What is an Almost Anthropologist?

I just attended the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) annual meeting. It was my second environmental education (EE) conference, and during both I lamented the fact that they were not the anthropology or primatology conferences where I feel the most satisfying sense of belonging. (Note: Not everyone feels this way, and that’s a […]

EE Haiku #2

In honor of attending the NAAEE conference this week, I offer this environmental education themed haiku: scat garden flop no sprouts from this bear poo plop

Not-So-Great Apes Haiku

talking to Mom about greedy orangutans “same shit, different species”

Usual Love for an Ordinary Pelican

Years ago, I posed for a picture on a day trip along the Wakulla River in northern Florida. A juvenile brown pelican bobbed behind me as I aimed my cheesy smile at the camera. I turned back around, greeted the bird with enthusiasm, and delighted as it swam closer to my rocky perch on the […]

Herp Haiku

red eft contemplates nerdy birders across a muddy ditch

Watermelon and Dead Monkeys

A farmer plucked a watermelon from the vine and cut it into chunks with a machete. We sat in the garden surrounded by forest, munching on the fruit as the juice trickled down and dripped off our elbows into the dirt. I chatted with farmers in between greedy bites of the snack that was grown in […]

Should You Skip the Straw?

Single-use plastic straws carry a lot more than a sip of iced tea from the glass to your waiting lips these days. Are straws really harmful to marine life? Does refusing a straw really make a contribution toward reducing ocean pollution? You can Google these questions ’til the sea cows come home. For me, the […]

EE Haiku

mourning dove and kids who dislike poetry melancholy coos *EE = Envionmental Education

Rocky Mountain Homesick Haiku

alpine tundra magic petite petals and great gusts rocky mountain high, indeed

Florida Storms

I heard the first distant rumblings of thunder and put down my glue stick. I looked around to gauge the reaction of the other students. Did they hear the thunder? Were they as nervous as I was? They kept cutting and gluing, either oblivious to or apathetic about the approaching storm. It was the middle […]