 1977, she founded the Jane Rendezvous on the Terrace Madison food experts to enjoy environmental justice First, we would like to share some exciting news regarding our own Goodall Institute, which works to protect chimpanzees and their Join alumni, friends, international cuisine and leadership. We’re enormously pleased to introduce Paul Robbins, who Trendsetters in the 12 habitats and establishes community-centered conservation and students and special discussion. will take over as Nelson Institute director in August. Paul, who comes to Tongass development programs in Africa. She also founded Roots & Shoots, guests for refreshments

Wisconsin from the University of Arizona, brings a wealth of experience, kAT CAMERON Alumni lead transformative a global environmental and humanitarian youth program. and meet new Nelson efforts in Southeast Alaska energy and ideas, and will, I am certain, lead us down exciting new A number of related activities for Nelson Institute alumni and Institute director Paul paths and into new opportunities yet to be imagined. Guarding the Predators 16 friends, including fi lms, fi eld trips, lectures and social gatherings, Robbins at this informal We’re also excited to tell you about our newest assistant professor, Monica White, who will join Former Maasai warriors will take place during the weekend of April 13-14 as a lead-in to the annual gathering on the us in the fall. Her faculty position, created in partnership between the Nelson Institute and the protect lions in Africa Earth Day conference. Information about events and hotel Memorial Union Terrace, Department of Community and Environmental Sociology in the College of Agricultural and Life accommodations, as well as additional details about the conference 5-7 p.m. CHANGE for lemurs 20 Sciences, is UW-Madison’s fi rst professorship dedicated to research and education on environmental program, will be available soon at nelson.wisc.edu/earthday. Students track critically justice. We’re proud to have led the effort to establish this unique and timely faculty position. endangered primates Elsewhere, countless members of the Nelson Institute community are making their mark as MICHAEL NEUGEBAUER Oct. 17 Zeide, a Ph.D. candidate Waddle for the camera 23 innovative leaders. We tell you about a few of them in the pages that follow. They include: Harold “Bud” Jordahl Public in History of Science and Ph.D. candidate Peter Boger Lands Lecture the Nelson Institute Center documents Antarctica wildlife • Susan Hedman, an alumna of the Nelson Institute’s Land Resources (now Environment and The featured speaker for Culture, History and Resources) program. Susan heads the Region 5 offi ce of the U.S. Environmental Protection Regional leader 24 will be dayton duncan, Environment, says the dinners Agency overseeing six states, 35 tribal entities and the Great Lakes Program Offi ce. Alumni profi le: EPA Region 5 writer and producer of The expose students to the cuisine Administrator Susan Hedman • Leela Hazzah, a Ph.D. alumna, and Stephanie Dolrenry, a Ph.D. candidate, leaders in the Lion National Parks: America’s and culture of other places, Guardians, an award-winning conservation organization in kenya. Best Idea; Lewis & Clark: using food as a lens into larger Investing in Nelson 26 • Nelson Institute graduate students Brittany Bovard, Ryan Marsh and Erik Olson, who are working Gifts provide crucial The Journey of the Corps issues (see summaries on her with local communities in Madagascar to help protect a rare primate species. student, program support of Discovery; Horatio’s blog, , at • And Nelson alumni Andrew Thoms and Nicolaas Mink, who have forged collaborations between Dining and Opining Drive and other PBS Insights 29 diningandopining.blogspot.com). environmentalists and business people through innovative projects in Alaska. documentaries by Nadine Lymn refl ects on life The series is one of many edu- in suburban D.C. Finally, as my four years as interim director come to a close and I prepare to engage more fully fi lmmaker ken Burns; cational activities offered at the in teaching and research once again, I look back with a sense of gratitude and pride in what the 7 p.m., Mills Hall, GreenHouse, which is directed Alumni notes 30 institute’s faculty, staff and students have recently accomplished. UW-Madison. by Jack Kloppenburg, a professor

We successfully established an undergraduate major in environmental studies, capping a nearly See Jane Goodall April 15. (Goodall does not handle wild chimpanzees; of community and environmental In Common is published by the 40-year effort to provide this option for UW-Madison students. We strengthened the Nelson Institute’s this orphan chimpanzee lives at a Jane Goodall Institute sanctuary.) sociology and environmental Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of role as a catalyst in fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and leadership in addressing environ- studies. Wisconsin–Madison. Funding for mental challenges, from the campus-wide sustainability initiative to programs and partnerships production and distribution is in communities beyond campus. Through the launch of the Community Environmental Scholars provided through the generosity of Program, we have also helped to create an inclusive environment in which the varied backgrounds our alumni and friends. Contact us and perspectives of students can fl ourish, and where a passion for environmental studies connects at [email protected]. uW-Madison fi rst: Nelson Institute awarded NSF grant for STEM scholarships with a dedication to community action and to problems of economic and social injustice. Steve Pomplun, Executive Editor I look forward to continuing to be a part of the Nelson Institute community. And I know that with The Nelson Institute has been awarded UW-Madison’s fi rst-ever National Science Foundation S-STEM grant for undergraduate scholarships Meghan Lepisto, Managing Editor in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The fi ve-year, $600,000 grant will provide scholarships for students in the Danielle Lamberson Philipp, the inspirational help, commitment and devotion shown by so many faculty, staff, students and Nelson Institute Community Environmental Scholars Program (CESP). The scholarships are need-based and include funding for students Designer alumni, the Nelson Institute will prosper under Paul Robbins’ leadership. On Wisconsin! Jenny Peek, Writer and from underrepresented communities as well as fi rst-generation, veteran, disabled or returning adult students. Photographer The grant builds on the previous success of CESP, explains project leader Cathy Middlecamp, an associate professor of environmental studies and integrated liberal studies. CESP trains undergraduates to work with environmental and community organizations, government Gregg Mitman agencies and businesses; provides them with professional training; and offers opportunities to link their studies with community service. Interim Director Over the grant period, CESP will award at least 35 additional scholarships averaging $8,000, supporting students in STEM fi elds. -JENNy PEEk

COVER PHOTO: New Nelson Institute Director Paul Robbins, who will take the helm in August, stands in the UW-Madison Arboretum. Credit: Jenny Peek/Nelson Institute 2 In Common Spring/Summer 2012 3 Around the Nelson Institute

Help wanted: NELSON INSTITUTE Environmental A week of Tales Envisioning a fairer future

jobs More than 2,000 attendees enjoyed 30 new and classic fi lms, visits from six fi lmmakers and a keynote More than 700 attendees explored economic growth, consumption, sustainability address by green jobs advocate Van Jones, president of Rebuild the Dream, as part of the Tales from Whether you’re hunting for a and happiness at the sixth annual Nelson Institute Earth Day conference April 16 Planet Earth fi lm festival in March. job or looking to hire, visit the in Madison. Featured speakers included Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba (pictured at left), The free community event, organized by the Nelson Institute Center for Culture, History and Nelson Institute environmen- former prime minister of Bhutan and a UW-Madison alumnus who now serves NELSON INSTITUTE Environment, has now drawn tal jobs board. This new web as Bhutan’s minister of works and human settlement; Boston College economist more than 10,000 fi lmgoers in its feature is searchable by job and author Juliet Schor; daniel Oros of the venture capital fi rm kleiner Perkins three runs in Madison. type or location and includes Caufi eld and Byers; award-winning novelistJulia Alvarez; University of kansas This year’s festival explored an online form for employers environmental historian donald Worster; and Richard J. davidson, UW-Madison environmental connections in to post job openings. professor of psychology and director of the Center for Investigating Healthy labor and workplace conditions, Hundreds of positions, Minds. See videos of conference presentations at go.wisc.edu/117ea2 struggling small-town economies, including internships and anti-terrorism prosecutions, and student funding opportuni- echoes of the civil rights move- ties, have been posted. Visit ment. It led into the annual $50,000 awarded in student Proposed wolf hunt poorly designed, nelson.wisc.edu/jobs to view meeting of the American Society sustainability competition the listings, post a job or says Treves for Environmental History, also subscribe to a weekly email hosted by the Nelson Institute. Four student teams won a combined $50,000 in the Global Stewards Rules being considered for a wolf hunting season in Wisconsin with the most recent job View a slideshow of photos Sustainability Prize innovation competition hosted by the Nelson are likely to hurt wolf populations while failing to resolve existing postings. from the festival at go.wisc. Institute Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment. The confl icts with humans, saysAdrian Treves, associate professor of edu/59vkfv awards – three grand prizes of $15,000 each and a $5,000 Healthy environmental studies. Places Prize – were announced April 16 at the sixth annual Earth Day The state legislature approved a hunting season on gray wolves conference. Capturing the grand prize awards were: earlier this year, following a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service deci- Two Nelson research centers celebrate 50 years • Micah Erickson and Justin Reed for C-Machine, their concept for sion to remove the wolf in the western Great Lakes from federal Spring pilgrimage a recyclable electric motor that provides a more sustainable and endangered species lists. The legisla-

MARy MARSHALL tion proposed opening the entire science, LTC continues to provide a link effi cient method of generating electric power. Two Nelson Institute research centers turn state to hunting and trapping between institutions and broad-based • Jack Boland and Josh Gilberts for PureWater Trike, which con- 50 this year. Both the Land Tenure Center of wolves during an annual sustainable development. verts a recycled bicycle into a tricycle with an attached, pedal- and the Center for Climatic Research have season extending from The Center for Climatic Research powered water fi ltration and storage unit to provide clean water been leaders in their fi elds since 1962. October 15 through (CCR) also reaches the half-century in developing countries. The Land Tenure Center (LTC) was the end of the follow- mark this year. The interdisciplinary • Aleia McCord and Sarah Stefanos for Waste 2 Energy, which established as part of a U.S.-Latin America ing February. The center draws researchers from atmo- transforms three development hurdles – insuffi cient public initiative called the Alliance for Progress Wisconsin Department spheric and oceanic sciences, geogra- hygiene, chronic energy insecurity and poor crop yields – into during the kennedy administration. of Natural Resources is phy, botany and other departments to an investment opportunity. The project diverts municipal waste Under the leadership of founding director now charged with putting investigate the past, present and future from Uganda landfi lls, converts it into renewable, clean-burning Raymond Penn, a late professor of agricul- the season in place. implications of climate change. Walking through rural Ohio, John Francis, fuel, and uses the byproducts as organic fertilizer. (Waste 2 tural and applied economics, LTC created Treves, who directs Founded by the late Professor Reid visiting associate professor of environmen- Energy also won the $10,000 top prize in the School of Business programs focused on place-based, inter- the Carnivore Coexistence Bryson, CCR was established to explore tal studies, pauses with students Cassy G. Steven Burrill Business Plan Competition in April and was a disciplinary approaches to land use across Laboratory in the Nelson Institute, fi nalist in the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest). U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE South and Central America. It later added the link between human societies and Krueger (center) and Azaria Posik. In An inaugural Healthy Places Prize, sponsored by the UW-Madison says exposing wolves to such a long programs in Africa and Asia. the climate. CCR faculty and staff have April, Francis led seven members of his Global Health Institute and the Offi ce of Sustainability, was also season and across such a broad area risks overharvesting the ani- The center has evolved to focus on published more than 1,000 scientifi c capstone class on a fi ve-day walk. awarded to the best proposal connecting environment and health. mals and landing them back on the federal endangered list. The resources and ecosystem services that are articles and served as advisors on more Since 2005, Francis has been retrac- Chosen by Earth Day conference attendees, the prize went to approach is also unlikely to help control problem wolves, which increasingly important to vulnerable com- than 100 theses and dissertations. The ing his original cross-country trek, when , and Treves’ research has shown are a minority of animals in geographi- munities whose burdens increase when center, currently led by Jack Williams, he journeyed on foot from Point Reyes, Mohamad danijarsa, Sushil dinesh Jeremiah donohue dadit for Weego, an online carpooling and ridesharing resource. cally restricted and highly predictable areas. land is degraded. By engaging students a professor of geography and Bryson California, to Cape May, New Jersey. Hidayat The competition, open to all UW-Madison students, was judged by In statewide opinion surveys, Treves and his colleagues found and faculty with programs centered on Professor of Climate, People and the Around Earth Day he sets off from where a panel of academic, business and nonprofi t leaders and is sup- the majority of those polled supported a wolf hunt provided it could land tenure and livelihoods, environmen- Environment, has also produced innova- he stopped the previous year; the 2012 ported through a grant from the Global Stewards Society. Previously reduce confl ict with humans without jeopardizing the health of the tal governance, and land stewardship for tive, high-resolution climate data to sup- walk began in Prospect, Ohio. The annual known as the Climate Leadership Challenge, it was renamed the wolf population. The proposed hunt structure meets neither condi- sustaining ecosystem services and biodi- port the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Planetwalk – and Francis’s nonprofi t Global Stewards Sustainability Prize to refl ect a broader focus on real- tion, he says. versity, LTC works to identify solutions and Change Impacts, a statewide collabora- educational organization bearing the same world solutions for environmental sustainability. guide policy reform. tion that connects climate researchers name – is meant to raise environmental Currently led by Stephen Ventura, a and decision-makers in the public and consciousness and promote earth professor of environmental studies and soil private sectors. stewardship, one step at a time.

