This will be my last opportunity to converse with all of you as the Director of the SEEDS program. On May 25, I’ll sling a backpack over my shoulders and start hiking the Appalachian Trail, spending six weeks trekking though Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. It’s been an honor and privilege to be associated with this wonderful program and as I prepare to move on to the next phase of my life, I’ve been reflecting on the past six years working with SEEDS. I have met so many incredible people and been blessed to watch as students graduated and moved into new stages of their lives, ESA leadership made diversity and SEEDS a priority for the Society, member volunteers offered their precious time and energy, funders provided the needed resources, and staff put their heart and soul into making the program a success. SEEDS is like a family to me, and the thought of losing that family is what I fear most about this transition. There have been innumerable great experiences with students, faculty members, and volunteers that have literally changed how I perceive the world, but there is one story in particular that I keep coming back to and I would like to share. About a year after I started working at ESA, I was visiting Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, Alaska, and was asked to speak on some of the issues between Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Western science. I felt quite unqualified and was very nervous (especially when I noticed that the local public television station was there to tape it), but everything seemed to go pretty well. After the talk, an older gentleman in the audience, whose name I have long forgotten, came over and gave me some feedback on my presentation. First, he mentioned that my way of communicating (lecture style) was very Western science; if there was someone else with me who spoke in stories, we would perhaps meet the different needs of different audiences. Second, prayer and spirituality is important and can help overcome communication barriers. Third, that through daily activities (like offering tobacco over religiously significant sites) environmental degradation comes clear over time (for instance, observing lichen die-off due to acid rain). Fourth, TEK is, and has been, often shared between cultures and should continue to be shared with the scientific culture. I welcomed these comments and I asked how he thought I could better communicate with different cultures. He became quiet and reflective for a few minutes (I wasn’t sure if he was even going to answer me) and then he told me this story:

I grew up with my grandmother who was very knowledgeable about plants and we would go and collect them. Every night before I went to bed she would tell me to clear my head. She told me to think only good thoughts about other people and most importantly myself. When I woke up in the morning she would get me to wash my face and hands in cold water and tell me to think about the plants I was going to collect that day. I should think about the plant and know that the moment I woke up, that this plant knew that I was collecting it today. By thinking of this plant and waking up with a clear head, when I went to collect the plants I would be able to walk right to the plant and we would know. My grandmother told me that by collecting plants this way, I would begin to understand the health of people. I would be able to tell by their skin, hair, and sweat what plant they needed to heal. But that was just my grandmother.

At the end of the story he thanked me and quickly left the building. It was a very abrupt end to our exchange and I thought to myself, ‘I have no idea what he was trying to say!’ However, over the years I keep coming back to his words and how I, in some cases inadvertently, took this story to heart. First, I have learned that before communicating it is important to clear your head, focus on what you want to say, think about who your audience is, and let that dictate how you communicate with them. Second, it is important to know what you want to get accomplished in a day; by acting deliberately you become more perceptive to what audiences need and want. Over my time at ESA and with SEEDS I have tried to use these communication skills with various levels of success. I’ve attempted to relate to as many of the diverse participants as possible: students, faculty, mentors, funders, and advisory boards. We're all a big family, and the way that we communicate and relate to each other is one of the aspects that make this program special. I look forward to stepping into my new role as SEEDS alumni. Please feel free to contact me any time at chiroptera@gmail.com. Best wishes.