September 15, 2014

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#IAmANaturalist Campaign Flourishes Online

#IAmANaturalist because to try and understand a completely different way of living, of being, is to transcend oneself.

By Hannah Waters

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

In the past few weeks, naturalists of all stripes have taken to Twitter to share why they study nature, as professionals or amateurs, along with photos of themselves. To learn more about the campaign and why naturalist Kirsten Rowell* launched this grassroots effort to reclaim the title of "naturalist," read posts from Kirsten at the Ecological Society of America's blog from naturalist Nash Turley, and naturalist Chris Buddle.

#IAmANaturalist because my curiosity will never be sated.

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#IAmANaturalist because the delight in observing wildlife and in finding things out is unmatched.

#IAmANaturalist because to try and understand a completely different way of living, of being, is to transcend oneself.

#IAmANaturalist because there is beauty everywhere in nature.

#IAmANaturalist because non-human life has as much of a claim on this planet as we do, and to protect it we must understand it.

#IAmANaturalist because the legacy of our species relies on us naturalists sharing the wonder and joy of wildlife with the next generations.

Read more tweets at the #IAmANaturalist hashtag. Share your own stories of being a naturalist!

Header photo by yours truly, taken at the La Selva Research Forest in Costa Rica

*Correction: Original post misstated that the ESA started the hashtag; it was started by Kirsten Rowell, curator of malacology at the Burke Museum of Natural History in Seattle, Washington.

Hannah Waters is a science writer fascinated by the natural world, the history of its study, and the way people think about nature. On top of science blogging, she runs the Smithsonian's Ocean Portal, a marine biology education website, and is science editor for Ladybits.

Hannah is a child of the internet, who coded HTML frames on her Backstreet Boys fanpage when she was in middle school. Aptly, she rose to professional science writing through blogging (originally on Wordpress) and tweeting profusely. She's written for The Scientist, Nature Medicine, Smithsonian.com, and others.

Before turning to full-time writing, Hannah wanted to be an oceanographer or a classicist, studying Biology and Latin at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. She's done ecological research on marine food webs, shorebird conservation, tropical ecology and grassland ecosystems. She worked as a lab technician at the University of Pennsylvania studying molecular biology and the epigenetics of aging. And, for a summer, she manned a microphone and a drink shaker on a tour boat off the coast of Maine, pointing out wildlife and spouting facts over a loudspeaker while serving drinks.

Email her compliments, complaints and tips at culturingscience at gmail dot com.

More by Hannah Waters

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