Banner-Roots-450 University of Washington College of the Environment School of Environmental and Forest Sciences University of Washington

WINTER 2016

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Climate Change Video Contest

For the second year, we are challenging high school and undergraduate students in Washington to show us, in a video of three minutes or less: What does climate change mean to you? Check out the contest guidelines and prizes!

Winter Greetings!

As we head deeper into winter and spring, we’re also gearing up for our peak season of events and activities, all of which are wonderful opportunities for alumni to get involved. Up first is the 2016 Graduate Student Symposium, which will be held on Friday, March 4, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Forest Club Room. After that we have the annual Spring Gathering on Sunday, April 10, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Center for Urban Horticulture.

Then, on Thursday, April 21, we’ll host the Sustaining Our World Lecture, featuring Lynda Mapes, author and environmental reporter for The Seattle Times. We’ll send out formal invitations with more details for the Spring Gathering and Sustaining Our World Lecture in early March, and we heartily encourage you to join us for many events as you can—including our weekly seminar series on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 4:20 p.m. in Anderson 223!

See you soon!

Jessica Farmer & Colton Miller
Alumni Group Co-Chairs

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CROSS-SECTION

Alumni Spotlight: Ben Harrison

In the fall of 1966, the Forest Club realized it was nearly broke and didn’t have enough funds for some of its activities, including Garb Day. So Harrison helped organize the first Christmas tree sale to support the group’s activities—kicking off a tradition that has now continued for 49 years.

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Director's Message: Winter 2016

In his Winter 2016 letter, Tom DeLuca reflects on how much of the SEFS community revolves around the Forest Club Room, which—despite its famously tattered couches and wobbly tables—gamely hosts everything from holiday gatherings and guest lectures to thesis and dissertation defenses, Dead Elk parties and countless study groups.

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Arboretum Map Upgraded for Smartphones

The UW Botanic Gardens is excited to announce an interactive map of the Washington Park Arboretum that you can now use on your smartphone. Thanks to this upgrade, you can now walk around and explore the collections with the aid of your phone, either browsing as you go or searching for plants by name, keyword or accession number.

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2016 Garden Lovers' Book Sale

The annual event at the Elisabeth C. Miller Library is coming up on April 1 and 2, including the preview party and rare book silent auction on Friday, followed by the all-day horticultural book sale on Saturday. It’s the biggest event of the year for the library, so mark your calendars and learn how you can donate your own gently used gardening books to the sale.

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Get Involved: Centennial Woods Restoration 

The next volunteer work party is set for Saturday, February 20, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Center for Urban Horticulture. Contact Jon Diemer (’14, MEH) and Tom Hanson (’71, B.S.) if you have any questions, and you can RSVP online if you’d like to take part and help restore the .67-acre site planted in 2007 to commemorate our 100-year anniversary.

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WPPF Annual Meeting: May 26

The Washington Pulp and Paper Foundation Annual Meeting and Banquet will be held Thursday, May 26, 2016. The luncheon, business meeting and poster sesesion will be held in the Forest Club Room in Anderson Hall, with the social hour, banquet and honors to be held later at the University Club. More details will be available soon. Please contact Juliet Louie for more information.

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Richard “Dick” Taber: 1920-2016

Professor Emeritus Richard “Dick” Taber, a long-time faculty member at SEFS from 1968 to 1985, passed away on January 25 in Missoula, Mont. He was 95 years old. Taber was the last graduate student of Aldo Leopold at the University of Wisconsin, and he was instrumental in helping develop the original undergraduate and graduate programs in wildlife science at SEFS.

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RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Sam in the Amazon

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First-year doctoral student Samantha Zwicker, who completed her master’s last spring with Professor Kristiina Vogt, has begun a large-scale study assessing the impact of roads on big cats—primarily jaguar (Panthera onca)—in the Las Piedras River basin in Peru. Learn more about her work in the Amazon!

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GET CONNECTED

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CLASS NOTES

Camille Swezy (’14, B.S.) has been working as a biomass program assistant for the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment, an organization based in Taylorsville, Calif., that works to promote healthy forests and watersheds, and also to advance rural community health and economic well-being.

Lauren Grand (’13, M.S.) is serving as the Washington State University Extension forestry program coordinator. 

Later this winter and spring, from February 16 to March 30, the Elisabeth C. Miller Library will be hosting an art exhibit by Patty Haller (’84, B.S.), a Seattle oil painter with a studio in nearby Magnuson Park. Haller's new series, “Forest Sampling,” was inspired by an exercise she did long ago as a student, when she studied forest ecology with Professor David R. M. Scott. 

Eireann Pederson (’13, B.S.) is working as a forester for the U.S. Forest Service in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Chelan Ranger District. 

Shortly after graduating last spring, Avery Meeker (’15, B.S.), spent the late summer and fall volunteering with the Raptor View Research Institute (RVRI), a nonprofit research and education organization based in Missoula, Mont. RVRI monitors raptor migration trends by collecting data from hawk counts and raptor banding, and Meeker was helping with fall migration studies along the Rocky Mountain Front in Lincoln, Montana. 

Linda Uyeda (’15, Ph.D.) has recently accepted a position as the California Condor Biologist for the Santa Barbara Zoo, where she had been working as a research associate. 

Audrie Starsy (’14, B.S.) is working as a stormwater scientist and project manager at SoundEarth Strategies, Inc. 

Charles Carrington “Chuck” Avery (’71, Ph.D.) passed away on January 26, 2016. He worked as a professor of forestry at the University of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Ariz., from 1974 until his retirement in 2001. He was 82 years old. 

Roots is the official e-newsletter for School of Environmental and Forest Sciences alumni. It is jointly produced by SEFS and the SEFS Alumni Group, and new issues are mailed three times a year (Winter, Spring/Summer and Fall). Please submit alumni news, “Tell Us” responses, “Class Notes,” events and other story ideas to sefsalum@uw.edu. Back issues are available in the online archive, and if you’ve been forwarded this message and wish to subscribe, contact Roots today