When 大象视频 student Milo Watson 鈥�26 first flipped through a field guide, he didn鈥檛 expect it would lead to a published peer-reviewed research paper. A few years later, that鈥檚 exactly what happened.
Watson鈥檚 essay, exploring how modern field guides shape our understanding of the natural world, , a rare achievement for an undergraduate scholar.
For Watson, who鈥檚 double-majoring in environmental science & sustainability and English, the project grew organically out of Allegheny鈥檚 interdisciplinary culture, where the sciences and humanities meet, and curiosity has room to evolve.
鈥淭his project started in my freshman-year course, 鈥楲iterature and the Environment,鈥� with former Allegheny Professor, John MacNeill Miller,鈥� Watson recalls. 鈥淲e had to go outside, find an organism we couldn鈥檛 identify, and use only field guides to figure out what it was. Then we wrote reflections about that experience.鈥�
Those outdoor assignments became more than simple exercises. They stirred deeper questions about what field guides include, and what they leave out. 鈥淚 remember wondering why some guides only showed adult moths when inchworms are much easier to observe,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat got me thinking about how authors curate the information in field guides and how that shapes users鈥� perceptions of the natural world.鈥�
When Watson began searching for scholarship on the topic, he discovered a surprising gap. 鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 much published research analyzing how recent field guides communicate about nature,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 realized there was still more to say.鈥�
Thanks to Allegheny鈥檚 Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (URSCA) program, Watson spent six weeks during the summer after his first academic year reading everything he could find on field guides.
Milo’s participation in our summer research program captures our idea of 鈥榬esearch for all鈥� and is a point of distinction for our URSCA program,鈥� says Dr. Matthew Venesky, associate professor of biology and director of the URSCA program. 鈥淏y giving students space during the summer to connect ideas from different courses, and even different academic programs, like in Milo’s case, our URSCA program gives students agency in their education. It is one of the reasons why our URSCA program is linked with the strong outcomes of our graduates.
The experience gave Watson the foundation to develop a full-fledged paper that eventually found its way to ISLE, one of the leading journals for literature and environmental studies published by Oxford University Press.
At its heart, Watson鈥檚 article examines how field guides (especially those published since Roger Tory Peterson鈥檚 1934 landmark 鈥淔ield Guide to Birds鈥�) have shaped Americans鈥� relationship with nature. While Peterson鈥檚 approach was groundbreaking for its time, Watson suggests the genre is changing, moving toward more activist and ecological purposes.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been really neat to see authors recognize that many field guide users are also contributing to community science,鈥� explains Watson, who is from Fenwick Island, Delaware. 鈥淪ome newer guides actually help readers assess things like local air quality or connect environmental issues directly to their neighborhoods.鈥�
He points to 鈥淯rban Lichens: A Field Guide for Northeastern North America鈥� by Jessica Allen and James Lendemer, which helps readers gauge air pollution based on lichen populations, and Patrick J. Lynch鈥檚 鈥淔ield Guide to the Mid-Atlantic Coast,鈥� which links beach management policies to ecological outcomes. 鈥淭hese kinds of discussions help direct people to local problems they might be able to help solve,鈥� Watson says.
In the future, Watson envisions an evolution in how field guides and their readers approach stewardship. 鈥淓nvironmental problems are so complex that no single guide could capture them all,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut I鈥檇 love to see more guides that connect ecological science with cultural values and real-world action.鈥�
Watson鈥檚 long-term goal is to become an urban or regional planner, bringing together the human and environmental dimensions of sustainability. Before attending graduate school, he plans to gain experience in the field after graduation.
For now, his published paper stands as both a personal milestone and a testament to Allegheny鈥檚 distinctive approach to learning. 鈥淢y faculty mentor spent hours listening to my ideas and offered incredibly empowering encouragement that motivated me to stick with this years-long project,鈥� Watson reflects. 鈥淏eing encouraged to ask questions that cross disciplinary lines, and being given the space to pursue them, has significantly shaped the way I see the world.鈥�
Listen to Dr. Venesky and Watson discuss 鈥淓thics and Aesthetics in the Contemporary Field Guide鈥� on a 听.