We need a few good Fellows!  Specifically:



For coaching:  With 30 years of Fellows in our Network, we are fortunate to have a wealth of experience in our midst.  We'd like to put that experience to one of its highest and best uses - coaching a new Fellow.  If you're interested, please contact Erin for more information.



To welcome the 2016 Fellows:  Let's continue to build on the great energy we generated over the past year at the 30th anniversary events!  Alumni in the Bay Area or New England, please mark your calendars for the fall retreats!  Some travel assistance may be available.

• New England Fall Retreat:  Sept. 16-18th, Harvard Forest, Petersham, MA
• California Fall Retreat:  Sept. 30 - Oct. 2nd, NatureBridge, Sausalito, CA

We will once again partner with Rockwood Leadership Institute to offer a one-day intensive leadership training on Saturday of each retreat, but this year we are adding new components to the agenda!  If you've taken the training before, don't let this stop you from attending.  This year's training will complement what you may have taken earlier.  More information on the retreat agendas will be going out soon!

If you're attending any of the following upcoming conferences, please let Erin know!  We'll try to get Fellows together while you're there.

• Society for Conservation Biology North America Congress, Madison, WI:  7/17 - 7/20
• International Marine Conservation Congress (SCB), Newfoundland:  7/30 - 8/3
• Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Ft. Lauderdale, FL:  8/7 - 8/12
  
  
• World Social Forum, Montreal:  8/9 - 8/14

Photo: Jimmy Smith/Flickr

Our colleagues at the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) in Nevada City, CA, have posted a position on our Leadership Exchange.  The Exchange is where organizations can share their interest in working with a Switzer Fellow to create a Leadership Grant proposal.  SYRCL is looking for a River Policy and Communications Manager. 



Read more

This interview with John Besley and Anthony Dudo, from our colleagues at COMPASS, looks at their academic research on how scientists prioritize their communications objectives for public engagement. 



Read more

Photo:  Frank Vassen/Flickr

Fellow Eunice Blavascunas pleads on behalf of the  threatened Bialowieza Forest in Poland, which is both a national treasure and a global gem of biodiversity.



Read more

Photo:  klem@s/Flickr

Fellow Sarah Myhre argues scientists must challenge themselves, their colleagues, and their institutions to truly rise to the challenge of leading the planet in the 21st century.



Read more

Photo:  Greenpeace Int'l/Flickr

Fellow Linda Shi says there are winners and losers in urban climate adaptation projects, but outlines four areas of research to shed light on the equity impacts of urban adaptation efforts and uneven planning processes.



Read more

Fellow Daniel Swain's research focuses on the causes of persistent patterns in the atmosphere - like the ones that cause drought or exceptional rain in California - and how climate change might be affecting them.  In his spare time, the 25-year old Marin native runs the California Weather Blog, a must-read for weather nerds where he comments on statewide weather patterns and their big-picture causes.



Read more

A new study of market-based forest conservation schemes in Chile provides rare insight into the effectiveness of this relatively new approach to preventing deforestation.  The schemes, known as non-state, market-driven (NSMD) governance regimes reduced deforestation on participating properties by between 2 and 23 percent, conclude Switzer Fellow Robert Heilmayr and his colleague Eric Lambin.



Read more

Like rainwater harvesters and solar panels, biodigesters generate power by reinvesting natural resources back into their own ecosystems.  Because of their potential to reduce both wastes and operating costs, it seems like every family farm should have one on hand.  Fellow Alexander Eaton's company, Sistema Biobolsa, is working to create a base of users that leads to a tipping point.



Read more