Race Stryker

Ecology Technician

Have you always known you wanted to study ecological research?

“I figured out that I liked ecology along the way. I studied ecology primarily because it allowed me to maximize my time outside while still doing academic work and getting hands-on experience. My school had a really flexible academic program, so I could make my own classes if I wanted to. I tried to get all the major groups of organisms for fieldwork, and I made my own herpetology field tutorial. The more I did, the more I liked it and wanted more."

What are some of the best attributes of this forestry team?

“They're a really strong group, and they like being outside. It's good when people can match my enthusiasm and willingness to be out here. When it started raining last Friday in the afternoon, I mean it really started pouring, no one freaked out. When you have a group of people this large, who reflect on being outside in the rain for half an hour as good time, you know you got a good group.”

Race was a mentor with Jonathan Myers' Forest Biodiversity team during summer 2018. Learn more about their long-term temperate forest research here and their prescribed fire experiment here.