1.
My STEP Signature Project entailed a weeklong seminar “Ferns & Lycophytes: Identification, Biology, and Natural History” held by the Eagle Hill Institute in Steuben, Maine taught by fern experts and researchers Dr. Robbin Moran, Dr. Alejandra Vasco, and Dr. Weston Testo. The course involved morning lectures on species of interest with supplemental herbarium specimens followed by an afternoon field trip to various habitat types along the eastern coast of Maine to find and collect specimens for lab examination. The program supported a community of students and professionals while emphasizing learning the history, phylogenetics, biogeography, and ethnobotanical uses of ferns and lycophytes.
2.
The STEP Signature Project I participated in was a deeply informative experience that has changed the way I view my path in life as a professional in realm of evolution, ecology, and organismal biology. Simply the act of travelling to a new set of ecosystems in the coastal and freshwater forests of Maine to learn the interactions of native plants opened my perspective of the environments across the U.S. and contributed to my ideas of where I would like to be as I continue with academia and a career. I found that I was able to forge a place for myself in the world of botanical sciences, creating hope for my future while interacting and learning from professionals. I was able to gain confidence in my ability to pick up information quickly and integrate my previous knowledge of ecology and evolution to create a wholistic view of the plants, ecosystems, and communities around me. The course curated a love of the innerworkings and history of organisms often considered ‘primitive’, when their modes of life being so different from our own hold a beauty like no other. Meeting those who foster that appreciation and share it within a community was eye-opening as to what I can be a part of. Having positive interactions with those both within and outside of academia aided in my confidence to build networks with new people. I found pride in being productive in my learning and physical capabilities during recreational walks and hiking during field trips. Hearing from the experiences of others furthered my view of the world and how people found their places within it. The life histories and history of botany integrated into the course brought about a wholistic perspective of the way organisms change with time and how humans have interacted with them. I will surely carry the knowledge and experience from this course as I continue in my academic pursuits and personal life.
3.
Taking part in a seminar at Eagle Hill introduced me to new experiences and knowledge that has been impactful to my outlook on the world around me and my future within it. Spending a week with people at varying stages of their adult lives allowed for significant introspection on the path of my own life. A level of camaraderie was established throughout lectures, field trips, and mealtimes. One thing I will take away from this experience is how impactful having three meals a day with the same group of people for a week is, learning who they are and having discussions from botanical nomenclature to a favorite recipe. Talking to graduate students about their application process, researchers about their field expeditions, or naturalists about their community engagement filled rooms with conversation. I was able to glimpse into different perspectives and contexts of others’ lives that brought them to the same place as myself to learn about the same incredible organisms.
The layout of the workshop itself required independence and navigational skills involved with travel. Having to coordinate connecting flights and transportation to and from the airport fostered a great deal of confidence in my ability to navigate unfamiliar areas. I was met with a challenge when the taxi I had booked did not show up, and I had to coordinate with other taxi drivers at the airport to secure a ride to the institute in time. Having delayed flights on the return trip had its own set of difficulties and new experiences for me. Navigating these circumstances brought about a confidence in myself to handle what life throws at me in logistical situations, knowing that I can now handle them even when alone.
Each day of the course incorporated field trips throughout the habitats of eastern coastal Maine. I felt that I was able to attain a deeper understanding of the ecosystems surrounding myself and what role ferns and lycophytes played within them. Being integrated into an environment with the context of a community of professionals led to learning beyond the scopes of the workshop. Personal stories about the plants surrounding us were an important part of my learning, especially as I was showed new species to recognize and love. Seeing plants in their habitats and in conjunction with their ecological function is always influential to my perspective of the world, grounding my knowledge and bringing it out of a textbook or lab and into the tangible world.
One of if not the most influential aspect of this course involved the interaction and learning from the subject organisms themselves. I am sure I will carry the knowledge of the course instructors that was transferred to us students for years to come as I continue to interact with ferns and their relatives in the botanical world. One cannot understate the impact of the plants themselves as teachers. Learning who they are, their interactions, and where they reside by finding them in the wild aids in recognition of not only their identity but also their importance in an ecosystem. Viewing real time ecological interactions such as the fern shelters built by moths at the tips of fronds or habitat specificity is, to me, invaluable in the teachings of the natural world. Each experience I have learning from people who have been in touch with ecosystem and evolutionary sciences in the context of botany has been life changing as I am encouraged to pursue my passions for science and relationships with plants.
The lessons, skills, and experiences gained from the ferns and lycophytes seminar at Eagle Hill Institute will no doubt be influential in both my academic career and my personal life as I continue engaging with my passions for nature and science. The participants in the course, both students and instructors, readily gave advice regarding their own paths and how I can best forge my future based on what I desire. I had the opportunity to meet graduate students, faculty researchers, and even professionals working in botanical gardens that offered realistic views of what the process of beginning graduate school or a career is like and how I can prepare. I learned what projects students were working on and what was entailed in their fieldwork, how to prepare for testing in graduate school, and information about research in the botanical world. The information and first-person testimonies I was told will inform my advances in academia and my career that I hope to aim towards botany. I was instilled with confidence and reignited passion to continue with my goals, encouraged to do research, and given the contacts and advice to do so, of which I am beyond grateful.
My experience at Eagle Hill Institute has shaped who I am and who I wish to become. During my time in college, I have found a deep passion not only for the natural world and its evolution, but also plants and their rich evolution, history, and ecology. From the moment we began instruction I was enamored with the material both in the lab as we looked at microscopic spores bursting from antheridia and working in the field, identifying the aquatic Isoetes found in a river. Taking this course undoubtedly deepened my knowledge and excitement to be involved in the field whether I continue my path with an academic pursuit or personal engagement. Regardless of my choices, I have knowledge gleaned from this course to take with me, with something as simple as a walk in the woods I will find comfort in the plants I recognize along the way thanks to this experience.
