Thursday, June 25, 2009
Field Books
The field books recommended on the sidebar are just a few of the books that I would require for a biology field class and a geology field class. I will add books on native plants and other subjects at a later date. I own all of these and use them regularly. I plan to write my own Field Methods Manual as well as much of the other books.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
An Update on the FieldTaught System
Well, mostly I have been thinking and preparing to take that leap of faith to go out on my own and create a field school where I can with the help of other scientist in other fields offer a well-rounded curriculum for person who desires to learn how and what a field scientist does. Not to say that all science is field work, however, if you asked most researchers in the natural sciences, I am sure they would say the field portion is the best part.
So at this point in time I am concentrating on the legal and financial challenges that are involved in bringing this dream to fruition. I will either form a Corporation or a NPO (Non-profit organization). I have little experience with either, but have a partner who has been in retail as a manager for nearly 18 years and a father who owns his own environmental business, so I am leaning toward corporation. But that could change as soon as I have legal counsel. I have thought of a great name for the corporation or NPO, but I am not going to divulge that until it is legally registered.
As I said before, field work is only a portion of environmental research and at this point I have not written a curriculum or even a syllabus for a single class, but I am sure I would have to include a section on how to write a report. You do want to report your findings! I would also provide examples of my publications as well as those of other scientist in other fields. It may not be your desire to publish in a scientific journal (and that is OK). But, if you did, it would be nice to know how the peer review system works and how collaboration with other scientist can increase the likelihood of being published. I am not promising anyone that taking a field course would get you published, but you cannot rule that out either. There are all kinds of publications. Major publications can take months or years of research, but there are minor publications such as natural history notes, range extensions, and new techniques published in journals all the time. If you are looking for a job as a field technician or even want to pursue a graduate degree, having these types of publications on your resume can be an important asset towards landing that position. As I said before, I just wanted to update anyone interested in learning field research, on my progress to date. My goal to quit my day job and go full time as an instructor of the FieldTaught system is January 1, 2010. I have even bought hosting and the domain name and I am working on a web page for the entire organization of which FieldTaught is only one aspect. I am a well rounded Environmental Scientist with 20+ years of experience, thus, I have many plans for this organization, from carbon sequestering to alternative means of energy production. I would also teach these topics and how to get involved in them in FieldTaught courses. Enough for now, but I will try to update this page more often until the website is up and running.
So at this point in time I am concentrating on the legal and financial challenges that are involved in bringing this dream to fruition. I will either form a Corporation or a NPO (Non-profit organization). I have little experience with either, but have a partner who has been in retail as a manager for nearly 18 years and a father who owns his own environmental business, so I am leaning toward corporation. But that could change as soon as I have legal counsel. I have thought of a great name for the corporation or NPO, but I am not going to divulge that until it is legally registered.
As I said before, field work is only a portion of environmental research and at this point I have not written a curriculum or even a syllabus for a single class, but I am sure I would have to include a section on how to write a report. You do want to report your findings! I would also provide examples of my publications as well as those of other scientist in other fields. It may not be your desire to publish in a scientific journal (and that is OK). But, if you did, it would be nice to know how the peer review system works and how collaboration with other scientist can increase the likelihood of being published. I am not promising anyone that taking a field course would get you published, but you cannot rule that out either. There are all kinds of publications. Major publications can take months or years of research, but there are minor publications such as natural history notes, range extensions, and new techniques published in journals all the time. If you are looking for a job as a field technician or even want to pursue a graduate degree, having these types of publications on your resume can be an important asset towards landing that position. As I said before, I just wanted to update anyone interested in learning field research, on my progress to date. My goal to quit my day job and go full time as an instructor of the FieldTaught system is January 1, 2010. I have even bought hosting and the domain name and I am working on a web page for the entire organization of which FieldTaught is only one aspect. I am a well rounded Environmental Scientist with 20+ years of experience, thus, I have many plans for this organization, from carbon sequestering to alternative means of energy production. I would also teach these topics and how to get involved in them in FieldTaught courses. Enough for now, but I will try to update this page more often until the website is up and running.
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