She was foraging some 20 yards away from me. And right down in front of me was a cinnamon black bear. I literally froze and looked around intently. Even though the tone of her voice was very low and soft, I could still distinctly hear her saying ‘no no no…’. That’s most likely what I was thinking about when going down that slope and not really paying attention to my surroundings – after all, we were not in the woods anymore… But then I heard the whisper of the woman I passed a few seconds before on that bridge. That day trek had been tiring for me, and all I wanted at that point was to replenish myself. I would go down to the stream to rinse my hiking boots.

As any other evening over there, we would cross a little stone bridge over a river. We were approaching our lodge after having left the wild behind a good hour before.

Her favorite motto: “Nature Conservation as A Way of Life” And the satisfaction out of practicing good ethics is almost addictive. Once on that path, a great many rewards for us becomes obvious. Ethical Nature conservation is not circumstantial, it is a mindset that you acquire which then turns into a way of life. Ĭlaire strongly believes that individually and altogether we can be ethically & ecologically engaged–whoever we are, whatever we do, and wherever we are. She also serves as a board member of the Friends of the Fells, and is an advisor for the Green & Open Somerville group. Locally, Claire is a co-organizer of the iNaturalist City Nature Challenge for the Greater Boston Area. The program fosters a deeper understanding of ecological systems and provides tools to the public to make evidence-based environmental decisions. Its program runs regular continuous biodiversity and phenology studies in 8 cities. EwA focuses on place-based urban wildlife and natural history, and the conservation of species interactions.

She is the director of EwA's Biodiversity & Climate Participatory Science program– an initiative that connects the public with its immediate natural systems and empowers communities.

📝 Blog » Citizen Science & VolunteeringĬlaire is a co-founder of Earthwise Aware (EwA), an environmental nonprofit that brings biodiversity knowledge and science, ecological ethics, and environmental leadership to the heart of communities.

🎓 EwA Biodiversity & Climate Internship.📜 EwA Acknowledgement of Biodiversity, Land, and People.

Bear in the Back Seat by Kim DeLozier