Journalism
The Nature Conservancy Florida
Editorial work for The Nature Conservancy in Florida’s online 60th-anniversary celebration.
Embryonic Transfer Conservation
Interviewing researchers and engineers at the forefront of rhino conservation.
In Our Nature Magazine
Reporting and writing for Northwestern’s environmental magazine.
Spoon Magazine Northwestern
Design and editorial work for Spoon University’s only digital and print magazine.
Weekend Sherpa California
As the editorial intern for the California adventure publication, Weekend Sherpa, during Summer 2019, I brought to life the trails and natural landscapes of Southern California.
Poetry
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
BMEG Gender Marker
Sustainability Researcher - Northwestern/World Wildlife Fund Partnership
January 2021 - March 2021
I worked with an interdisciplinary team of Northwestern University and WWF staff to further the development and communication of a sustainable building materials use guide (BMEG) for international disaster recovery. I analyzed communication approaches, consumer insight theory, and humanitarian standards (Sphere, United Nations) to understand the BMEG stakeholders and their needs as consumers. My project concluded with an analysis of the importance of gender equity in material selection during sustainable disaster recovery. This included case studies of Puerto Rico (Hurricane Maria, 2017) and Nepal (2015). I created the base for a BMEG Gender Marker, which can accompany the guide to hold construction projects accountable to gender inclusivity during decision-making processes.
Lessons from the summit
In Our Nature Magazine / in-person journalism reporting on the protests of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Hawaii’s Big Island
Feb 16, 2020
The summit of Mauna Kea, at 13,803 feet, hovers above land and water. When a foamy sheet of cloud layer separates the summit from the rest of the Big Island of Hawaii, it appears on its own as an isolated haven adorned in ruby glow. It’s not hard to see why this dormant volcano serves as the genesis for Hawaiian culture – it’s where the heavens unite with Earth. With the recent Thirty Meter Telescope protests being staged at the base of Mauna Kea, there seems to be a rebirth of action by a multi-generational group of native Hawaiians to protect the volcano’s ecosystems from further damage.
“As environmental concerns rise around carbon, renewable energy and the destruction of endangered ecosystems, it’s time for the rebirth of a new human behavior for all of us that prioritizes a relationship with our planet. ”
Embryonic Transfer Device Could Ensure Northern White Rhino Survival
Medium.com / wildlife conservation news feature for Renoster Systems, Inc. marketing campaign / research, writing, design & photography
October 18, 2020
Female northern white rhinos Najin and Fatu are the last two of their kind. While they remain protected on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, it will take the first southern white rhino surrogate to save the subspecies.
Meet Harleen Singh, a graduate student researcher at the University of California, San Diego working in collaboration with the San Diego Zoo Nikita Kahn Rhino Rescue Center to build the solution for the last two: an embryonic transfer device. For the past year, her team has been in the process of designing a handheld, snake-like flexible robot that will be able to navigate through the 2-meter-long female rhino reproductive tract. The end goal is for the robotic device to implant a northern white rhino embryo into a southern white rhino surrogate.
Cats Who Compost
In Our Nature Magazine / research, writing, photography
March 8, 2021
Ella DeBode was astounded when she took out the trash for the first time in her Copenhagen apartment while studying abroad with Northwestern in Fall 2019. There were six different bins to sort food and material waste. Responsibility for your individual impact was the way of life.
DeBode, now a Northwestern senior, created Cats Who Compost a year later in Fall 2020 to help reimagine the environmental impact of Northwestern students. It was her first time living off-campus in the fall, and this responsibility came with processing her food waste. “It made me reevaluate my own impact,” said DeBode. She researched compost pickup companies in the Evanston and Chicago areas, but there was no cost-friendly option for college students.
This inspired her to create a free weekly composting program for students living on and off campus. She first turned to Hillel, the foundation for Jewish campus life, because she had been part of their community since her freshman year and they had offered composting programs in the past. Hillel agreed to cover the needed funding for Collective Resource, an Evanston composting company, to pick-up the compost weekly. The Cats Who Compost collection bin sits behind the Hillel building on 629 Foster. Collective Resource conducts its weekly pickups on Thursday mornings, but the drop-off is available 24/7. Free Cats Who Compost buckets will soon be available for students to pick-up and use to collect their compostable waste.
As noted by Collective Resource, composting food waste can help reduce the amount of methane entering the atmosphere that contributes to global warming. Collective Resource takes the food scraps and combines them with grass, foliage, and cardboard in the right moisture and heat to create compost abundant in nutrients.
