Ecologist of Forest Tree Canopies
Have you often looked around the natural world with a sense of wonder or had a desire to further examine habitats up close? If so, you may be interested in learning how to become an ecologist and spend your workdays studying plants, animals, and ecosystems. _______________________________________________________________
This is the story of one ecologist, whose precise career path will unlikely be followed by anyone else, but the point is not about learning how to follow anyone’s personal path; the point of reading this story is to understand how a person’s background and interests led them to choose their own adult career. And once chosen, were any changes made? Any challenges? Career satisfaction (other than money earned)? After reading any – hopefully reading many available within this Career Stories Project – understand there may be something within your personal interests that you would like to pursue as an adult career – within any of the 29 story categories. Along your own career journey, you may wish to change your career or stick with it in the face of challenges, ultimately gaining career satisfaction.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
Nalini Nadkarni (NN) was born in Bethesda, Maryland, a ‘leafy suburb’ of Washington, D.C., where she grew up. Her father was a Hindu, and her mother, a housewife, was orthodox Jewish.
CHILDHOOD
NN was sexually abused by her father, who forced her to keep it a secret from her siblings and mother. That violence led her to spend hours outdoors, looking for comfort in nature. She found it in her neighborhood’s maple trees.
“The trees were there as my witness,” said NN. “They were dependable. You could trust them.”
Looking back to when she was 8 or 9 years old, NN made a very solemn oath to herself: “When I grow up, I want to do something that protects trees. Something that pays them back for the sanctuary that they gave to me as a kid.”
EDUCATION
Following high school graduation, NN earned her undergraduate degree at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she double majored in biology and modern dance.
GETTING STARTED ALONG THE CAREER PATH
After college graduation, NN worked as a field biologist in Papua New Guinea and then moved to Paris, France, to practice with a dance troupe there. Having tried out both career paths, she made the decision to focus on biology and enrolled at the U of Washington, where she earned her Ph.D.
Eventually, NN further narrowed her interest within the general field of ecology, to studying tree canopies for their effect on forest growth.
A ‘canopy’ in this sense is the aboveground portion of a plant cropping formed by the collection of individual plant crowns. In forest ecology, ‘canopy’ refers to the upper layer or ‘habitat zone’ formed by mature tree crowns and including other biological organisms (epiphytes, lianas, arboreal animals, etc.). The communities that inhabit the canopy layer are thought to be involved in maintaining forest diversity, resilience, and functioning. Shade trees normally have a dense canopy that blocks light from lower growing plants.
While NN had an early overall interest in the general field of ecology, her specific interest in rain forest ecology was due to her curiosity about the contradiction offered by its plant life. There was a great abundance and variety of plant life within the New Guinea rain forest despite its nutrient poor soil, and her goal was to discover how the plant life was sustained. Her studies within the canopy revealed that the epiphytes, which are non-parasitic plants such as orchids and ferns that live on the branches and trunks of other plants, were trapping organic material beneath their root system. This organic material eventually formed a nutrient rich mat, and trees in the rain forest had developed aerial roots, stemming from their trunks and branches, to absorb these nutrients as well. The aerial roots growing into the mats aided the rain forest trees by providing the nourishment that they did not receive from the nutrient poor soil.
CHALLENGE – PHYSICAL DANGER
Climbing a tree of any height is not without danger. NN routinely climbed 200-foot-high trees.
She once had a nearly fatal fall that broke her back and ribs. Through a combination of luck (how and on what NN landed), excellent and immediate medical care and her own perseverance during long physical therapy, NN recovered enough to proceed with her ecologist career.
Despite her fall several years earlier, NN expresses feeling “cozy” at home among any tree canopy.
(Follow-up to her childhood abuse: Decades later, NN’s nephew, a film maker, persuaded NN to participate in making a documentary film about NN’s dangerous but scientifically rewarding career climbing among tree canopies throughout the world. During a break in the filming, NN opened up to her nephew about healing physically from her fall and how that process made her face older, deeper wounds. While that discussion was not included within the documentary film, the family – who had been unaware of NN’s difficult childhood – supported NN for relieving herself of the burden of silence, though the truth can be difficult to share even years later.)
USING YOUR CAREER KNOWLEDGE TO TEACH OTHERS
A nephew of NN recalls his earliest memory of his aunt, NN, who once visited his elementary school (The School in Rose Valley, a suburb of Philadelphia, PA) to make a career presentation. NN arrived with mountain climbing gear and took the kids outside, where the ecologist used her own slingshot-like invention to rig a rope on a 15-foot-tall tree branch and climbed up the trunk. It was a small-scale demonstration of the 200-foot vertical journeys NN routinely braves to study canopy ecosystems all over the world.
“I was always looking up to her as a wonderful adult example of someone who loves what she does and at the same time is helping all of us to better understand the physical world we live in,” said her nephew. “And here I was, literally looking up at her – a superhero. Magnetic, shiny, not afraid. You know, the perfect explorer and adventurer.”
Decades after earning her living by conducting scientific research as a consultant to various forest study organizations, NN was appointed a faculty member at the Evergreen State College for 20 years, followed by joining the faculty at the University of Utah as a Professor of Biology and Director of the Center for Science and Mathematics Education.
OVERVIEW OF A CAREER AS AN ECOLOGIST
Ecologist – A scientist who studies the natural world, including animals and plants among other topics. Ecologists often have highly specialized job duties that relate to their chosen focus, such as managing ecological projects or studying animals in their natural habitats.
Ecologists use multi-disciplinary skills and knowledge in the biological, physical, and social sciences to solve environmental problems and protect species and ecosystems. Ecologists study the relationships between different flora, fauna, and their surrounding environments to understand and predict future environmental conditions and ensure the vitality of the natural world.
Typical projects include restoring native habitats, improving water quality and building new infrastructure. Ecologist jobs are essential to mitigating the negative effects of climate change.
How ecologists earn money to support themselves – In general, ecologists work in an office or in the field, giving advice to policymakers or baseline studies of their employers: typically, government agencies, universities, consulting services, nonprofit conservation organizations or businesses trying to assess the impact of certain products upon the natural world.
As of January 2024, when salary surveys were then most recently reported, ZipRecruiter noted a wide range for ecologist salaries: $34,500 to $104,000. The average was $72,600.
There were 80,000 ecologists employed within the U.S. in 2021, with the field expected to grow by 5% annually.
Education requirements – Most careers in ecology require a Bachelor’s degree in environmental science or a related field. This typically takes four years after high school.
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This career story is based on multiple sources including an article written by Rosa Cartagena, published by the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper on October 27, 2023, and online research including an overview by Unity Environmental University and Wikipedia.