4 In Common Spring/Summer 2012 5 Around the Nelson Institute

Innovative crane Nelson research ranges from fish to freight Mu tl u O z d ogan curriculum introduces Shifting a fraction of truck-borne freight onto trains would have an Dozens of grant-supported projects are under way in the Nelson Institute at any outsized impact on air quality in the Midwest, according to Erica stewardship to young time. Below are a few examples of the broad spectrum of research generated by Bickford, a Ph.D. candidate in Environment and Resources, and students in China our centers, faculty, staff and students over the past six months. Tracey Holloway, professor of environmental studies. In southwestern China’s Guizhou Province, With geohistorical and paleoecological data – derived largely from fossil pollen – Jack For each ton they carry, long-distance trucks go about 150 miles the International Crane Foundation and Williams, Bryson Professor of Climate, People and the Environment and director of the on a gallon of diesel fuel, trains more than 400 miles. Shifting from the Nelson Institute have partnered on Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research, studies the responses of species and road to rail 500 million tons of freight passing through or to the a novel environmental education program communities to climates that no longer exist. Global climates are changing rapidly, and this Midwest would make a large dent in carbon dioxide emissions. for elementary school children. century will likely see the emergence of what Williams calls “no-analog” climates, combina- Bickford’s study also accounts for weather patterns and the way Using satellite images, Mutlu Ozdogan, an assistant professor of forest The three-year initiative, funded by tions of climate factors – such as maximum and minimum temperature, amount and timing pollutants are distributed to determine how long other products of and wildlife ecology and environmental studies, is generating maps the Crane Foundation and UW-Madison, of precipitation, and seasonal variation – that do not exist anywhere on the globe today. diesel engines – like black carbon soot and the ozone ingredient showing where trees have been clear-cut over five-year intervals from is directed by Nancy Mathews, a professor To look at how ecological changes have been driven by past climate change, he draws on a and lung irritant nitrogen dioxide – linger near their sources. More 1985 through 2010. of environmental studies and director of recent historical period of abrupt global change – the late Quaternary Period, particularly the rail traffic would mean more pollutants near tracks, less near roads Wisconsin has the largest forest-products industry in the country, the Morgridge Center for Public Service. past 20,000 years – when the world warmed from the last ice age to the current interglacial frequented by trucks. Because more people live near roads than but tracking what’s happening on the ground in harvested plots has It complements the Crane Foundation’s period. The biological record reveals that species were highly sensitive to climate changes, railroad tracks, more would benefit from these shifts, she says. never been easy, says Ozdogan. About 30 percent of Wisconsin’s 16 ongoing rural development efforts in responding in multiple ways including migration, adaptation, changes in population size and, million acres of forest are publicly owned, and maps have been avail- Guizhou, aimed at integrating community in some cases, extinction. New simulations of summer rains in the arid American Southwest by able showing that land. However, most harvesting occurs on private development and wildlife conservation in Williams discussed the process in a recent conversation with The Atlantic. View the Q&A at Michael Notaro, associate director at the Nelson Institute Center for lands, leading to a gap in knowledge. Large-scale harvesting, mainly this poor, largely agricultural province. go.wisc.edu/90x6jj of softwood for paper, is leading to fragmentation and changes in Centered at the Cao Hai Nature Reserve, Climatic Research (CCR), show they are influenced by the previous forest composition and biodiversity, he says. the program focuses on the health of Cao winter’s snowpack in the Rocky Mountains. Eventually, Ozdogan plans to extend his mapping technique to all Hai Lake and its importance to the endan- Based on an underwater recording of the sounds of lake sturgeon and consultation with Summer rains, called monsoons, are the predominant source of North American forests. gered black-necked crane. The lake and experts at Cornell University’s Bioacoustic Research Program, Nelson Institute Ph.D. candi- rain in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico. Anything that can surrounding wetlands are a critical winter- date Chris Bocast and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources biologist Ron Bruch have help predict those rains could help protect people and an environ- ing area for more than 400 black-necked confirmed that frequencies produced by sturgeon while spawning are in the sound spectrum ment stressed by water shortages. cranes and thousands of other migratory below human hearing. Sturgeon can now be placed in the company of whales, elephants and Studies have shown that the East Asian monsoon, which deliv- birds, as well as thousands of local people other large creatures whose sonic capabilities reach into the infrasonic. ers heavy rain in China and India, is influenced by snowpack in the Jonathan Patz, a professor of population health sciences and director Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau. But nobody had tried to check for who rely on the wetlands. This spring, Bocast and Bruch are collecting additional field recordings. They believe stur- of the Global Health Institute, and Maggie Grabow, a Ph.D. candidate CeCe Sieffert, a recent Conservation geon use the sounds to time gamete release, enabling reproductive success in Wisconsin’s the same phenomenon in North America, Notaro says. in Environment and Resources, reported in November Biology and Sustainable Development fast-flowing rivers. Listen to a Wisconsin Public Radio segment, featuring Bocast and the Using a computer model that could predict climate conditions from in Environmental Health Perspectives on the major health benefits graduate (M.S. ‘11), was the first to arrive sounds of sturgeon, at go.wisc.edu/229z7x past data, Notaro and co-author Azar Zarrin, a CCR post-doctoral of replacing short auto trips with mass transit and active transport. in Guizhou Province to implement the fellow, doubled the snowpack, or removed it entirely, in early spring. The biggest benefit in their study of the largest 11 metropolitan initiative. While pursuing her master’s Removing all snow did not have a significant effect on the monsoon. areas in the upper Midwest was due to replacing half of the short trips degree, Sieffert spent the fall 2011 semes- As Wisconsin lawmakers this spring But doubling the average snowpack resulted in a 25 percent reduc- with bicycle trips during the warmest six months of the year, when USFWS ter in the city of Weining, coordinating with debated a proposed hunting season for tion in rainfall during August, the peak of the monsoon. cycling is most feasible. This saved $3.8 billion per year in mortality Crane Foundation staff and countless com- sandhill cranes, Nelson affiliateMark and health care costs for conditions like obesity and heart disease. munity members. This graduate internship Berres cautioned that a hunt could hurt “Transportation accounts for one-third of greenhouse gas emis- program is unique at the institute and the species’ genetic diversity. Berres, sions, so if we can swap bikes for cars, we gain in fitness, local air represents a growing trend for profes- assistant professor of animal sciences, In a study published in September in the journal Society and Natural quality, a reduction in greenhouse gases, and the personal economic sional masters programs in environmental led a recent analysis of the crane’s Resources, Adena Rissman, an assistant professor of forest and wild- benefits of biking rather than driving,” Patz says. “It’s a four-way win.” sustainability, says Matthews. eastern population, which includes life ecology and environmental studies, and Nathan Sayre of Li Fengshan, who earned a Ph.D. in birds that spend their summers from the University of California reported that social relationships affect the the Midwest to the East Coast. He dis- Land Resources in 1997, is the Crane nature, terms and methods of easements – voluntary contracts that Molly Jahn, professor of genetics and agronomy, co-authored an covered a number of genetically unique have become a popular method for conserving land. Foundation’s China Program coordinator article in the January 20 issue of Science magazine urging scientists breeding populations. and has worked in Cao Hai for more than The pair compared two large easement projects: the Malpai to lay the groundwork for more decisive action on global food security. These birds could prove vital to the 30 years. Relationships he’s built in the Borderlands Group, straddling the Arizona-New Mexico border, and The article was in response to a slow pace of progress at the 2011 survival of sandhill cranes, perhaps giving them the ability to survive new diseases or adapt region have been critical to the education The Nature Conservancy’s Lassen Foothills, in northern California. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. to changing environmental conditions. But because these sub-populations are relatively program’s success. “The existing social situation of each area helped determine how The article describes a need for more integrated research on small, they are more vulnerable to hunting pressure. -Jenny Peek the land trust worked with landowners, and that affected the ability sustainable agricultural practices appropriate for different regions, “If hunters are allowed to take 20 percent of the overall population, they could inadvertently to meet conservation goals,” Rissman says. “When we design and farming systems and landscapes, particularly in low income countries. take 99 percent of a particular sub-population,” says Berres. evaluate conservation programs, we need to pay close attention to these relationships, both formal and informal. This is not just about resources; it’s also about managing relationships among people.”

6 In Common Spring/Summer 2012 7 “Never alone in making the world” Paul Robbins brings unique view of people and environment N elson I nstitute

hen Paul Robbins becomes By Meghan Lepisto Nelson Institute director on What drew you to seek the Nelson Institute directorship? The second thing is a much stronger role for international August 1, he’ll hit the ground initiatives. If you think about the University of Wisconsin’s inter- Wrunning. With a few worn-down pencils. Robbins: The interdisciplinary spaces for students and research. national traditions – its language and literature programs across Universities around the country are trying to invent places where you the curriculum, its international opportunities for undergraduates Armed with a long list of ideas, he’s been can shove people who do literature together with people who do biology (that’s how I started working in India, I was brought there by a fine-tuning his immediate and long-term and something magical is supposed to happen. It’s my impression those UW-Madison professor) – the Nelson Institute isn’t fully integrated plans – putting pencil to paper when a are interesting experiments, but they haven’t been fully successful. into those initiatives and it could be, without sacrificing anything. thought emerges, scratching out items that The Nelson Institute, on the other hand, is ready made and it’s been Almost anything people are working on here has international no longer make the cut, and continuously here a long time. Working at a large interdisciplinary school, I’m used to potential. And with the Land Tenure Center, there is already a having colleagues who study dirt and who deconstruct policy documents tradition within Nelson of international activities and initiatives, but reordering the list. – you don’t get that very often; you can’t invent that. Nelson is that, so that could be across the board. He keeps 25 freshly sharpened pencils that was really attractive. The students and the constituencies outside on standby at his desk, ready to capture the university are well matched and so is the state of Wisconsin – it’s What immediate plans do you have when you begin the next big idea. a perfect match for a tradition in humanities, social science, natural as director? science and public service. Robbins comes to the institute from the This is a huge community and I want to get to know it really, really School of Geography and Development Now that you’ve had the chance to meet with some of our well. And I want to get to know people who aren’t connected to the at the University of Arizona, where faculty, staff and students and learn more about the institute, institute, because there are untapped constituencies of students, he’s served for two years as director. A what are some of your first impressions? faculty and publics. UW-Madison alumnus, he holds a bach- Two, I’m going to take a rambling road tour of Wisconsin. What is not immediately apparent from outside is how deep the research I drove around Wisconsin as a college student in my VW bug elor’s degree in anthropology, along with a center roots are within the institute. The centers are dug deep in the (I lived on Mifflin Street, so I had to own a VW bug). I would like to master’s degree and doctorate in geogra- soil in a good way; they touch across campus. The level of talent in the see the state a bit more, and if there are alumni who’d like to phy, both from Clark University. centers is enormous, and the level of enthusiasm for the centers – for host me, I would look forward to that. the institute as a whole, by people in the centers and across campus Robbins brings years of experience as a – is really high. People like Nelson. Longer-term plans? researcher, studying human interactions Also, maybe the thing that’s hard to know if you’re from outside with nature and the politics of natural Wisconsin, is how well connected the institute is to issues in the state One thing I’d really like to see on campus, maybe working with resource management, and he has taught like lakes, water quality and climate change. There are people in Nelson other campuses in the region, is to open the lens of our environ- a range of topics at both the University of who work in the community, and that’s nice in a university that already mental concerns to urban areas and urban constituencies. Many has a rich tradition of extension. To have Nelson be out in the public in a Arizona and Ohio State University (where of the area urban centers are lively environmental spaces and way that is above and beyond the outreach mission of the university complicated ecosystems. he also sang lead vocals for a local band, is really cool. There is a habituated way of thinking of nature as outside or “The Distants”). external, and we’ve learned from Bill Cronon [Frederick Jackson He recently shared his first impressions What would you like to see the institute build upon for Turner and Vilas Research Professor of history, geography and of the institute, what he’s been jotting the future? environmental studies at UW-Madison] and others that the envi- ronment’s everywhere. I think a center for urban environmental down on that list of priorities, and what As hugely successful as the Nelson Institute is, it’s still not interdisciplin- initiatives that would work with communities and connect into the he sees as paths to success for an environ- ary enough. I would like to see more knitting of other disciplines and university as a research resource is a Nelson-worthy enterprise mental studies program. groups. over the long term.