Fika
Spoon University Northwestern Winter 2021 Online edition “Comfort Foods”
January 2021
Rearch, writing and design
Fire & Cast Iron
Spoon University Northwestern Winter 2021 Online edition “Comfort Foods”
January 2021
Writing, photography, and design (and most importantly, recipes designed and taste-tested over my backyard fire pit)
Fire & Cast Iron
Spoon University Northwestern Winter 2021 Online edition “Comfort Foods”
January 2021
Writing, photography, and design (and most importantly, recipes designed and taste-tested over my backyard fire pit)
Jack Carlson: Capturing the Natural World
In Our Nature Magazine
April 23, 2020
Jack Carlson will never forget the natural, soft light that wrapped around his infant, Greg, in their Glenview living room. A friend photographed the newborn in this moment. “The baby never looked better,” Carlson said. Carlson decided then he would do anything to learn how to capture similar natural images.
The 74-year-old resident of Glenview, Illinois works as a professional photographer and teaches nature photography at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Last January through March, Carlson connected his Swedish heritage with his profession in his “Natural Scenics” exhibition at the Andersonville Swedish American Museum. The show included 25 international nature and travel photographs, but he can’t pick a favorite – he treasures the experience behind each one. He defines photography as the control of light through time, and he uses the details of shadows and angles to enhance his work.
Photo courtesy of Jack Carlson, Jack Carlson Photography
The Warbash Arts Corridor: Murals Beyond Museums
In Our Nature Magazine
November 9, 2019
The Art Institute of Chicago provides free access for Northwestern undergraduate students to more than 300,000 art pieces from 5,000 years of human history. While the works of Van Gogh and Pollock fill this famous museum space, just one mile away an expansive artistic world flourishes, defying the constraints of museum walls. Grab a friend and enjoy a few hours or the entire day exploring a lesser-known gem of Chicago.
An outdoor urban canvas that twists through the streets of the South Loop, the Wabash Arts Corridor embodies the artistic spirit alive in Chicago. Columbia College Chicago began this dynamic project in 2013 with the intention for the collection to grow throughout the city. Urban art in the medium of outdoor murals defies the classic narrative of art as an experience between the artist and the viewer. These mostly-paint-on-brick canvases span four-story buildings and tattoo the sides of train tracks - Chicagoans living in the South Loop reside amongst these masterpieces. Columbia College’s mission to move art beyond the constraints of museum walls speaks to the importance of prioritizing accessibility to art for the public. This writes a new narrative of art as a public affair of human expression, defining art’s audience by more than just who can afford an entrance ticket. The project is in conversation with the city and integrates the murals within eight schools, 19 galleries, 14 performance spaces, five hotels and over 40 restaurants.
Weekend Sherpa
As intern writer for the online adventure magazine Weekend Sherpa, I combined my passion for Orange County outdoor fitness and the arts with my journalism and creative writing skills to publish six articles during Summer 2019. Greatest joy: pitching and writing new ideas for the magazine. Greatest challenge: found my poetry course skills useful in delivering a compelling story and practical reader info in each 200-word-limit article. Lesson learned: every word counts.
Rob a Peak!
Great panoramas don’t all require epic hikes. A 3.5-mile (round-trip) trek up to 1,152-foot Robber’s Peak in Santiago Oaks Regional Park gets you gorgeous vistas of Orange County, iconic mountains, and the Pacific. The trail is also bike-, equestrian-, and dog-friendly. According to legend, outlaw Joaquin Murrieta would make his roost here to prey on traveling stagecoaches. From the parking lot, hike the Santiago Creek Trail for a quarter-mile.
Seven Bridges Paddleboard Tour
SoCal has plenty of surprises in its abundance of mountain trails, but there are some other pathways to explore, like those on the Pacific Ocean! For a bounty of aquatic adventure, get out on the self-guided SUP “Seven Bridges Paddleboard Tour” so-named by Weekend Sherpa’s summer intern, Hannah, who grew up doing this adventure with her family.
Peters Canyon East Ridge Loop
For an inspiring example of a land’s resilience after wildfire, hike the trails of the dog-friendly Peters Canyon Regional Park in central Orange County. Although the 2017 Canyon 2 Fire devastated the wildlife at the north end of the canyon and left charred willows in its wake, today an entire palette of green, yellow, and orange regrowth fills spaces that flames dominated just a few years ago.
Brea Beckoning
The art-centric town of Brea goes beyond museum walls with an “Art in Public Places” program featuring 183+ outdoor sculptures. Amid these treasures, you’ll find the 8-piece sculptural installation by Laguna Beach–based mosaic tile artist Marlo Bartels.
UNESCO, You Know!
It’s hard to be #1 when you live in LA. But Hollyhock House—a Frank Lloyd Wright building—has achieved that status, as the first LA landmark designated a World Heritage Site. See it on an urban tour of LA’s architecture and public art scene, including a Frank Lloyd Wright–themed walk through Barnsdall Art Park.ban Architecture Walk
Murals of La Jolla
You need a map and sense of adventure for this fun journey through the lovely town of La Jolla. The “Murals of La Jolla” project began in 2010 as part of SoCal’s commitment to public art, and you can explore 15 unique murals—some hidden, others in plain sight.