Tag: conservation

Studying Scientists in their Natural Habitat

By Melissa Haeffner
Growing up in a small suburb in the United States, my dream was to move to the big city, to agilely navigate through shoulder-to-shoulder masses of humanity and revel in the clashes between cultures. I didn’t pay attention to the “environment” or “nature,” and it was not a central part of my sociology studies in college.

Tracing Landscape Change through Dung Beetles

By Olea Morris
In some ways, the dung beetles and I had a lot in common! Working as a volunteer on a farm in the highlands of Veracruz, Mexico, I was assigned the very unglamorous but important role of tending to the manure of the animals raised there.

Insect Portrait: The Dung Beetle

By Olea Morris The family of insects known as “dung beetle,” or escarabajos del estiercol, is a diverse one—even amongst those that make the same misty cloud forests of Mexico their home. Some, like Onthophagus corrosus, are jet black and no bigger than the… Continue Reading “Insect Portrait: The Dung Beetle”

The Strong Who Inspire: A Poem in Memory of Rachel Carson

This short guest post by award-winning nature writer Ellery Akers commemorates one of the worlds greatest conservationists and our intitute’s namesake, Rachel Carson. Carson died on 14 April 1964 at the age of 56. The poem, taken from Ellery’s new book Swerve: Environmentalism, Feminism,… Continue Reading “The Strong Who Inspire: A Poem in Memory of Rachel Carson”

Mosquitopia? Could We or Should We Eradicate Mosquitos: A Short Film

In this short film created by the Mosquitopia team following the Rachel Carson Legacy Symposium “Mosquitopia? The Place of Pests in a Healthy World,” 21 experts give their opinions and insights on this critical question.

The Ottoman Imperial Brewery and its Legacy: Multiculturalism, Hedonism, Conservationism

By Malte Fuhrmann
Turkey is home to some of the most impressive ancient and medieval archaeological remains of the Mediterranean, but its government does not have a good reputation for its conservation policy.

Insects as Inspiration

By Jan Goedbloed
My name is Jan, I am now 67 years old. I studied biology between 1969 and 1976, and then could not find a job. I helped start a bird hospital, and then worked as an educational assistant in a natural history museum where I tried to incorporate nature meditation.

In Conservative Bavaria, Citizens Force Bold Action on Protecting Nature

By Christian Schwägerl
Alarmed at steep declines in insects and wildlife, Bavarian voters backed a referendum aimed at changing destructive farming practices and repairing damaged ecosystems. Now, Bavaria’s initiatives are inspiring other German states to move to stem the loss of biodiversity.

Fifty Years Ago, Cockchafers Belonged to Spring…

By Birgit Müller and Susanne Schmitt
We met Ernst-Gerhard Burmeister at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology where he has dedicated most of his professional life to the amazing collection of over 25 million zoological specimens, one of the largest natural history collections in the world.

Sites of Remembering: Landscapes – Lessons – Policies

By Eveline de Smalen On 27 and 28 April, the Rachel Carson Center hosted Sites of Remembering: Landscapes – Lessons – Policies. This workshop was born of a desire to enable research in the humanities and social sciences to speak to policy and to… Continue Reading “Sites of Remembering: Landscapes – Lessons – Policies”