8 In Common Spring/Summer 2012 9 More broadly, Nelson could be a part of more global health initia- deal very serious diseases, especially for people who work outside tives. Environmental health is a way of connecting constituencies and the global poor. Malaria, dengue, hemorrhagic fever – this is Meet Monica White around the world. I’ve just finished some work with mosquitoes (I visited upon millions of people around the world. New Nelson faculty member will focus on environmental justice could talk about mosquitoes a lot; I’m obsessed with them, so I’ve moved to the right place), and what I learned is the diseases people You traveled to India as an undergraduate student? are facing in Phoenix are diseases people are facing in Mexico City. They’re very different places, but not from the mosquito’s point of I was studying anthropology and history here at UW-Madison. My view. A mosquito has no respect for the border fence. connection was through archeology, in particular the Harappan civili- zation. There’s a fellow here, Mark Kenoyer [professor of anthropolo- By Jenny Peek What role do you think alumni can play in advancing gy], who’s the foremost expert in this area. I begged to come along to India and he put me on the ground, where we did ethno-archeology the institute? In an attempt to give a voice the university around issues of the environment, sustainability, food work – basically the opportunity of a lifetime. to people who are often justice and agriculture. But despite all the good efforts by my brothers and sisters in It would be great to get the alumni in touch with students if for no ignored, Monica White “This is a dream job for me, to be able to engage in conversations archeology, I just could not get interested in it. The living people other reason than to reassure them. Students love science or litera- has dedicated her research across disciplines. Addressing environmental issues through interdis- interested me much more, particularly migratory herders. They herd ture or the environment, but they have a legitimate concern, which is, to studying communities ciplinary research is really exciting,” she says. hundreds and thousands of sheep back and forth, on migration for they don’t know what they’re going to do with the degree. They don’t of color, focusing primar- White is already hard at work brainstorming ideas for Global nine months. They have to negotiate along the way and manage their know who to go to; they’re not quite sure where those connections ily on black farmers in the Environmental Health: An Interdisciplinary Introduction, and pastures, and it’s an interesting social science problem. I fell in love are, and our alumni are those people. Midwest. Environmental Studies: The Social Perspective. She says she hopes with this problem and the landscapes of India, and not so much the The alumni also know how the program works and what it did When she joins the to bring a positive focus to society’s increasing environmental justice objects and artifacts. I think Mark forgives me, because I was prob- and didn’t do for them. What other kind of experiences in an under- University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall, she will have new oppor- challenges. ably a really crappy archeologist, but it changed my life. graduate or graduate degree program could have been enhanced tunities to expand her community-driven research and engagement. “I want to look at the environmental issues people experience,” to prepare them better? The alumni are our experts. White will serve as assistant professor of environmental justice, a White explains. “But I also think there are amazing things com- What do you see as challenges faced by an environmental I’d also ask what we could be doing for alumni who are out there new position created and shared by the Nelson Institute and the munities are doing in response to these issues. We have innova- studies program, especially in a public university? developing programs, projects or companies. If they could tell us, Department of Community and Environmental Sociology in the tions, movements and people that are coming up with novel ways to that would help. College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. respond to environmental destruction.” If you’re a faculty member, you’ve got scarce resources, very little Currently an assistant professor of sociology White envisions using examples of real- time and you want to do what you’re interested in. That’s the chal- Tell us a bit more about your research. at Wayne State University in Detroit, White seeks world, on-the-ground initiatives – ranging from lenge to interdisciplinarity – if one area is where your passion is, why “Sometimes there’s to understand what motivates people to improve soil remediation to water purification to the use of should you throw away time in a meeting, trying to dream up some The overarching theme of my research is anthropogenesis – how their social, political, economic and environmental an invisible wall solar energy and the building of hoop houses – to new language, or trying to understand what a sociologist is saying people make the world. But they’re never alone in making their reality through activism. She has been particularly stimulate class discussions around innovation and vice versa? The biggest challenge is showing people that if they standing between world; they’re in the world with all these animals, plants and fungi. interested in the rise of urban agriculture and and progress. engage in those conversations, they get more out of them than The idea that you preserve the world by not being a part of it – by not the development of sustainable community food a university and “Environmental destruction can be over- they put into them. being a part of the environment – to me is the problem. People are systems. whelming, but when you give students a way The way to overcome that is to not force everybody to ask the the community. I always coproducing nature. Through recurring conversations with urban to understand that people are responding, they same questions. If there is an object these researchers share – a To give you an example, in south India, you can see dozens of farmers in minority communities in Detroit and want to help bridge realize all hope is not lost,” she says. “I want to material object like mosquitoes, wolves or water quality – you can endangered and threatened species, particularly bird species. abroad, White realized that gardening for some is allow students to combine both theoretical and engage in interdisciplinary conversation over time. You have to make the gap by giving They’re living in coffee plantations, rubber plantations, tea plantations not just about food, but connected elements practical understanding to conceptualize – they’re living where people work. Are people saving these animals continued on page 19 of justice. [students] the tools sustainable cities.” because they want to? No, they’re saving these animals because

P “One of the things that became clear is their White will also play an active role in the

aul R obbins to address issues there’s something about the crop pricing and the productivity which desire for a relationship with the environment,” Nelson Institute Community and Environmental configures the coffee plantation and the particular mix of trees. says White. “Farmers connect with their land as they’re passionate Scholars Program, which offers a diverse cohort So how do you save dozens or hundreds of species in India? You stewards. I want to expand the discussion about about.” of undergraduate students an academic frame- can throw everybody off the land and build a big fortress. Or, you how communities of color see the environment, work for examining the links between environ- can take a look at the price of coffee, which will determine how how they work with it and how they try to improve mental studies and community service. many species you have. If the price of coffee goes into the toilet, it for future generations.” “Sometimes there’s an invisible wall standing between a uni- they’re going to mow down that forest overnight and put in something In bringing her work to Madison, White hopes to broaden her versity and the community. I want to help bridge the gap by giving that pays. My research is about how many animals plantations can analysis of food systems across the Midwest, studying the role of [students] the tools to address issues they’re passionate about,” produce, and how can we help producers stay on the land. There’s black and indigenous farmers and the importance of growing food she says. an ethic that underlies that: everyone eats. The birds eat, the farmers in varying urban contexts. All in all, White couldn’t be more excited to bring her work to eat and you get your coffee. “I’m really excited to meet communities that I can engage with,” UW-Madison. Another project, on mosquitoes, is the reverse of that same prob- White says. “It’s like throwing a pebble into a lake and watching the “Sometimes, you just feel like something fits,” she says. “To be lem – that anthropogenesis produces hazards, not just benefits. The rings get wider and wider. I see the work we’re doing in Detroit con- able to teach amongst the academic conversations, to do research city is built perfectly for mosquitoes. So how do you remap the city necting to work in Illinois and to the work I’ll be doing in Wisconsin.” around the people I’m collaborating with in this field, and to play a Robbins discusses a vegetation survey with foresters in India, where from the point of view of bugs, so you’re not exposed to hazards that mentoring role with students – I’m really excited about it.” much of his research has focused. White is also eager to take part in the conversations occurring at 10 In Common Spring/Summer 2012 11 rendsetters in the ongass

After years of defensive land protection and “The energy we used to put into the conflict Nelson alumni opposition to development, many environ- can go toward creating solutions.” mental organizations are coming to see Thoms, a graduate of the Nelson Institute A ndrew T homs help lead smart, sustainable economic growth as a Conservation Biology and Sustainable Tbenefit to both communities and ecosys- Development program (M.S. ’05), is one of transformative tems. In the small coastal town of Sitka, several Nelson Institute alumni among the Alaska, the Sitka Conservation Society is organization’s staff who have seen striking A view of Sitka, Alaska, from above Bear Mountain. conservation one organization that has dramatically advantages in promoting proactive environ- and shifted its focus over the past decade. mental programs. that changed the economics of the pulp benefits everyone,” Thoms explains. sea into the Tongass Watershed, where they development The group’s innovative work to protect the On the rebound industry, the Sitka pulp mill closed its doors The group’s most recent restoration and need well-shaded, cool streams to spawn. Tongass National Forest while supporting Throughout the mid-20th century, Sitka’s in 1993. The closure greatly impacted sustainable development projects have pro- Five species of Pacific salmon reproduce in efforts in the sustainable development of communi- economy centered on large-scale, clear- Sitka’s economy, but created opportunities duced results that would encourage even the Tongass National Forest. The fish serve ties nearby has received support from all cut logging. As the industry expanded and for change. Commercial fishing was entering the most avid economic growth supporter. as a keystone species – hundreds of other Southeast sides. Many of the organization’s recent began to threaten forest areas surrounding a period of rapid growth, soon employing The organization’s work repairing salmon species depend on them, including humans. benchmarks have come through collabora- the town, a group of concerned citizens about 10 percent of the Southeast Alaskan habitat in the Sitkoh River Watershed, an “If you don’t have a healthy national for- Alaska tion within the Sitka community. formed the Sitka Conservation Society to workforce. area heavily damaged by logging, helped est, you don’t have a healthy sustainable “It has become increasingly apparent that help protect the last pristine, uncut temper- With Sitka’s transition from industrial log- show local citizens that restoration initiatives fishery,” he says. By Jenny Peek we, as a community, need to work together ate rainforest in the world. ging to more sustainable resource use and can have a positive impact on business. With Sitka having one of the world’s to solve problems,” says Sitka Conservation Amid growing disdain for large-scale land management, the Sitka Conservation The project created family-supporting, most abundant populations of salmon, the Society Executive Director Andrew Thoms. Tongass logging and a shift in world markets Society began looking into projects to restore blue-collar jobs with contracting firms while organization works to educate visitors and the salmon habitat that had been destroyed simultaneously increasing the amount and residents about the importance of the fish by clear-cut logging. As Sitka continues to quality of salmon spawning habitat. to the region’s economy, environment and P eter B aille y A ndrew T homs A ndrew T homs change, the Conservation Society is commit- culture. ted to introducing activities that support the School of salmon “At one time, salmon were the most economy while achieving conservation goals. Nicolaas Mink coordinates salmon educa- numerous fish in all the North Atlantic and Zia Brucaya, who holds a master’s tion and outreach programs for the Sitka all the North Pacific,” says Mink. “Now degree in urban and regional planning from Conservation Society. A 2010 graduate of we’re down to a few remnant pockets of UW-Madison, serves as the organization’s UW-Madison with a Ph.D. in history and what those bigger, broader salmon ecosys- conservation solutions coordinator and leads a Culture, History and Environment gradu- tems were. We have more spawning salmon a number of its restoration projects. She ate certificate from the Nelson Institute, just in Sitka Sound than the entire North coordinates with the U.S. Forest Service, he works to help the Sitka commu- Atlantic has.” local organizations and residents, integrat- nity understand the crucial connections In an attempt to connect consumers ing community input into management between a healthy forest and a robust to the salmon industry, Mink and the Sitka decisions. salmon population. Conservation Society created an outreach “A big part of Zia’s work is figuring out “Anadromous fish like salmon are program called Sitka Salmon Tours, which Nicolaas Mink and an intern prepare salmon UW graduate Andrew Thoms netting for Staff members Bonnie Loshbough and Zia how forest habitat restoration and salmon supported by the forest,” Mink explains, offers locals and the 250,000 people who from Sitka’s Seafood Producer’s Cooperative. sockeye salmon in Tongass National Forest. Brucaya meet in the Tongass rainforest. habitat restoration can be done in a way that referring to the salmon’s migration from the visit Sitka each year the opportunity to get

