Watershed Management lab
Other Interests
Here are some other things I spend a lot of time thinking about.
CANOEING AND KAYAKING
Northwest Florida has some of the best places for canoeing and kayaking in North America. Outdoor enthusiasts can choose from among dark slow-moving blackwater streams, bright-blue spring-fed creeks, or through estuaries, bayous, and living shorelines. The local waterways feature variety of wildlife and things to see, and it’s pleasant to canoe and kayak year-round.
CAMPING IN FLORIDA
I’m impressed by people who tent camp in Florida during the summer. It’s no secret that it’s very warm in the Florida Panhandle during summer months, and dealing with hot tents is challenging enough to keep me from summer tent camping. I enjoy hearing the many ways that people who do choose to camp in summer deal with this issue, from fans to elevation to tent air conditioning.
GEOLOGIC TIME
I spend a lot of time these days reading books about dinosaurs to my children. I find it amazing that dinosaurs were the dominant life form on Earth for almost 200 million years. Modern humans (Homo sapiens) have been on Earth for less than one million years. So it’s far more likely that, if aliens came to Earth, they arrived to a planet full of dinosaurs than a planet full of humans.
LOCAL AGRICULTURE
Prior to moving to Florida, I received a box every week from a nearby organic farm that provided a wide range of vegetables (like the contents of an Eatwell Farm box, above). I learned about all kinds of wonderful things I’d never heard of (pro tip: celeriac in mashed potatoes) and greatly expanded what I cook and feed my family. IFAS Extension has great resources for what to plant and when in our region.
Stream Ecology
The interactions among the physical, chemical, and biological elements of a watershed are most evident in the network of stream channels that drain it. Stream ecosystems provide incredible opportunities for learning about how we influence our world, and the wide array of services that stream ecosystems provide us.
Traveling
I encourage anyone to travel around your region and see the world as time and resources allow. There are unique and amazing things to see nearby and across the globe. Conferences, research projects, and friendships proivide opportunities for us to learn about the cultures of people around the world as well as in our neighborhood.