Tess Rogers

Field study Coordinator and Naturalist, World Bird Sanctuary

What’s your favorite part of doing field research?

“One of my favorite parts of field biology is that you are actually outside in the woods, directly interacting with nature, learning identification and information that is not super common among a lot of people, you know? Because people don’t go out into the woods. They might know an oak tree, but literacy for natural things that grow within the community has really gone downhill over the years. Field work lets me learn about the actual systems that I’m working with.”

Especially now that we're not really out in nature and we're staring at a screen, how's that been for you, handling that switch?

“I’ve been stupidly lucky that my day-to-day job is animal husbandry. We have over 200 permanent resident animals at the Bird Sanctuary, most of them birds and non-releasable. I’ve been outside throughout the spring and summer because I work outside, mostly taking care of animals. And that was very much an essential position.”

What are your previous connections with Tyson?

“It was the first place I got to experience field research. I started when I was 15 years old. Any summer I was back in town I would go out to the Tyson seminars. Even though I went to the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Tyson was my secondary academic home. It really helped shape me. I have always felt a strong sense of community there. They’ve done a really great job over the years, cultivating an environment that nurtures other people. They helped me grow and find my passion. In college I became a teaching assistant and an ambassador for my college, because, like mentors at Tyson, I was interested in helping students figure out what was best for them. I credit that mentality to Tyson cultivating a community of collaboration.”

What are your favorite memories from being at Tyson?

“I remember the first day we went offsite to go sample some ponds. All the gear we needed, we had to carry on our trek including chimney sweeps, which are giant! I remember it being very hot because it was a typical St. Louis summer. It was quite a hike, although I was pretty young and in good shape. I remember thinking I refuse to be the first one to go down. I was determined to push through and I did.”

Tess is an alum of the SIFT, TERA, and Tyson Undergraduate Fellows programs and now works almost next door to Tyson at the World Bird Sanctuary.