12 In Common Spring/Summer 2012 13 ANDREW THOMS ANDREW THOMS ANDREW THOMS

Boat to table

Community-supported agriculture is turning to the sea, Illinois, in May. The fi rst deliveries will take place mid-July, bringing wild Pacifi c salmon to tables in the Midwest, once the fi sheries open in Alaska. Mink has also connected and Nic Mink is at the helm. with CSA programs in Illinois that will offer Sitka salmon as a In collaboration with the Sitka Conservation Society, Mink supplementary item, and he is hoping to sell the fi sh at local has launched Sitka Salmon Shares, an initiative that com- farmers markets. He believes this is the fi rst community- bines entrepreneurship with sustainability. The community- supported fi shery model operated in the Midwest. supported fi shery, or CSF, will connect consumers directly With the project well underway, those involved see it as with sustainable salmon producers and salmon fi shers in another step in promoting the positives Sitka has to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the city’s sus- ships with people that we never would have Southeast Alaska. It’s modeled after a CSA (community- while growing sustainable economies that support small “We’re promoting the tainable wild salmon industry. before,” she says. supported agriculture) program, where members receive producers, both in Alaska and the Midwest. And Mink is The project has brought together a variety Bringing together unlikely partners with world we want to see, weekly shares of a local farm’s produce. being recognized for his innovative idea: The Entrepreneurial of stakeholders and collaborators, including equal interest in an issue is an area where “you know who caught it, how it was caught and when Support Network of West Central Illinois recently named him rather than fi ghting the the National Park Service, the Sitka Sound the organization has seen success. it was caught,” Mink says. “you’ll get a share every month, Entrepreneur of the year for starting Sitka Salmon Shares. Science Center, a dozen fi shermen, and “I work very closely with contractors and world we don’t.” delivered to your home, and once a week you and your “It’s for consumers, it’s for producers, it’s for the environ- several processors and local restaurants. loggers,” says Brucaya. “We’re both learning friends can have salmon.” ment,” explains Mink. “We’ll be funneling a percentage In its fi rst year, Sitka Salmon Tours saw 300 from each other and fi nding that we have Schools aren’t the only source of positive A lack of transparency in the fi shing industry is part of the proceeds back into salmon habitat restoration and participants, a number Mink is hoping to the same goals… They don’t want this place feedback. “The community has responded of what encouraged Mink to create Sitka Salmon Shares. enhancement while putting more money into the pockets increase signifi cantly in coming years. destroyed; they hunt here, they recreate incredibly positively and has seen how the “The statistics are horrendous,” Mink says, referring to a of small-boat family fi shermen who subscribe to a set of “We need to do everything in our power here. We have come to an understanding to work that we’re doing brings the community University of Washington-Tacoma study showing that more production practices.” to promote this new economy based on make sure we’re doing things as sustainably together rather than drawing lines and than 38 percent of salmon sold in the Puget Sound area He says the stakes are high and the time is right. sustainable fi sheries, recreation, pristine as possible.” divisions,” says Thoms. was labeled as wild Pacifi c salmon when it was actually “The fi sh economy is a billion-dollar-a-year industry in environments and tourism, in a more The organization will focus on second- Thoms’ staff and the diverse cross-section farm-raised Atlantic salmon. A separate investigation by the Southeast Alaska, and we’d like to continue to see that grow diversifi ed manner than it was 40 years growth forest managed in a way that creates of collaborators that have developed around Boston Globe found that nearly half of tested fi sh samples in a sustainable manner by offering new, more transparent ago,” Mink says. timber resources while providing habitat for the conservation society are critical to the were being sold as the wrong species. avenues on which it can thrive.” deer, bears and other wildlife that depend organization’s progress. Heavy recruitment “It’s a real health issue,” Mink says, since mislabeling can Sitka Salmon Shares follows on Mink’s other efforts to pro- Branching out on temperate rainforest. from the Nelson Institute has shaped it into put consumers at risk. “It’s an issue that shows our system mote sustainable fi shing in Alaska, including Sitka Salmon an organization based on interdisciplinary In addition to celebrating a world-class Since the focus in the Tongass has been is broken. We’re in need of a new model and that’s what Tours, which takes people for a behind-the-scenes look at action. salmon fi shery, the organization has begun on old-growth timber, it is uncertain how Sitka Salmon Shares intends to provide.” the city’s sustainable wild salmon industry. He has also “We recruit heavily from Wisconsin and looking to the timber industry to fi nd ways second growth can be used. In hopes of Sitka Salmon Shares was launched in Madison, authored a new book, Salmon: A Global History, which will the Nelson Institute because the students to support the local economy and ensure a fi nding ways to use second-growth timber Minneapolis, the Chicago metropolitan area and Galesburg, be published in the fall. have a background in applied knowledge,” healthy forest habitat. Zia Brucaya insists the and introduce it to the community, the orga- Thoms explains. “It’s not just about academ- conservation society is not anti-timber; its nization plans to bring it into local school ics; they have the ability to get something members are just concerned with scale. shop classes. Students will be able to get done on the ground.” Thoms seconds that sentiment. “We’re hands-on woodworking experience while This younger cohort is helping change looking for ways to sustainably manage the their families and the community can see environmental discourse, a shift Brucaya resources, rather than log the Tongass in the fi rsthand the quality of the timber. believes has created an identity crisis for boom-and-bust cycle as was done in old-school environmental organizations. the past,” he says. Sustainable communities Promoting assets instead of focusing on The Sitka Conservation Society believes The Sitka Conservation Society also negatives has opened a window of opportu- Sitka can support a small-scale timber dedicates time to working in schools and nity for the Sitka Conservation Society and industry centered on family-owned mills. teaching young people about the need for other progressive organizations to work with Products made in the mills will remain in sustainable management of the Tongass. unlikely partners, making headway that HELEN SCHNOES JAMES PAULSEN the community, further enhancing the local “It’s so important to get kids learning at

TONIA ROUIX would have seemed impossible in the past. economy. a young age,” Brucaya says. “The schools “We’re promoting the world we want to While the initiative is still in its beginning love the programs, we’re helping with their see, rather than fi ghting the world we don’t,” stages, Brucaya is excited about the prog- educational programming, and they love to says Mink. ress made so far. “We’re building relation- get kids out there with professionals.”

14 InIn CommonCommon Spring/Summer 2012 15 broken into age sets, oftentimes leaving the social structure, reproduction, mortality rates before they start, the lion guardians have Guarding the Predators young warriors out of decisions and oppor- and feeding ecology. an advantage. Many of them are past lion tunities. When Hazzah and Dolrenry brought Together, the guardians and Dolrenry killers, making them highly respected Former Maasai warriors work to protect lions in Africa the project to Maasailand, the warriors were tranquilize selected lions, particularly those among the young men in their community. given a chance at jobs. causing problems at bomas, photograph Because of this prestige, the guardians are By Jenny Peek “If there are lions, there are jobs for the them, and fit them with a collar containing usually able to dissuade their age-mates the Conservation Biology and Sustainable have been frequent. Maasai warriors in eastern Africa have set warriors,” says Dolrenry. “They were really a GPS unit. Having individual lions collared from wanting to kill lions. Development program in 2007 and a Ph.D. When Hazzah and Dolrenry first began down their spears and turned their efforts to excited when this program started because allows the guardians and biologists to identi- The program has found other non-lethal in Environment and Resources in 2011, doing lion research in southwestern Kenya, protecting lions instead of killing them. it was their job, they belonged, and they fy and monitor collared lions and any associ- ways to utilize the prestige formerly associ- envisioned a program that would protect they found that incorporating communities Once seen as a rite of passage for the really value that.” ated lions, combining traditional knowledge ated with lion killing. lions and increase the livelihoods of the into lion monitoring would greatly increase Maasai, a semi-nomadic people in Kenya By hiring warriors to track lions, Lion with up-to-date scientific methodology. Traditionally, the first Maasai warrior to Maasai. their success. and Tanzania, traditional lion hunting has Guardians provides them a chance to stay “The warriors love it. They have killed in kill a lion is given a lion name by his peers. Stephanie Dolrenry, a Ph.D. candidate “We came to realize that these warriors come under increasing international pres- in their community instead of having to leave the past for a variety of reasons, but mainly The name incorporates characteristics of the in the Nelson Institute Environment and have been living with lions for centuries,” sure as animal numbers have plummeted to find jobs. because they are fascinated by lions,” says warrior and the lion he killed. When warriors Resources program, serves as the program’s Dolrenry says. “They grow up tracking and from an estimated 400,000 lions in 1950 In addition to tracking, the newly hired Dolrenry. “They say the best part of killing a began protecting lions, they adapted this director of biology. hunting them; they know them much better to fewer than 30,000 today. lion protectors are trained in a variety of lion is that they get to touch it, but [then] it practice to their new roles. P hilip J. B riggs P hilip J. B riggs P hilip J. B riggs

tasks, including lion monitoring, improving doesn’t walk away again. In this case, they “When lion guardians started monitoring “Human population is exploding, particu- than we ever could.” With a growing human population and a livestock corrals, finding lost livestock, deter- name it, it gets up and walks away, but it’s lions in their area, they began to give the larly across Africa,” Dolrenry explains. “With Basing the program on cultural values greater demand for land and resources in ring their neighbors from carrying out lion still their lion.” animals names that describe the personal- more people, there’s less habitat for the lions and traditional knowledge about the environ- eastern Africa, the declining lion population hunts, and educating their communities on Monitoring also allows the guardians to ity of the lion,” says Hazzah. “For example and there’s more livestock. The pressure ment, infusing it with modern scientific tech- faces an uncertain future. In addition to loss the importance of conservation. track lions and alert herders of the possibility ‘Lomanyuk,’ or ‘lucky one,’ because so on all sides is increasing, leading to more niques and tying it to Maasai wellbeing has of habitat, closer proximity to human com- “In Maasai culture, warriors are the army of livestock loss. If a lion repeatedly goes to many warriors tried to kill him but he always conflict and fewer wild areas for the lions created a sustainable conservation program munities has resulted in retaliatory attacks and defense of the community. Traditionally, a boma, a guardian will look for signals until got away.” to be lions.” that the community has embraced full force. for livestock deaths. they help people find lost livestock and help the threat has passed. The personalization of a lion not only gives People are the lions’ main threat, but Since the beginning of Maasai culture, “We have transformed past lion kill- people build up bomas, or livestock corrals,” “If they get a signal, they wake up the the guardians the same kind of respect they lions have been a symbol of pride and the ers into lion guardians who are not only many Maasai are no longer lion killers, explains Dolrenry. “We’re essentially hiring community, build fires and bang pots and had when they were lion hunters. It also target of traditional rituals. Killing a lion protecting lions but also protecting their instead gaining status as “lion guardians,” them to do what they always would have pans,” Dolrenry says. “It scares the lion deters communities from killing the animal, brings a Maasai warrior lifelong honor. In community using tradition-based mitigation thanks to an innovative program led by done.” away before it goes into the boma; it is making the lion part of their community. addition, lions are a considerable source of techniques,” says Hazzah. “The program is Nelson Institute alumna Leela Hazzah. Guardians conduct weekly surveys to proactive conflict mitigation.” “Lion guardians love these lions,” anxiety. They threaten the communal liveli- rooted in Maasai cultural values, which drive In 2007, as part of her master’s research, measure lion density in their areas. They The guardians also help herders reinforce Dolrenry explains. “They are so excited hood by killing livestock, which often leads the program.” Hazzah founded a program called Lion also track lions, using radio transmissions to the corrals, further protecting their livestock about birth in this population and watching to retaliation. It has also provided the Maasai with rare Guardians in collaboration with Living with locate collared animals, and they collect hair from large predators. When livestock do go the lions grow. Previously, that was unheard Lion Guardians aims to end lion hunts job opportunities. According to Dolrenry, Lions, a conservation research group based and scat for DNA analyses. Lion monitoring astray, the guardians help herders search for of. They value these lions because they’re and retaliatory killings by placing guardians warriors have always been underrepre- in Kenya, and local Maasai communities. provides key information about the lions’ the lost animals. individuals; they all have a story behind sented in the community. Maasai culture is Hazzah, who earned a master’s degree in in areas where lions are present or conflicts When it comes to stopping lion hunts them.”

