CadyLancaster
Wood Scientist
Ashland, Oregon
Istudythechemicalsofwoodinordertoidentifywoodthathasbeenillegallychopped down.
Illegalloggingisacrime.Treesarecutdownandusedforallsortsofpurposes.Eachtreespecieshasitsown“fingerprint.”Myjobistobuildadatabaseoftreefingerprints.Thenwecanfigureoutwhichtreeshavebeenillegallycut down.
First,weidentifythespeciesofwoodinanythingfromfloorboardstojewelry.ThenItakeapartthewoodenobjects.Next,Icollectwoodsliversfromthem.ThenItakethesliverstoaspecialmachine.It“burns”thesample.Thisreleaseschemicals.Differentchemicalsmakeupthetreefingerprints.Icomparethemtothedatabase.Itcanbeusedworldwidetocatchcriminalswhoaretakingtreesfromprotected places.
DarrenJ.H.Sleep
Wildlife Biologist
Ottawa,Ontario, Canada
Istudywildlifeandtheirhabitatstounderstandwhattheyneedto thrive.
MydadgavemeadvicewhenIwasyoung.Hesaid,“Findajobyoulovesomuchyou’ddoitforfree.”That’sprettygoodadvice.I’mgladIfollowedit.I’vealwayslovedanimalsandbeingoutdoors.Workingasawildlifebiologistallowsmetomakeadifferenceinthe world.
Myjobistoteachpeopleaboutthenaturalworld.Iteachthemhowwecanworkwithitandprotect it.
Ispendalotoftimeinanoffice.Butmyfavoritetimesarespentoutdoors.Istudybirds,bats,mice,andothercritters.Here,I’mworkingwitha caribou.
AshleyCobletestswaterina stream.
AshleyCoble
Hydrologist
Corvallis, Oregon
Istudyhowforestryactivitiesaffectwater.Ihelpprotectourfreshwaterlakesandrivers.Ialsostudythelivingthingsthatlivein them.
Youmightfindmewadinginastreamandtakingwatersamples.Partofmyjobistolearnhowwatertravelsthroughaforest— howitsoaksintothesoilorentersa stream.
Ialsomeasurethechemistryofastream.Iwonder:What’sinit?Throughmyresearch,Ihelpprotectthequantityandqualityofwaterinstreams,rivers,andlakes.Ihelpsafeguardwildlifeandourdrinking water.
