Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, 2021, Environmental Studies

As an English and Environmental Studies double major, I merged my passions for writing and ecology into a two-part creative thesis manuscript. During the summer of 2020, I interviewed three female environmental writers about their insights into the publishing world and what they perceived to be a woman's place in American conservation literature. I detail and analyze these women's personal perspectives, each of whom addressed the different impacts of sexism and ageism on their careers. This qualitative analysis then serves as a critical introduction to my creative work, in which I intertwine climate science with personal memoir to create a collection of four nonfiction essays. Each essay combines my attachment to the outdoors and our ailing planet with reflections on corporeal boundaries and emotional resilience as a woman today, experiencing and surviving the seasons of a pandemic.

Committee: Geoffrey Buckley (Advisor); Thomas Scanlan (Advisor) Subjects: American Literature; Composition; Conservation; Earth; Environmental Studies; Geography; Literature; Womens Studies

Bachelor of Science, Miami University, 2009, College of Arts and Sciences - Zoology

A reintroduction is defined as an attempt to establish a species in an area which was once part of its historical range, but from which it has been extirpated or become extinct. This method of conservation has become increasingly popular in recent years, with the number of species having been reintroduced worldwide increasing from about 100 in the early 1990s to more than 700 as of present day. Reintroduction is quickly turning into a common conservation strategy, but is this increase in popularity due to proven effectiveness or is it simply a response to increased media attention? To analyze the strength of reintroduction as a conservation strategy, I performed a literature analysis in order to determine what factors have influenced the success rates of recent vertebrate reintroduction programs in the United States, and how much these factors have cost. I found that several factors such as taxanomic class, region, source of individuals released, number of individuals released, and utilization of support measures can have varying effects on the success rates of reintroduction projects. I also found that costs might differ depending on taxonomic class, region, species Endangered Species Act status, and a project's level of success.

Committee: Doug Meikle (Advisor); Susan Hoffman (Committee Member); Brian Keane (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Ecology; Zoology