16 In Common Spring/Summer 2012 17 P hilip J. B riggs P hilip J. B riggs

continued from page 10 Paul Robbins "The first thing you have to be willing to give up as someone who teaches the a space that is interesting, so people can bring their own individual environment, researches the environment research, knowledge and passions. What an interdisciplinary institute has to be is an empty space or loves the environment is the word like a theatre. The Nelson Institute should be like a repertory environment." theatre, so that the space is inviting and has lots of smart people around it. People come in and put on a show – what I mean is advance the new Global Health Institute on campus, for example, bring the community in and say, “What’s on your mind? Well, we’ve to coordinate those activities so there’d be more mutual learning. got a climate scientist who works on that, and here’s someone who’s worked in that community for 25 years and they’re in anthro- Recent polls show the environment is far down on pology…” You do something effective that helps people and that people’s list of priorities. Do you see that affecting advances science. And then people can go elsewhere and do their how we go about our work in the institute? own thing, and you rotate in another repertory performance. The first thing you have to be willing to give up as someone who What do you see as the most pressing environmental teaches the environment, researches the environment or loves the Leela Hazzah, founder of Lion Guardians, A guardian searches for lions using radio telemetry near Mount Kilimanjaro. issues, and what role can the Nelson Institute play in environment is the word environment. Environment doesn’t mean dons traditional Maasai clothing. addressing them? anything, it’s the context within which everything happens – that’s not very useful. Number one for me: global biodiversity decline. You have to think People shouldn’t be concerned about the environment; they’ve Since the creation of the program in 2007, no lions have been killed for retaliatory or traditional reasons where lion guardians are present. about biodiversity in a lot of different ways – not just more or less got gas prices to worry about, groceries, child care, health care. All The lion population in the area is rebounding and is home to more than 60 adults and 54 cubs. The guardians have found 86 percent of lost diversity of life, but different kinds of diversity. those problems were environmental problems before they were eco- livestock (totaling 12,285 livestock) and reinforced more than 500 , 95 percent of which reported no more lion break-ins. bomas The second problem related to that is global climate change. nomic problems and, in that sense, everybody actually is worrying The program has been so successful that it received this year’s St. Andrews Prize for the The directionality and rate of climate change is a core driver of about the environment. That’s why global climate change is a loser Environment, an environmental initiative from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and “The pressure on all other changes. Not the only one, and sometimes not even the politically – people think of it as something far away. But people are the international energy company ConocoPhillips. The award includes $100,000 that will help most important. But it’s certainly something that needs to galvanize worried about what their agricultural returns are from year to year; sides is increasing, support the program in its future endeavors. cooperative action, which makes it an enormous challenge. about their water; about the scarcity of things in their household. “This money will cover the core costs of the program, which are the backbone of our orga- leading to more conflict I’m very interested in global health and particularly disease ecol- Those are all things linked to the climate. nization,” says Hazzah. “We will continue to develop and improve the educational, technical ogy. The changing nature of diseases; how they vector and move The environment is translated through lenses far more urgent and fewer wild areas for and communications elements of each site, ensuring that they have a customized program to fit as a kind of environmental problem; how we harbor and transport in people’s day-to-day, immediate lives. So the Nelson Institute for their specific needs.” the lions to be lions.” them; how we think about prevention instead of an entirely curative Environmental Studies is the Nelson Institute for food, for commu- As for the future, Lion Guardians is looking to expand. Three additional sites have been approach, and about biomedicine versus nity, for health, for energy, for lakes, for fishing and hunting – it’s chosen, including two in Tanzania and one in Maasai Mara Kenya. traditional knowledge of healing. the Nelson Institute for everything that’s on people’s minds. “We want to make the program as sustainable as possible so we can test the model on a broader scale,” says Dolrenry. “Before, the How can the Nelson Institute fit in? Well, Nelson does all conservation voice wasn’t there; there were no traditional members standing up for conservation to save lions. Now there is, and it brings this stuff; it has Nelson written all over it. Given that, how could the institute better engage benefits to the communities.” On biodiversity – at a global, regional and local level – there’s and communicate with the public? 150 years of UW research. Starting with the wildlife sci- ences, extending to people doing land use and land cover Communication is part of it. But it is also about listening. What do change research at the Center for Sustainability and the Global we know about what is on people’s minds? Stephanie Dolrenry poses with a group of lion guardians after they’ve collared a lioness. A guardian comes across a pride of lions. Environment (SAGE), connecting to the climate drivers in the

P hilip J. B riggs One of my research projects was on lawns. I did a national study, P hilip J. B riggs Center for Climatic Research (CCR) – our own centers are already and what it showed is quite simple: people who use lawn chemicals working on this. The Land Tenure Center has this hugely rich are much more worried about what those chemicals will do to the tradition working on how land is managed and the diversity of life environment, their children and their health than people who don’t on the surface of the earth. use chemicals. What that means is people are reading the bags Climate change more generally, you’ve got social scientists who and it’s on their minds; it’s keeping them awake. work at different scales. You have CCR – some of the best climate Environmentalism, when it’s most effective, addresses people’s and atmospheric scientists in the world already at your disposal. anxieties. Telling people what they should be worried about is a non- You’ve got people at SAGE looking at landscape-scale transforma- starter. Asking people what they’re worried about and then thinking tions and how much carbon is in the ground, trees about how environmental science and environmental studies and atmosphere – these can be connected seamlessly with a little connect to those anxieties – that’s a much smarter thing to do. bit of coordination. And health: here you’ve got a School of Medicine and Public See video excerpts from our interview with Robbins at Health – one of the great medical schools in the world and at the nelson.wisc.edu/InCommon. same time people who are working in communities on questions about people’s livelihood and health. Nelson can continue to help

18 In Common Spring/Summer 2012 19 CHANGE for lemurs RyAN MARSH Students document critically endangered species in Madagascar

By JENNy PEEk Madagascar’s greater bamboo lemur is the endemic primate, scientifi cally known as local groups, forest patrollers and students struggling to exist. With fewer than 200 Prolemur simus. from the University of Antananarivo in known individuals in the wild, the criti- “This is a really compelling species from Madagascar. cally endangered species is a conservation the conservation side of things,” Marsh “We designed our project to meet priority. explains. “There’s a lot of global interest Aspinall’s needs,” says Marsh. “It became To ensure the animal’s protection, in Madagascar because it’s a biodiversity clear that trying to identify locations where researchers, non-governmental organiza- hotspot. So much of what exists on the lemurs were present, and studying their tions, local forest management groups and island exists only there.” behaviors would be most useful.” community members are working together After developing a proposal, the stu- to learn more about the elusive species. In A class of their own dents worked to secure funds to travel to order to develop conservation goals, the Bovard and Marsh, both master’s Madagascar. The CHANGE program was habits and habitat of this arboreal primate students in Conservation Biology and originally created as the training component need to be better understood. Sustainable Development, and Olson, of a National Science Foundation Integrative Concepts as rudimentary as group size a Ph.D. candidate in Environment and Graduate Education and Research for the greater bamboo lemur are still largely Resources, came together during their Traineeship (IGERT) grant. As a recipient of unknown, encouraging researchers like participation in the Certifi cate on Humans a CHANGE-IGERT fellowship, team member Nelson Institute graduate students Brittany and the Global Environment (CHANGE) Erik Olson was eligible for research travel Bovard, Ryan Marsh and Erik Olson to program, a 12-credit graduate certifi - funding. The students co-wrote a CHANGE uncover the cate administered by the Nelson Institute mini-grant proposal that, after faculty review inner Center for Sustainability and the Global and approval, funded the majority of their work- Environment. The cohort-based program research. CHANGE students Erik Olson, front left, Ryan Marsh, kneeling with green hat, and Brittany Bovard, center, purple shirt, Aspinall Foundation personnel, University of Antananarivo student assistants, local forest management members and a host family in Sakalava. ings trains students to work effectively in To make the most out of the short time of they had in Madagascar, Bovard, Marsh interdisciplinary environmental research Species like the greater bamboo lemur favorite food: Madagascar giant bamboo. The team also placed cameras high in and Olson structured their research in three settings and to integrate humanistic, natural are most active in low-light levels, making “We wanted to have cameras set up in trees, angled to capture activity beneath the parts: camera trapping to determine lemur science and social science perspectives on camera trapping a good alternative to direct areas where this lemur species was found or forest canopy. distribution, density and group size; vegeta- sustainability. human observation and the use of spot- thought to be present, so we could confi rm The fi nal and most successful approach – tion surveys to examine the lemur’s habitat Throughout three semesters of course- lights, which can increase the chance their presence or gain more information,” a hillside camera setup – took advantage of and its main food source – bamboo; and work and with continued support and of disrupting animal behavior. explains Olson. a steep slope in the forest, placing a camera community interviews to combine social encouragement from professors and “When you have so few individuals, you to cover several layers of canopy. This and ecological elements and fi nd out how program coordinators, what started as a don’t want to disturb them,” says Marsh. Vantage point produced two series of photos of the greater class project eventually fueled a full-scale hunting affects conservation efforts. “Having a non-invasive technique that Following local knowledge of the forest, bamboo lemur, the fi rst published camera research initiative for the students’ can capture the animals at times when it’s the research team based their fi rst camera trap images of the species to date. capstone course. On the ground hard for people to see them has a lot of trap placement on hunters’ understand- “Our research found that you can capture Marsh had previous experience in Camera traps are an essential component potential.” ing of lemur travel patterns. Although the Prolemur simus on camera,” says Olson. Madagascar, serving there with the of the team’s research. Through extensive literature review, the hunting and trapping of lemurs is banned “To calculate density, we need more cam- Peace Corps and collaborating Activated by motion, these setups take research team found that camera trapping in Madagascar, illegal trapping still occurs – eras for a longer period of time.” with The Aspinall Foundation, photos when triggered by an animal, and of tree inhabitants such as the greater bam- something the team used to their advantage. By surveying vegetation, the team also an international conserva- they’re an increasingly important tool for boo lemur is quite novel. “Finding places The greater bamboo lemur travels by gathered important information about where tion organization working conservationists and ecologists. “The for cameras in an arboreal environment is jumping from tree trunk to trunk. Hunters Madagascar giant bamboo grows, why, and to preserve endangered amount of research that has come out of much harder. It’s diffi cult to see paths of set traps using existing canopy gaps, where how habitat disturbance factors in. species. Marsh contacted the use of camera traps has blossomed in travel for species, since they’re jumping the animal’s movement tends to be restrict- “We know that the lemurs rely on this the foundation about the past 10 years,” says Olson. from branch to branch,” says Marsh. ed and funneled. By mimicking this scenar- bamboo, but so little is known about it.” the students’ ideas Both Olson and Bovard had experi- To overcome this, the students worked io, the team hoped to direct the lemurs past Marsh says. “We wanted to learn more and a collaboration ence camera trapping wolves and deer in with local research assistants and a primate the camera. Marsh explains,“We mimicked about the distribution of the bamboo species was born, combining Wisconsin, and together the group decided specialist to place seven cameras and test trap placement, but deconstructed the traps so we could come up with ways of identify- with a larger research that camera trapping would be the best three different setups, all in areas with a to make sure they wouldn’t injure or kill the ing key Prolemur simus habitat.” initiative that includes method for this project. high density of the greater bamboo lemur’s lemurs.” According to Olson, plant species like ERIk OLSON 20 In Common One of the more common bamboo lemurs, Hapalemur griseus, Spring/Summer 2012 21 seen at a research site. PETER BOGER

OLSON ET AL. 2012 IN ORyX-THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSERVATION bamboo benefi t from certain levels of disturbance. For example, natural disturbances create gaps in the forest canopy that can facilitate new bam- boo growth. Cyclone Giovanna, which hit central and southeastern Madagascar in February 2012, provides a natural experiment for examining the effects of a large-scale natural disturbance, something the team hopes to study further. A category four cyclone with winds of up to 120 mph, Giovanna destroyed nearly 70 percent of the buildings in Brickaville and Vatomandry, two major towns near the students’ study area. “Seeing how natural disturbance patterns differ from human forest disturbance could have strong management implications for the lemurs,” says Marsh.

It takes a village In order to better understand disturbance, local forest use and how both factors affect the greater bamboo lemur, the research team inter- viewed community members with the assistance of local collaborators and translators. “We wanted to hear stories about hunting,” says Bovard. “We wanted to learn about their values and their understanding of hunting and conserva- tion within their community, and also understand their perceptions of the changing forest.” According to Bovard, Madagascar is undergoing immense social changes – changes that may have varying consequences for lemur conservation. In the traditional Malagasy culture of Madagascar, people adhere to a set of taboos, known as fady. These taboos affect several aspects of daily

OLSON ET AL. 2012 IN ORyX-THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSERVATION life, including when people can work, what they can eat and what species

“When you have so few individuals, you don’t want to disturb them,” says Marsh. “Having a non-invasive technique that can capture the animals Waddle for the camera at times when it’s hard for people to Shadowing travelers on a 14-day ecotour of Antarctica as part of your doctoral research? Not a bad gig. see them has a lot of potential.” In November, Peter Boger, a Ph.D. candidate in the Nelson Institute Environment and Resources pro- gram, visited Antarctica to monitor how tourists interact with wildlife and how ecotours present wildlife in their activities and promotions. His dissertation examines how fi lms likeHappy Feet and March of the Penguins create “celebrity” species such as penguins, and how a charismatic status in movies changes can and cannot be hunted. As a result of the adoption of Christianity, how- the practice of ecotourism, conservation activism and wildlife science. To see an album of photos from ever, some residents of rural Madagascar have stopped following fady. his experience, visit go.wisc.edu/g3kce9 “The trend that fady is no longer being followed because of confl icts with Christian values can have both positive and negative impacts on conservation,” Bovard explains. “Studies have attributed the persistence of certain lemur species in large part to the observance of fady.” Incorporating what they’ve learned about local values and conservation goals, the students are now fi nalizing their forest management recom- mendations to share with The Aspinall Foundation. The team also has a forthcoming paper in the international conservation journal Oryx, another paper awaiting submission, and the possibility of more projects to come. “CHANGE was the perfect opportunity to link the social and ecological,” says Marsh. “The program brings people together from across disciplines and was able to fund this team to go to Madagascar and do interdisciplin- ary work on an internationally important issue. It’s been an exciting project Camera trap images of Prolemur simus. that we hope to continue.”

