Rebecca’s Introduction – BIOL F190: Intro to Alaska Flora

Hello! My name is Rebecca and I’m currently finishing up my EBOT certification that I began in January of last year. I currently live in Lincoln, Nebraska and I was able to go to Hooper Bay, AK for the EBOT field course last summer. It was my first time visiting Alaska and it was so wonderful to be able to meet the plants that I had been studying from a distance. I’m pleased that this program has enabled me to learn so much about the plants around me here in Nebraska as well as Alaska. Through this program, I’ve been able to learn so much about plant uses, identification, chemistry and also it has also led me to meet many of the “plant nerds’ around me. I am really looking forward to photographing and dissecting plants in this class so I can better understand the anatomy plants.

Job-wise, I am working as a Garden Educator for a non-profit organization called Community Crops that manages community garden spaces in Lincoln. A large percentage of our gardeners are immigrants and refugees. I’ve found that these community gardens are a wonderful place to learn about ethnobotany. I am always learning new things from other gardeners while I’m out in the garden. I also help create content for the Save Our Monarchs Foundation. I love learning about plants and being able to share that information with others. I am looking forward to getting to know you all a little better and learning from you all.

Author: rchandler

I grew up on a ranch in Western Nebraska where I was able to develop strong, healthy relationships with the plant and animal community around me. I have ridden horses all of my life and that is my happy place. I attended the University of Nebraska for undergrad where I studied Anthropology and German language. After graduating college, I worked in Olympic and Yellowstone National Parks where I reconnected with nature. I have always had an interest in natural medicine but didn't know where to begin. So I participated in two summer learning internships in Ecuador and Peru where I became more familiar with the people and their relationships with their plant communities. I worked with the Sachamama Center for Biocultural Regeneration in Peru and also the Runa Foundation in Ecuador. Now, I am living in Nebraska again and working in a Plant Nursery while I work towards this EBOT Certification. I hope to learn more about making herbal medicine for myself and my family/friends as well as my horses. I also look forward to learning from everyone in this class.

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One comment

Steffi Ickert-Bond

June 7, 2018 at 11:38 am 6 years ago

Welcome Rebecca, sounds like you are really into learning about plants and living your live by sharing that knowledge with others. That is great and I have found it is often a common bond we can easily establish with other cultures, because everybody needs to grow food (often those are plants), and we all have experiences on how to do that and thus it brings us closer together. Glad you are enrolled in this course. Yes, once you know the general characteristics of plant families, you can pretty much use that knowledge anywhere, Alaska, Nebraska, the world for that matter. There will just be slightly different players in each of these localities.

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Author: rchandler

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