Island Press Field Notes

Field notes by Cheryl Dykstra, co-editor of Urban Raptors Monday, May 14, 2018 Cincinnati, Ohio So happy our grad student Ania is back from Texas, having just finished her spring semester. Today is her second day, and the first day with our new undergrad intern Madison, a sophomore studying Environmental Biology.

On April 22, scientists, science lovers, and others united in marches around the world in the name of science. The largest of the over 600 marches occurred in Washington, DC. This demonstration was particularly important given a political climate which glorifies "alternative facts," and which many fear will lead to scientific data being censored, dismissed, or even destroyed for contradicting political or business interests. To show our support for truth, a few Island Press (IP) staff members and authors made their way to D.C.

"Biting the snorkel mouthpiece, I submerged my head through a layer of crisp-edged leaves and into another world.” So begins Abbie Gascho Landis’ discovery of an Alabama creek—and the freshwater mussels who call it home. Ranging in size from thumbnail to dinner plate, freshwater mussels have been filtering our rivers, streams, and creek beds for millions of years, and, as Landis learns, have much to teach us about ecology, freshwater systems, and our relationship to the natural world.

The access issue touches all of us. From the cancer patient wanting to read up on her disease to the community organizers whose groundwater is tainted with solvents, the seaside city planner wanting the latest climate change models, and the high school student looking up at the stars.