22 In Common Spring/Summer 2012 23 Regional leader EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman manages Great Lakes restoration, protection

people,” she says. “Their ability to organize “It was an incredible opportunity to be By Meghan Lepisto “The Great Lakes are a natural wonder of the world,” says Hedman. The lakes cover and bring about change has been very involved and I have to say, one that, if I had about 94,000 square miles, provide drinking impressive.” just had a law degree, I wouldn’t have been For Susan Hedman, there is always an oppor- regional administrator,” Hedman says. “To a healthy environment; that we have to water and jobs for more than 35 million prepared for,” she continues, alluding to her tunity to learn something new. be able to confront some of the problems choose between jobs and clean air… your people, and are home to more than 3,500 Setting precedents Nelson Institute coursework. Throughout her more than 30 years we’re confronting as effectively as we are is money or your life,” Hedman said during plant and animal species. “They’re such Along the way to the EPA, Hedman has in the environmental protection field, the just a privilege, and it’s a historic moment for her lecture, hosted by the Nelson Institute an important resource, and frankly, they’ve moved from Lake Superior to Switzerland Classes with consequences Nelson Institute alumna has served as a the agency. I can’t imagine doing anything and Law School. “In what sometimes passes been a bit neglected… It’s nice to have the and achieved a series of environmental researcher, professor, public interest lawyer, else at this moment in time where I would for public discourse these days, we can’t “The experience I had with professors resources to really make a difference.” litigation milestones. United Nations legal officer and assistant have the ability to make a bigger difference always count on people recognizing that this [at UW-Madison] through the environmen- Eleven government agencies and depart- After serving on the faculty of Northland attorney general. Today, she holds the posi- and contribute more.” dichotomy is false.” tal studies program was astonishing,” she ments form the initiative task force. Hedman College in Ashland, Wisconsin, and the tion of Region 5 Administrator with the U.S. The EPA sees “evidence every day says, naming Charlie Cicchetti as well as says the team is far greater than the sum of University of Maryland in College Park, Environmental Protection Agency. that environmental standards do stimulate Carl Runge and John Steinhart (both now its parts. “These agencies, many of which Hedman moved to Chicago in 1993 to Appointed by President Barack the economy,” she continued, and the deceased) as influential mentors. rarely even talked to each other in the past, join the Environmental Law and Policy Obama on Earth Day 2010, Hedman agency contends that a healthy envi- Hedman says her interest in the environ- are working together to tackle threats to the Center. While serving as lead counsel for a directs agency operations in the ronment is the foundation for a strong ment was first inspired by a childhood spent Great Lakes in a comprehensive fashion.” range of environmental, public health and six-state Great Lakes region (one of economy. As an example, she said, camping and hunting in central Wisconsin citizen groups throughout the Midwest, ten regional EPA offices). It includes investments in emission controls require and vacationing to national parks with her Rapid response Hedman filed suit against the Detroit Edison Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, American jobs to manufacture, install, family, and also partially due to the times. Company, an electric utility serving south- Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well operate and maintain the pollution-control Hedman witnessed the power of collabo- “The environmental movement, so to east Michigan, which at the time hoped to as 35 federally recognized tribal equipment. ration almost immediately after assuming speak – Earth Day, Senator [Gaylord] Nelson reopen a previously shuttered coal plant. governments. In a specific case closer to home, the role of Region 5 administrator. from Wisconsin – was happening right at the The lawsuit alleged that Detroit Edison She manages the Great Lakes Hedman points to the more than 1,000 In July 2010, a 30-inch pipeline ruptured time I was becoming a teenager,” she says. would need to obtain an environmental per- National Program, overseeing restora- jobs created through restoration of the near Marshall, Michigan, in the south- “And then in college we had the two energy mit and meet new source review standards, tion and protection of the largest lower Fox River, which flows from central central part of the state, releasing more than crises, so in terms of thinking about political “meaning that if they were going to restart freshwater system in the world; coor- to eastern Wisconsin. This Superfund site 800,000 gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo issues, these were very important.” the plant, it had to have the kind of pollu- dinates the multi-agency Great Lakes is home to the largest-ever environmental River. The river was over flood stage, heavy While attending graduate school at tion controls that a new source would have,” Restoration Initiative; and heads the sediment cleanup in the country, she rains caused it to overtop dams, and there UW-Madison, a nudge from Runge pointed Hedman explains. U.S. delegation renegotiating the says, with a million cubic yards of con- was concern the oil would flow west into Hedman to the Nelson Institute Land “It turns out that was the first suit of that Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement taminated sediment removed to date. Lake Michigan. Resources program. kind filed in the country,” she says. “Every between the United It’s also one of several toxic hotspots – “I was fairly new on the job, so this was “It would never have occurred to me to body had been talking about it, but this States and Canada. targeted areas of concern identified under kind of an immersion program,” Hedman get a Ph.D., but [Carl] showed confidence particular case laid out the facts so squarely In all, she manages almost 1,300 the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement says. Working quickly with EPA emergency in me, he made it sound interesting and he it was a perfect one.” (In the end, Detroit employees who span 19 floors of a – being fast-tracked as a priority water- responders and other federal, state and local made it sound irresistible,” she said. “I’m Edison converted the plant to natural gas.) federal building in Chicago and sev- shed in the Great Lakes Restoration agencies, the response team was able to deeply grateful.” Hedman would later return to Chicago to eral other locations across Region 5. Initiative. contain the oil approximately 80 river miles She also cites classes taught by Cicchetti, serve as environmental counsel and senior Her impressive professional roster, from Lake Michigan. then a professor of economics and chair assistant attorney general in the Illinois combined with a lineup of degrees Wonder of the world “Again, once you identify that common of the Public Service Commission of Attorney General’s office, but first made from UW-Madison, has expertly goal, you have a lot of people who can really Wisconsin, an independent agency respon- The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, her way to Geneva, Switzerland. There she prepared her for this role. Hedman earned get the job done,” she says. sible for the regulation of public utilities, as announced by President Obama in 2009, led the legal team for the UN tribunal that a Ph.D. from the Nelson Institute Land Hedman has also been heartened by the especially significant in reinforcing her False dichotomy provides an unprecedented investment in handled claims for environmental damage Resources program (now Environment neighborhood organizations she encounters interest in environmental policy. In February, Hedman spoke on campus the lakes’ protection and recovery. caused by oil fires in Kuwait and the release and Resources) in 1989, a J.D. from the in advancing the agency’s environmental “At the time I was in graduate school, about EPA initiatives in the Great Lakes More than 140 programs are underway in of oil into the Persian Gulf during the first University of Wisconsin Law School (’87) justice efforts, an initiative championed by the work going on at the Public Service region and what she referred to as the false five focus areas, which include combating Gulf War. and a master’s degree in public policy and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Hedman Commission and in the state legislature was dichotomy of economy versus environment. invasive species like Asian carp, promoting “There were humanitarian claims, com- administration from the La Follette School says most major Midwestern cities have literally the cutting edge, the most progres- She also held a roundtable discussion with near-shore health by protecting watersheds mercial claims and, for the first time ever, of Public Affairs (’79). areas disproportionately impacted by envi- sive energy and environmental policy in the UW-Madison students, responding to ques- from polluted runoff, and restoring wetlands environmental claims,” Hedman says. “In some respects, it really does feel like ronmental harms – all marked on country,” she says. “When I went out to the tions about renewable energy, green jobs, and other habitats. In Wisconsin alone, $49 “The whole idea of environmental claims I have been in training to be Region Five a map that hangs outside of her office. Commission the first time and saw all these environmental education and more. million in grants have been awarded to 88 from war was a new idea and this was the administrator, though it never occurred “These neighborhood groups are very lawyers, economists, engineers, scientists “There are those who claim that we have projects, viewable on an interactive map at first precedent.” to me, ever, that I actually would be the focused on improving the quality of life for and expert witnesses, I thought, ‘Wow, this to choose between a strong economy and greatlakesrestoration.us. continued on page 30

24 In Common Spring/Summer 2012 25 Investing in Nelson

Major gift to fund CHE students and programs Introducing Jeanan Scholarship fund builds on deWitt’s Three join Board of Visitors Your gift makes Yasiri Moe passion for teaching The Nelson Institute Center for Culture, accessible way to The Nelson Institute welcomes three new

