Interviews and In the News
Ecology Amateurs has been getting some attention recently — here’s the scoop!
Our project here at Ecology Amateurs had its first anniversary at the beginning of this year and we’ve been seeing steady growth since then. We celebrated the landmark achievement with the reveal of our new logo; featuring an adorable Northern Leopard Frog made by my long-time best friend, Jackie Saravia. *Check out her portfolio if you need graphic design work or a website, she’s the best!
Getting more involved with citizen science projects and outdoor initiatives this year has had a very positive impact: we contributed valuable data to science, explored new natural areas, and made some friends along the way. But that’s not all. We started making a name for ourselves and getting some attention.
iNaturalist’s City Nature Challenge in late April provided an excellent opportunity for both myself and Kam to be seen in our local communities. We held top spots on the leaderboards throughout the weekend, with both of us submitting hundreds of observations. The CNC is a citizen science project with the goal of documenting as much urban biodiversity as people can find worldwide over the span of 4 days. It was through connections made during the challenge that lead to an interview in the IndyStar - our daily newspaper here in Indianapolis. Environmental reporter Sophie Hartley was writing an article covering the challenge in the Indy area and she was looking for a participant’s perspective, that’s where I came in. It was my first time being interviewed and despite feeling a little nervous, I was able to enjoy recalling my adventures and observations. Tales of my triumph over a nemesis bird, the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, along with my unwanted encounters with ticks were recounted in the article. A handful of my photographs were featured in the publication. The photo of a Six-spotted Tiger Beetle (below) made it in the main article itself, while a standalone photo gallery showcased it and four others. Having some of my photos published in an online newspaper article was the most exciting part of the experience and something that feels like a significant accomplishment, even now it still feels a bit hard to believe.
Right around the same time as the City Nature Challenge and my interview with the IndyStar, another opportunity came our way. Olivia Bautch of the Bird Alliance of Central Indiana reached out to me about the possibility of an interview for their website. Kam would be joining me for this interview, and it would be exclusively about Ecology Amateurs! With a mix of excitement and disbelief, we obviously said “Yes!” — no way we were going to pass this up.
It was the end of June when the interview questions were delivered to our email inbox. Kam and I eagerly read through them at the first chance available, ready to start articulating our answers. We spent the next week or two coming up with our own responses before convening over video chat to answer the questions together. It took us a couple of hours, but it was a fun and engaging process. Topics ranged from our Hoosier upbringings and career backstories, to Global BIG Day and “who’s the better birder?”. Deeper questions about the gamification of citizen science and gatekeeping in the environmental field required more intense thought and discussion. By the end of the call, we had our answers pretty well figured out and ready to submit alongside a few photos. A couple small tweaks later and there it was, our interview on the Bird Alliance of Central Indiana’s website.
Kam and I are both incredibly grateful for the exposure and experiences we were given by these interviews with substantial voices of the central Indiana community. Getting the chance to share our ecological insights and passion for nature, to educate about the environment and how everyone can make a difference — that’s what this is all about, that’s the purpose behind Ecology Amateurs. A huge thank you to the IndyStar and the Bird Alliance of Central Indiana for featuring our interviews, and even more thanks and much love to everyone following and supporting us so far!
