The Hubert "Hub" Vogelmann Fund

For a field naturalist, writing is a tool no less vital than a map or hand lens. No one knows this better than the founder of the Field Naturalist Program, Professor Emeritus Hubert "Hub" Vogelmann. So essential is writing to Dr. Vogelmann's vision that the University of Vermont recently established the Hubert "Hub" Vogelmann Fund for environmental writing and communications.

Dr. Vogelmann's exemplary life and 36-year tenure on the UVM faculty have offered profound benefits for the people and landscape of Vermont. His achievements include pioneering research on acid rain and forest health. Never a cloisered academic, Hub has been passionate about science in the public interest and bringing intelligent discussion to the public square.

Hub's emphasis on writing means that our field naturalists launch their carreers with practical, effective communications skills. Over the last decade, for example, our graduates have produced 16 books, two of which have won national awards. With a curriculum grounded in science and problem-solving, writing is a potent and lively force throughout our coursework.

Your contributions to the Fund will support Field Naturalist Program operations, particularly our innovative writing curriculum, which features a dozen writing genres and one-on-one instruction for students from our writing faculty. The latest publication from the program is Field Notes, our annual magazine written and edited by students.

To support the Fund and its goals, visit The University of Vermont Foundation, where you can make a pledge online or get information to give by telephone. If you have questions about the Fund contact the Field Naturalist Program Director, Dr. Jeffrey Hughes, at Jeffrey.Hughes@uvm.edu or 802-656-0708. Thanks!

 

Writing Activities in the UVM Field Naturalist and Ecological Planning Programs

Communication is central to the work of conservation and stewardship professionals who seek to influence the politicians, corporate leaders, and citizens making daily decisions that impact on the Earth. Writing skills in the Field Naturalist/Ecological Planning program are developed through deliberate curricular attention to the role writing plays in advancing and expressing ideas, insights, and information to a variety of audiences. Below is an outline of writing activities that Field Naturalists (FNs) and Ecological Planners (EPs) might expect.

First Year Program

Writing Retreat I

Before Fall classes officially begin, first-year Field Naturalists and Ecological Planners spend a week "on the road" (in vans, streams, tents, woods, and cabins) with program faculty. The kick-off event for this exploratory week is an overnight writing retreat where students are introduced to strategies, techniques, and motivations for keeping a naturalist's journal throughout their two years in the program. During subsequent days on the road, students use journals to observe, remember, plan, reflect, and speculate about a variety of ecological issues in specific "place-based" settings in New England.
Click to see photos and description of recent Fairfield, VT, writing retreats.

Fundamentals of Field Science

Three different approaches to "putting nature on paper" are emphasized in this Fall semester course: technical/scientific writing, integrative writing, and field journaling. Through a diverse set of readings and writings, FNs and EPs actively explore the interconnections between audience, purpose, and stylistic approach.
Click to see the Naturalist's Journal (PDF).

Field Practicum

Every Friday, all day, Field Naturalists and Ecological Planners visit, explore, and interpret a wide range of field sites (e.g., an old-growth forest, a glacial lake, a thrust fault, an aggrading stream, a constructed wetland, an abandoned hillside farm, a montane ecotone). The tangible product of each investigation is a "site review" that explains the who, what, where, when, and why of each site. These site reviews capture each student's individual interpretation of the shaping of the New England landscape.
Click to see sample site reviews (PDF).

Writing Workshop

Students participate in writing workshops throughout the Fall semester to examine, sharpen, and stretch their writing abilities. Workshops often address questions such as: How do you start writing? How do you continue? How do you know when you're finished? How do you find ideas where there aren't any? How do you write when you're not in the mood? What are some effective editing tricks? What makes your best writing "good"? What makes your worst writing "bad"?

Landscape Inventory Analysis

Students conduct a field-based ecological inventory and assessment that addresses a specific real-world landscape problem. The culminating professional report is team-written for the sponsoring organization and includes original maps, graphs, and charts, and runs to over 100 pages in length.

Proposal Writing

Learning to sell one's ideas effectively is a pivotal skill in environmental problem-solving and fund-raising, and marketing your ideas on paper is what proposal writing is all about. This part of the writing curriculum starts with drafting and redrafting proposals for two different fellowships. One sponsoring organization asks students to "focus on a specific issue affecting the conservation of fish, wildlife, or plant species in the United States." The other foundation asks candidates "how his or her career goals will have a direct, early, and positive impact on environmental quality." Field Naturalists and Ecological Planners submit their proposals to the funding organizations, and most years some number of students are awarded a fellowship.
Click to learn more about proposal writing in the FN/EP programs.
Click to read sample proposals to the Switzer Fellowship Program.

Second Year Program

Writing Retreat II

FNs and EPs gather for two days at the beginning of their second year to reflect, speculate, and write about their summer research experience. In a rural retreat setting, participants write, share their writing, tell stories, take walks, build bonfires, and eat well.
Click to see photos and description of recent Fairfield, VT, writing retreats.

Professional Writing (Botany 295)

Each student enrolls in a year-long variable-credit writing workshop focused on writing persuasively to popular audiences. Students examine, imagine, and question the larger implications of their research projects and compose popular articles aimed at educated lay audiences. Target publications for these student essays include Northern Woodlands, Orion, Natural New England, Vermont Life, Yankee, Nature Conservancy, and other local, regional, and national publications with an interest in conservation, ecology, and forestry.
Click to see samples of recently written popular articles (PDF).

Academic Writing

Students complete a formal Master's Project required for graduation. Research results are posted in formal academic style to the larger scientific community of which they are now full-fledged members.

Writing Instructor Profile

Click to see brief biography and resume of writing instructor, Toby Fulwiler.

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Field Naturalist Program - Department of Plant Biology
111 Jeffords Hall - 63 Carrigan Drive
University of Vermont - Burlington, VT 05405
(802) 656-2930 - Lillian.Reade@uvm.edu

Last modified June 13 2013 06:11 PM