History and Environment (CHE) will receive convey information a difference UNIVERSITy COMMUNICATIONS Jeanan Cal deWitt has retired after more than 40 years of a $1 million donation announced in April by and stir up con- members to its Board of Visitors: John Francis, Yasiri Moe teaching environmental studies at UW-Madison and James Knight, president of the Bradshaw- versation around Bruce Kahn and Carl Korfmacher. They join John Gifts are a crucial source of fi nancial joins the the Nelson Institute, but his legacy lives on – now knight Foundation and a member of the critical issues. Nelson (chair), Sonnet Edmonds (vice chair), support for the Nelson Institute. Nelson more than ever with the Cal DeWitt Scholarship Nelson Institute Board of Visitors. “Film is an darrell Bazzell, Lynn Broaddus, Jay Knight, Institute Fund. The gift, to be completed through fi ve incredibly powerful Tia Nelson, Beth Treacy, Sal Troia and Gail Your investment in the institute as devel- Revered across campus as an exceptional, annual installments, will fund graduate communicative Wurtzler. View full bios at nelson.wisc.edu/BOV. enables us to support talented opment highly engaged professor, his popular course student fellowships and provide support tool,” he says. students through unique scholar- coordina- Environmental Studies 126, Principles of for CHE programs, such as the Tales from Nelson Institute interim director Gregg ships, fellowships, internships and tor, where Environmental Science, and his weekly “Coffee with John Francis Planet Earth fi lm festival and the center’s Mitman, an environmental historian who (Cape May, New travel opportunities; attract and retain she will Cal” discussion sessions have inspired thousands annual place-based workshop, both signa- helped found CHE and established the fi lm Jersey), known as the outstanding faculty members; launch assist of students. ture community-building events. festival, says knight’s gift will provide the Planetwalker, main- new research initiatives; organize donors in planning gifts and For at least one of those students, Neil Peters- Whether exploring such themes as land- research center with fi nancial stability at a tained a non-motorized public events and programs that philanthropic investments with Michaud (pictured below with DeWitt), he had an scapes of health and illness or energy in the time of extraordinary budgetary challenges. lifestyle for 22 years and benefi t the people of the state and the institute. especially lasting impact. DeWitt’s enthusiasm, upper Midwest, the place-based workshops “The Bradshaw-knight Foundation has a vow of silence for 17. beyond; keep alumni and friends like A UW-Madison alumna mentoring and support of a class project were the draw together faculty, graduate students and been critical to the success of Tales from Francis walked across you informed of our latest achieve- in consumer science (M.S. catalyst behind Peters-Michaud founding his own alumni from across the disciplines to inter- Planet Earth,” notes Mitman, “and Jay and the United States, earn- ments; and much more. ’85), yasiri Moe has focused environmentally focused company in 1999, Cascade pret and understand the interplay of history, Renee knight have been remarkable friends ing a B.A at Southern Oregon State College, We invite you to help us meet much of her career on health Asset Management. culture and place in shaping human- and supporters of CHE. We are all deeply an M.S. at the University of Montana and a the challenges of achieving a more care access and community To honor DeWitt and ensure that environment interactions through time. touched by this transformational gift, which Ph.D. in the Nelson Institute Land Resources sustainable world by supporting our development program planning, future generations “CHE is an extremely important border- will help us support and train generations of program. Francis recently served as a visiting interdisciplinary education, research developing initiatives to reach can benefi t from crosser, and universities desperately need storytellers to come in the service of human- associate professor in the Nelson Institute. and public service. underserved and at-risk patient his devotion to these borders crossed for the creation ity and the environment.” He is a fellow with the National Geographic Contributions to the Nelson populations. environmen- of deep and accurate knowledge about knight, whose educational background Society and author of Planetwalker and The Institute are tax deductible. To make She has been a faculty tal educa- ourselves and the world around us,” says is in archaeology and environmental studies, Ragged Edge of Silence. a donation or learn more about associate at UW-Madison for tion and a knight. “An important way to tell our tale on is a strong believer in the power of history to our development priorities, please the past 25 years and teaches rewarding this planet is to fi rst acknowledge that the help us understand the present, no matter contact Jeanan Yasiri Moe at yasiri@ Entrepreneurship in Society, a college Carl Korfmacher story is fundamentally about our relationship the issue. (Brodhead, Wisconsin) wisc.edu or 608-265-5108, or visit course that engages hundreds experience, with the natural world over a long period of “We’re always in the story and there is president of us online at nelson.wisc.edu/giving. of students each year with Peters- time.” are always preceding chapters,” he says. Applied Ecological nationally recognized entrepre- Michaud knight, who describes himself as an “There’s never just a ‘now’; there’s always a Services (AES), one neurs. She also helped establish recently provided ardent fan of both history and fi lm, sees ‘then’ attached to it. It’s inescapable.” We thank you for your generous support. of the world’s leading the UW-Madison Center for a generous gift to the the Tales from Planet Earth festivals as an ecological consulting Nonprofi ts, creating outreach Nelson Institute to estab- fi rms. korfmacher programming that has served lish the Cal DeWitt Scholarship Fund. The annual joined AES in 1995. NELSON INSTITUTE more than 4,000 nonprofi t scholarship will support undergraduate or graduate Historic desk fi nds a home in Science Hall As a landscape architect, his interest lies in professionals since 2007. students pursuing a degree administered by the The desk of the late U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson the development of sustainability principles “I am delighted to help our Nelson Institute. is now displayed in the Nelson Institute direc- that integrate the science of ecology with tor’s offi ce in Science Hall. Nelson used the desk alumni, community and friends The goal is to grow the fund to $10,000 before the economic and social concerns. throughout his 18 years in the Senate and his time see the variety of opportuni- end of 2012. If this goal is reached, a private donor with the Wilderness Society following his govern- ties available to invest in will provide an additional $10,000 matching gift. (New ment career. Historic legislation was formulated and advance the institute,” If you would like to support the Cal DeWitt Bruce Kahn york City), serves as on this desk, including bills that established says yasiri Moe. “Connecting Scholarship Fund, please donate online (at go.wisc. Earth Day, created the Apostle Islands National director and senior people with the internationally edu/p7f816) or by mail. Online, please indicate in Lakeshore and banned the pesticide DDT. investment analyst renowned work and service of the gift form that your donation should be directed to Nelson’s family and former associates gathered at Deutsche Asset nd our faculty, staff and students is the Cal DeWitt Scholarship Fund. We also welcome at the Nelson Institute on April 22, the 42 anni- Management, a lead- versary of Earth Day. Standing from left to right: a privilege.” checks made to the Nelson Institute, with a note ing climate change former legal aide Sherman Stock; Nelson sons To learn more about develop- directing the gift to the DeWitt scholarship. Checks investor. kahn joined Jeffrey and Gaylord Jr. (“Happy”); Nelson Institute ment and investment opportuni- can be mailed to: staff member Ann Swenson; Nelson grandchildren the company in 2008 ties with the Nelson Institute, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies Jason and Kiva; and seated: daughter Tia and with 20 years of experience in environmen- please contact yasiri Moe at Attn: Jeanan yasiri Moe widow Carrie Lee. For a detailed account of the tal research, most recently as it relates to [email protected] or desk’s acquisition and Science Hall celebration, 550 N. Park St. investments. He received a Ph.D. in Land 608-265-5108. 122B Science Hall 26 In Common see nelson.wisc.edu/news. Resources from the Nelson Institute. Madison, WI 53706 Insights Thank you to all who support the Nelson Institute

We extend deep thanks to the dozens of individuals, families and organizations that have made financial contributions to the Nelson Institute. policy and media initiatives. These gracious alumni, friends and program sponsors contributed between January 2011 and May 2012. Much of this work requires Reflections sitting at my desk tracking Gifts of $1,000,000 and above David and Cynthia Fodroczi Judith and George Carolyn Kelley Marc Rosen environmental and science The Bradshaw-Knight Inga and Woodson Hagge Colby-George James Kendell Ron Rosner Foundation Martha Kohler Brenda Cole Kathleen Kilkus Monroe Rosner policy developments, writing Mathias Collins on a sense Michael Koutnik Kathryn Kirk Hans and Angela Rosendal and editing, suiting up and Johnston Connelly II Gifts of $50,000 - $249,999 Margaret Krome Lowell and Christine Klessig Ann and Michael Roth Chad Cook skipping off to Capitol Hill Cooper Family Foundation Landesa Barbara Klos Barbara Rutecki Jennifer Cook Wesley and Ankie Foell Mantron, Inc. Lorna Kniaz Nicholas Sampalis of place for a meeting or briefing, Gail Snowden Sandra Cota John and Pamela Knox Kim Santiago and Jose Madera Teri Cronk schmoozing at receptions, Wisconsin Alumni Research Thomas Knutson Douglas and Karen Sargeant By Nadine Lymn (M.S. ‘91) Gifts of $25,000 - $49,999 Foundation Bradley and Maren Coulter Herbert H. Kohl Charities, Inc. Pierre Sargent and in general, doing a lot John and Linda Nelson John Young Christopher Cutler William Kostlevy Dennis and Elaine Schenborn of things, that, while they Disney Worldwide Services Inc. Michael Zak Allan Czecholinski Gisela and John Kutzbach Barbara Schmitt Daniel Deetz and Rebecca Rose Kyprianou William Schrader When asked where I grew up, I often say, “nowhere.” ostensibly help further the Haack-Deetz Additional gifts received Sandra Lange Heather Schumaker Gifts of $10,000 - $24,999 DeWitt Ross and Stevens As a former Army brat, I was frequently uprooted as a child. But goals of this ecological com- Derse Foundation Emily Abello Donald Last Zachary Schuster Gerald and Mary Kay Dittberner I’ve now lived 13 years in Reston, Virginia, one of the nation’s few e-Academy Inc. Diane Adams Steven Lawry Dale and Cynthia Secher munity, are far removed from Nancy and Robert Dott Madison Gas and Electric Mark Adams Donald and Janette Lenschow Anber Seeber planned communities – an on going social-economic-environmental Bruce and Carrie Douglas what drew me to environ- Sonnet and Christopher Arnold Alanen and Lynn Sharon Lezberg Timothy and Lisa Semmann Bjorkman Molly Dubow experiment. Edmonds Ellen Levin Brent Sieling mental studies in the Nelson Nathanial and Caroline Lloyd and Pat Eagan Superior Health Linens LLC Andrew and Pamela Lewis Jeffrey Smoller Robert E. Simon, the founder of Reston, deliberately retained broad Lymn and her daughter at their Reston, Altfeather Eric Ebersberger Institute in the first place. Sal and Judy Troia Robert Linck William Smoller Virginia home. Todd Ambs Jacqueline Edmunds swaths of green space, designed community areas that encourage Merri Lindgren Roger Soles So, I’ve brought a little bit Sara Andreasen Martha Elenes Patricia Long Paul Spetz walking over driving, and mixed public housing with single family of my work home to Reston Gifts of $5,000 - $9,999 Marian Ashman Michael Enders Alecia Magnifico Bart Sponseller American Family Insurance Timothy Asplund Martin and Theresa Evanson homes, townhouses, apartments and condominiums. Reston even by replacing the anemic hybrid azaleas and lackluster lawn in front Louis and Jane Maher James Stark Carrie Lee Nelson Prapakorn Assavasilavasukul Kathleen Falk and Peter Bock Jennifer Mallette Michelle Steen-Adams employs natural resource experts and offers informal environmen- of my townhouse with a pollinator garden. In the spring and summer Dennis and Marise Hussey Claire Aubourg and Hugo Franklin Fetter Lentze Nancy Malloy Ronald Stewart tal education at its Nature House, nestled in 72 acres of hardwood The Doris Duke Conservation Linda Fibich months, false indigo, gayfeather, wild geranium, Joe-Pye weed, cone Fellows Brian Bader Jane McElroy Megan Sutherland Lynee Ficken forest. Zieve Foundation Jean Bahr Douglas McLaughlin Richard Sutton flowers, milkweed, butterfly weed and Virginia sweetspire beckon Flora Flygt Michelle Balk William Meadows and Sally Susan Swanson and Stephen Reston’s traits coaxed me to settle there in spite of the 20-mile Pamela Fornell a steady entourage of bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. A small Gifts of $1,000 - $4,999 Jill Baron Brook Meadows Vavrus Grail Research LLC commute to my job in downtown Washington, D.C., where I work for Alliant Energy Foundation Steven Bartholow Curt Meine Ann and Craig Swenson children’s bench serves as the landing place for the two-legged crea- Calvin Gander Applied Ecological Services, Inc. Jill Baumgartner Ronald Meissen Glenna and Jonathan Temte the Ecological Society of America (ESA). tures in the neighborhood. It makes me happy to see my eight-year Marilyn Garbaty-Wade and Jeanne Merrill David Thomas City of Madison – Madison Solar Patsy Behling Radall Wade Fortunately, I do not have to plunge into the area’s notorious rush- Energy Program Rebecca Miller Joanne and Paul Thies old daughter flanked by her friends, their heads bowed while they Herbert and Lenore Behnke Sharon and Warren Gaskill Oscar and Patricia Boldt Joseph Moran Joseph and Pauline Thome hour traffic to get there. An excellent bus service, combined with the Nathan Benson Gathering Waters Conservancy lean in to look at a butterfly or perch in the dogwood to swap secrets Pat and Dave Cornwell John and Tashia Morgridge Christine and Stanton Thomas Steven Berkowitz Steven Gelb metro train, enable me to commute while dozing, reading, working The Boldt Company Charles and Susan Munkwitz Jennifer Tillis or sample the nectar from the native honeysuckle that embraces our Christine and William Leo Getsfried Lynn Broaddus and Marc Bernhagen Susan Musslewhite Andrews and Susan Tolman or chatting with fellow commuters. I’ve Rob Gottschalk street light. Gorelick Carolyn Betz Robert Nash James Van Deurzen Ollie Green developed a degree of camaraderie Recently, I brought my work home in a different way. In March, John and Elizabeth Dutton Richard Betz Yoji Natori Barbara Vander Wende What do say? Julie Greenberg you Roxanne Eigenbroad-Zak Spencer Black and Pamela Jeffrey Neidinger Linda Vandyne with them, particularly the bus riders, ESA co-sponsored an event in Reston in which I hosted my former John and Robin Greenler Edgewood College Fornell Robert Nightingale Paul Vastag David Hargett with whom I feel a contented familiarity. graduate advisor Stan Temple (UW-Madison professor emeritus of J.H. Findorff and Son, Inc Laura and Nathan Blair Jane and John Norman Li-Bi and Pao-Kuan Wang In Common wel- Barry Hartup Frederick Freitag Jeffrey Blakely Michael Notaro David Ward Simple human interactions of wishing conservation, forest and wildlife ecology and environmental studies Brauna Hartzell comes engaging first- Katherine and Theodore Gekas Lauren Blough Erin O’Brien Mark Weisberg each other a good evening or commiser- Carol Hassemer and an ESA member) to show the new Aldo Leopold filmGreen Fire. Stefan Hastenrath Ethyle Bloch Scott and Michelle Olsen Mark Weller person essays from John Howard ating over some recent political shenani- Kikkoman Foods Foundation, Annie Booth Marcy and Travis Olson James Welsh Thanks to the efforts of the wonderful staff at Reston’s Nature Katherine Gensler Nelson Institute alum- Inc. Barbara Borns 1000 Friends of Wisconsin Paul West gan are regular and satisfying aspects of Gilbert and Lynn Gerdman House, a full complement of Virginia residents turned out, many of Mortenson Construction Karin Borgh Frances O’Reilly Stacey and Scott White ni on topics related to Herman Gilman my days. Daniel O’Leary Margaret Bowman Betsy Parry Donald Wichert whom had never heard of Leopold or the role he played in shaping Alice and Rick Godfrey your lives, professions Lewis and Vicki Posekany Jason Broehm Gari-Anne Patzwald John and Sarah Williams I get the best of both worlds: I work Joy and Robert Gottschalk how we manage our natural resources. The post-film discussion was Dan and Laurie Rhude Gisela and John Brogan Jay Peterson Marc and Marcia Williamson or perspectives. The Rebecca Haack-Deetz in the nation’s capital, with its bustle, Lynn Stegner Christopher Brown John Peck Robert Williamson III lively, with Stan telling memorable anecdotes about Leopold and his Rachel and Peter Hart-Brinson tone can range from Alison Stenger Kenneth and Becky Brown James and Jane Peerenboom David Wise sirens and the commotion associated continuing influence on today’s conservation efforts and urban Richard Hasselman UW Health Lee Brown and Pixie Ann Lynn Persson Daniel Wisniewski serious to humorous, William Helsabeck with frequent presidential motorcades community gardens. UW Office of Corporate Newman Carole and James Peterson Douglas and Melanie from sad to uplifting. Relations Susan Hill Warren Buchanan Margaret Peterson Woodworth roaring by my office, its vast array of As a bonus, Stan spent a night at our house, where he riveted my UW Office of Sustainability Renee Buchholz Barbara Holtz Barbara Pietz Christopher Uejio eateries and its marble-floored con- daughter with tales of the animals he found and brought home as a Margaret Van Alstyne Jacqueline and Bill Buehring Bernadette and Edward Fred Ulrich Any alumnus or alum- Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative Hopkins Marcia and Steve Pomplun gressional halls. But on evenings and Pamela Burnett Derek Popp Vincent Vukelich and Susan young boy–snakes and turtles, a starling, and of course, his beloved Gail Wurtzler Stephen Hopkins Conwell na may send us an Cornelia Burr Cynthia Potter weekends I retreat to my sanctuary in red-tailed hawks. David Ziemann James and Janice Burt Nicholas and Sandra Houtman Brian Yandell idea for an essay or Richard Howarth Sam Pratsch and Camille Elizabeth Campbell Zanoni Jian Yang Reston, where I live with my family in a Maybe it’s growing up with her own little pollinator garden and Jack Huddleston a draft of 800 words Gifts of $500 - $999 Nicole Caine Robert and Elizabeth Ragotzkie Jeanan Yasiri Moe and Doug townhouse community, am frequently Nancy and Thomas Hunt Moe watching Planet Earth with her grandfather. Or maybe it was Stan’s Sandra Augustine Ann Carlson Clayton and Jean Reitan or less to be consid- Isthmus Surveying, LLC Song Qing Yeung awoken by the calls of Stephen Born Douglas Carlson Andreas Jordahl Rhude visit that recently prompted my daughter to announce: “I want to be Jodi Jacobson Terry Yonker ered for publication. David Bromwich Kevin Carroll Margaret and Maurice Rhude a barred owl outside my bedroom Monica Jaehnig Dan York an ecologist when I grow up and try and save endangered animals. Daniel Cloutier and Joan Rosanne Cheeseman Robert Ribe Submit ideas or drafts Bouril-Cloutier Berdella Johnson Thomas and Ann Yuill window and enjoy miles of paths through Bill Christofferson and Karin Eliza Richman But I might also be a dancer.” Dane County Bicycle Daniel Jordahl Lydia Zepeda to incommon@nelson. Borgh James and Alma Riddell fern-carpeted forests. Association Roman and Svetlana Kanivetsky Peter D. and Joan R. Ziegler Patricia Cicero Gene and Jean Roark wisc.edu. Lloyd and Patrick Eagan Eve Kaplan-Walbrecht Zheng-Yu Ziu As ESA’s director of public affairs, I’m Nadine Lymn is director of public affairs for the Ecological Society of Dave and Dianne Cieslewicz Jean Robinson Herman Felstehausen and Geke Rachel Kastenberg Nancy and Michael Zolidis De Vries Friends of Dave Cieslewicz James and Jane Roeber responsible for the organization’s public America in Washington, D.C. Gary Kaszynski

