Hello! I am currently a resident of Bellingham, WA, and I am a naturalist by hobby. I've been greatly interested in animals since I was a young child. I taught myself to be a backyard birder when I was around 9 or 10. I grew up on nature documentaries (along with whatever else was on PBS) and envisioned myself working at a zoo or something one day. I felt discouraged (and discouraged myself) from pursuing my interests for a good while (the club can't even handle my nerdiness right now) until later in college, and finally graduated from Western Washington University with a BA in biology in 2009. I've still yet to start a career in this field, but I volunteer as much as my time with local nature-oriented groups as possible. I'm still unsure whether I want a job in the sciences or would rather focus in environmental education.
Whether I'm strolling around in town, exploring a nearby trail, or hiking in a preserve or a park, I love the thrill seeing something new, something I rarely see, or something familiar I love to see over and over. I learned to love local flora via a botony class in college, and I'm learning more about local fungi via mushroom-loving friends. I volunteer on and off with the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, doing mostly education work, and I'm also getting involved with Whatcom County Amphibian Monitoring Project.
I will also gladly talk your ear off about whatever biology knowledge comes to light, and because of this, and I am TOTALLY FUN at parties! If the parties are actually hikes and you are also totally into this stuff too!