Degree and from where it was received:
M.S. Global Ecology (Botany) UMASS Amherst

Courses you teach:
ENV 120-140 Principles of Environmental Science 1 and 2 (meets the lab
science requirement for all students)
ENV 253 Aquatic Ecology (Field Work in Boats/GIS and Lab Periods in addition to lecture) intended for ENVSCI and BIO majors in their second year

ENV 150 Current Topics in Environmental Studies (field trips/research into current topics/group discussions and presentations)
ENV 202 Environmental Semiar 2 (students research a topic of interest and do a multimedia presentation) GIS courses (in the near future)

Accomplishments (personal or professional):
The HCC Annual Forest Summit and Eastern Native Tree Society Rendezvous
(This is an event bringing together scientists, foresters, environmentalists, and the public to discuss current Eastern U.S. Forest Issues)

I have created and maintain a website (www.hcc.edu/forest )

Old Growth Forest Research (ongoing)

Bob Leverett and I have a scientific permit to inventory, characterize, and map with GPS/GIS the old growth forests of the Commonwealth and now also the Great Smoky Mountains (TN/NC)

Virtual Expedition to the Great Smoky Mountains
Every third week in April I gather with 12 other scientists in the Great Smoky Mountains, do field research, and share the process with my students via WEBCT

Favorite thing about teaching:
There are many:
Watching the expression on student's faces when they have an AHA moment
Working with students in the field in a mentor/apprentice mode

Memorable moment at HCC:
When one of my students in the Aquatic Ecology course threw the boat anchor in and then realized as the rope slipped through her fingers that she didn't have the other end fastened to the boat.

Also, when one of my students sang the "Star Spangled Banner" for the class on the shore of Pequot Pond after a field trip. We were all in awe, she later sang it at a Falcons game.

Meet the Faculty