Kirsten Rowell

Kirsten Rowell is a research scientist at University of Washington. Her research reaches across disciplines (geology, ecology, and conservation biology), and she uses ancient skeletal remains to tell untold stories of fish and clams that have lived through large-scale human alterations to their habitats. The Sonoran Desert, Collorado River Corridor, and the Sea of Cortez is where Kirsten has spent the majority of her time being an avid observer of things – from emerging caddisflies, blooming saguaros, to the sounds of the feeding fish and shifting beach sands. Her newest natural history endeavor is raising two inquisitive children.

Conversations:

• The first human endeavor
• The poetic ecologist
• My diaper bag

Workshops:

• Natural History & Society
• Natural History & Research
• Synthesis

I have to do a lot of homework on my own natural history of my environment, because my children are constantly asking me these amazing questions and I feel like I can't just brush them off. They're good questions, and boy, I don't have the answer.

I feel like my diaper bag needs to have more than just diapers, and ointment and wipes in it. I need to have my field guides in there, my notebook and everything, so I'm prepared to answer their question and explore the world with them.