Students hear visiting forest ecologist

Students in Rima Givot's biology classes last Friday had the opportunity to hear Dr. Sue Baker, visiting ecologist and forestry scientist from Tasmania and a Fellow at the World Forestry Center.

Dr. Baker presented an overall look at the importance of biodiversity forest management and logging practices. Baker also focused on the importance of retaining large tracts of native forests containing historical biological diversity that can be used to gauge that elusive goal, "Forest Health."

After the classroom presentations, Dr. Baker took the students into the forest around the high school to teach about insect sampling methods. During the field work, she also explained the importance of aggregate retention of biological diversity in order to determine what is best for a forest while in the process of undergoing logging - another way of looking at forest utilization to reach the goals of "conservation," while studying the relevance of insects in the healthy forest ecosystem.

Dr. Baker grew up in Melvin, Australia, and while studying for a career in forestry, quickly realized she wanted to do outside research, not be confined to an indoor lab.

She began her field work by studying the use of ladybird beetles in pest management, rather than pesticides, to remove agricultural pests species. After this work and further studies, she earned her "Honor's Degree" (the equivalent of our Master's Degree) and her PhD in Conservation Biology, studying the effects certain beetles have on different ecosystems.

Upon graduation, Dr. Baker found her dream job in Tasmania as the Research Officer of Variable Retentions of Biodiversity, applying her research in logging methods. She is currently in Oregon completing a Fellowship with the Forestry Center in Portland, working on the effects of beetles in forests of the Northwest.

Givot was attending a forestry workshop last February in Portland, met Dr. Baker, heard what she was working on and immediately invited her to come to Sisters to speak with her biology classes.