by Julia Rush
Looking back on my time at Schoodic Institute, it’s hard to pinpoint one moment that really defines my experience as the Cathy and Jim Gero Acadia Early-Career Fellow in Science Communication. But here’s one memory that stuck with me:
One day in the heat of the summer I went out into the Great Meadow with Gero Acadia Early-Career Fellow in Science Research Gillian Audier to collect data from Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs). ARUs are little metal boxes that record bird activity so scientists can gain an understanding of bird populations. The recorders are spread out around the wetland to sample a broad area. All of the sites were only accessible by descending into the wetland with rubber waders and all of our needed equipment on our backs.
As we ducked and slipped through the brush we came to a slight clearing and right in front of us perched on a tree branch sat a barred owl.
We stopped in our tracks and dropped our voices down to whispers as the owl stared back at us. I’m not sure how long we stayed there just watching each other. This was actually my first time seeing an owl out in nature. I didn’t want to walk away, there was something almost calming about the exchange and the way the owl silently watched us.
But finally, needing to get back to our work, Gillian and I broke the trance and made our way very slowly past the tree. I watched as the owl kept its eyes trained on us, rotating its head all the way around before we were beyond its line of sight.
It wasn’t until later in the summer after sharing my account with a couple of people familiar with the Great Meadow that I learned this owl is a resident of the area and regularly spotted. That made the meeting even more exciting to me, as it felt like I was getting to know the neighborhood and being welcomed by one of the members of the community.
Some of the memories over the past ten months at Schoodic Institute that I keep coming back to are these in-between moments. The car rides to field sites on Mount Desert Island chasing the sunrise; swims after work to cool off; the walks, hikes and drives between field sites are all moments that helped to define my time at Schoodic. They were memories I shared with my fellow early-career professionals. We each had our own projects, but when we were able to come together to gather data, collect instruments, or prepare materials for projects, there was a real sense of community among us.
Without these moments, my work would be very different and the podcast would have a completely different shape. Each of my fellow early-career professionals lent me their time, opinions, and ears as I shared ideas and snippets of audio with them. Each time we took our scientist and communicator hats off to eat lunch, dip in a lake or hike back down the trail helped me to understand the science better because I got to know the people who make the science happen.
This kind of collaboration is invaluable in the creative process and also helps to form lasting bonds. As I leave this fellowship I know there are corners of the country where I now have friendly faces to reconnect with.
My hope is that the next cohort of early-career professionals gets to experience moments like these and maybe even get lucky enough to meet the barred owl of the Great Meadow.