Aspen Workman

Technician

“Creativity is one of the things that I value the most in myself and in ecology. Trying to explain to other artists that science is really creative is hard to get across. But the contraptions that we build and the problem solving in ecology is always a creative challenge. It’s one of the main reasons I love ecology so much. It's an interest in the world around us that I think drives both art and science. We all want to explore the world, but in different ways.”

Ever since coming out the wolf camps as a kid, Aspen has been fascinated by the outdoors. At first, the Tyson research facilities seemed mysterious to them, but now they are a technician coordinating some of the most fundamental day-to-day tasks around the field station and mentoring up and coming ecologists.

“One day at wolf camp, my mom had come to pick me up and we were driving out. And I said to my mother, ‘One day I would like to work here.’ In 2014, I got involved with SIFT. Getting to come out here and see a different aspect of Tyson that I had previously seen just in glimpses was really exciting.”

It was the wolves that got Aspen initially interested in ecology, but it was the plants that took center stage after a while. Ever since 2017, they have been on the Natural Enemies team, spreading knowledge of all the local botany.

“I’ve really come to love botany. Especially after spending time in the glades learning the flora, I found that I loved the challenges. Before, you have plant blindness, but when you start learning about them you find that there are endless places to explore. And I love exploring. That’s always been my thing. I love going somewhere, looking, and seeing what there is.”

Aspen worked with Scott Mangan and Claudia Stein's Natural Enemies team during summers 2017, 2018, and 2019. Learn more about their plant-microbial communities research here.