28 In Common Spring/Summer 2012 29 continued from page 25 Alumni Notes Regional Leader What’s new in your career and life? is like an interdisciplinary bought two typewriters and got Letters Write us at [email protected] or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter and share an update there. seminar, only it has real-world to work. “We each took a pile of We welcome letters related to magazine content and enjoy hearing consequences.’” chapters, typed my dissertation from you. You may submit letters to [email protected]. Jill Baron (M.S. LR ’79), a John Francis (Ph.D. LR ‘91) The offi ce works to improve “We – and what I mean by and turned it in the following We reserve the right to edit for length or clarity. research ecologist with the U.S. received the McDowell Alumni the relationship between educa- that is the university – were very morning.” Geological Survey, has been Achievement Award from the tors and researchers to promote involved in bringing the latest Hedman describes herself named president-elect of the UW-Madison Multicultural the understanding of ecology information to bear on making as an “accidental scholar,” and Ecological Society of America. Student Center in May. The and to prepare students from good policy,” she continues. she says her journey through Parked in New Mexico The USGS and the Department award honors UW-Madison diverse backgrounds for ecology- “[Charlie] gave us opportunities the School of Public Affairs, Hi to all at the Nelson of the Interior have a policy that alumni who identify as persons related careers. McMillen is to participate. That just opened Law School and Nelson Institute Institute! I was just read- allows scientists to hold such of color, embody the Wisconsin helping to develop a digital up a whole new world to me.” – and through her career so ing In Common and positions while they continue Idea and enhance the Wisconsin library of biology education far – “all just sort of organically thought I’d send a quick their research at the USGS. Experience through gifts of time, resources for k-16 educators Accidental scholar evolved.” note to give an update Baron has led national efforts talent and/or treasure. and organizing a conference to Grace Latz (ESC ’11), who rowed In preparing her disserta- “For me, the graduate work on my whereabouts. I to understand the consequenc- Francis, a visiting associate promote their use. with the UW-Madison women’s row- tion, Hedman says she learned showed me a lot of problems am now working as a es of nitrogen deposition and professor of environmental stud- ing team as a student, traveled to another valuable lesson that has that I wanted to solve and law seasonal park ranger for climate change on mountain ies for the 2011-12 academic Erick Shambarger (EAP ’02) England in June to compete in the served her well in her career as school gave me the hammer to the National Park Service. ecosystems and identify ways year, spent 22 years walking and serves as deputy director of Women’s Henley Regatta and Henley an attorney: Always read direc- go after them,” she says. “I basi- Since graduating in 2009, for public lands managers to 17 years in silence in response environmental sustainability for Royal Regatta. These prestigious rac- tions carefully. cally followed my interests and, I have worked at yellowstone, yosemite and currently Carlsbad prepare for and adapt to these to a 1971 oil spill in California. the city of Milwaukee, overseeing es, held on the River Thames by the Hedman completed her I have to say, just had incredible Caverns National Park. I attached a photo from Hetch Hetchy in changes. She was a member He has authored two books the Milwaukee Energy Effi ciency town of Henley-on-Thames, attract dissertation while living in opportunities.” yosemite. 2 of the Science Strategy Team about his experiences and now (Me ) program and administer- international crews and thousands of Maryland, had it printed, and Similarly, Hedman encourages that now shapes the intellectual focuses on creating a more ing efforts aimed at systemati- visitors. While there she also visited headed back to UW-Madison, today’s students to follow their Ann Carlson ESC ’06, M.S. CBSD ‘09 direction of the USGS, and is inclusive view and collective cally reducing energy use in city the River and Rowing Museum, arriving two days before the end passions. founder and co-director of the approach to environmental operations. focused on the ecology of the sport. “Grab opportunities as they Well prepared of the semester and expecting John Wesley Powell Center for sustainability. The federally funded Me2 come and don’t be afraid to to submit her documents with I am an alum and felt compelled to write after attending a recent Earth System Science Analysis program helps Milwaukee home- jump in, even when the water’s plenty of time to spare. event at my university. and Synthesis. Her tenure as Kat Friedrich (M.S. LR ‘06) owners and businesses fi nance deep,” she says. Instead, she arrived only The University of kansas (kU), where I have been on the faculty ESA president-elect begins in interviewed fellow Nelson energy effi ciency upgrades to Because one day, it may be to learn that there was a simple since graduating from UW, has just undergone a major strategic August. Institute alumna Nina Mukherji their properties. the President on the line, offer- formatting error throughout the planning exercise, part of which identifi ed four strategic research (M.S. CBSD ‘09) on her blog ing you the job of a lifetime. text, which would need cor- areas. One of these strategic initiatives is called “Sustaining the Jane Elder (M.S. LR ’91) was Science Is Everyone’s Story in Vincent Smith (Ph.D. ’11 ER) is rection before the dissertation Planet, Powering the World.” I was involved as a member of the named executive director of the February. Mukherji serves as an adjunct instructor of environ- could be accepted. See video of Hedman’s lecture at UW-Madison at planning committee for the summit on this initiative, and 200 of Wisconsin Academy in January. director of programs at Real mental studies and sociology at Desperate, she and a friend nelson.wisc.edu/InCommon. us spent all day talking about potential collaborative work that could The nonprofi t organization Food Challenge, a Boston-based Southern Oregon University. He be done to enhance kU’s standing in this area. applies the sciences, arts and organization that leverages the currently serves as a member of At many times during the day, I felt incredibly grateful for the letters to bring context, civilized power of youth and universities the SOU Sustainability Council, a interdisciplinary training I received in the Nelson Institute (then the discussion and meaningful to create a healthy, just and sus- university-wide group that advis- Locate other alumni and help us reach you Institute for Environmental Studies). I remember when I was apply- action to the most important tainable food system. Friedrich es, encourages and coordinates The Wisconsin Alumni Association offers an online service to help ing for Ph.D. programs, struggling to articulate to a friend why I issues and ideas of the day. produces news and web campus operations in a manner Research by Steffenie Widows (M.S. you locate other UW-Madison graduates. Visit uwalumni.com and felt it was so important to bring multiple lenses to bear on environ- Elder’s career has focused content for nonprofi ts in Maine, consistent with environmental CBSD ’11) was the subject of a log in to the Alumni Directory. Please use the “Update Profi le” mental problems. I sensed why at the time, and my commitment on environmental policy and Massachusetts and Connecticut; stewardship and sustainability. National Wildlife Federation article in page to keep your own listing and mailing address current. This to interdisciplinarity has only grown in the years since then. At the communications, balanced by she also blogs about environ- Vincent’s current research the April/May 2012 issue of National helps ensure that you continue to receive In Common. initiative summit, I was reminded that UW prepared me to work interests that include theater, mental issues, engineering, explores the impact of farm- Wildlife. As part of her master’s especially well as my institution moves forward on this. modern dance and painting. technology and science com- based educational programs program, Widows evaluated NWF’s ® Networking online Elder was the founding director munication. View the interview at on childhood eating behavior Certifi ed Wildlife Habitat program, of the Sierra Club’s Great Lakes go.wisc.edu/p7835c and he has just completed a investigating properties in the Nelson Institute alumni can fi nd opportunities for social network- Stacey Swearingen White Ph.D. LR ‘98 Program and led the organiza- study of perceived barriers to Orlando, Florida, area. Her goal was ing on Facebook and Twitter and for professional networking on Associate professor, Urban Planning Department, and director of tion’s Midwest Offi ce for many the university’s new on-campus to determine whether certifi ed yards LinkedIn. Visit nelson.wisc.edu/alumni for more information. academic programs, Center for Sustainability, University of Kansas Andrea McMillen (M.S. WRM provide habitat not available in non- years. She was also the found- ’11) has joined the Ecological recycling program. Vincent is ing director of the Biodiversity also the owner of Silent Springs, certifi ed yards and if that additional STAY CONNECTED Society of America as education ES denotes environmental studies undergraduate major; ESC, environmental studies under- habitat benefi ted native wildlife. Project, a nationwide initiative programs coordinator within the an online community and mar- facebook.com/NelsonInstitute graduate certifi cate; CBSD, Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development gradu- to raise awareness about the ketplace that works to establish Widows found signifi cant differ- ate program; EAP, Energy Analysis and Policy graduate certifi cate; ER, Environment and organization’s Education and Resources graduate program (after 2007); LR, Land Resources graduate program (through value of Earth’s diverse species, markets for natural product ences: Certifi ed yards offer more twitter.com/NelsonInstitute 2007); and WRM, Water Resources Management graduate program. Diversity Programs Offi ce. habitats and ecosystems. artisans (silentsprings.com). habitat and sustain more wildlife than non-certifi ed properties nearby. Read 30 In Common theSpring/Summer full article at go.wisc.edu/457kts 2012 31 40 Science Hall 550 North Park Street Madison, WI 53706

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