Welcome to my Wonder-full Life!
Hi, I’m Karen! I’m a zoologist and educator who’s spent over thirty years working in wildlife conservation at four accredited zoos and aquariums. During my long professional tenure, I was fortunate to serve my local community and those abroad to partner on stewardship campaigns, education programs, and field conservation projects. My career was immensely satisfying, knowing I was directly involved in actions to protect wildlife and wild places worldwide.
A few years ago, though, my increasing “wonderlust” prompted me to step away from the zoo world to pursue an even deeper immersion in nature. Now I travel extensively, focusing on writing, photography, and seeking stories of wild creatures and the people who protect them.
For one example of my work, check out this story published in the Seattle Times.
In the earlier part of my zoo career I specialized in animal care, working with a wild cast of creatures furry, feathered, finned, and scaled. It was a thrill to know my charges as individuals, learning to read the nuances of their behavior to gain insight into their moods and intentions. I wondered endlessly about how different their worlds look from ours - and each others. I SO wanted to know what they were thinking! (I still do!) How I long for the super power of reading animal minds…
These intimate relationships with my zoo animal friends bestowed on me an understanding of wildlife biology and behavior that serves me well as I pursue encounters with their cousins in the wild and interpret my subjects’ wild lives. But most profoundly, my life spent with animals vested me with an unwavering commitment to their conservation.
I’m convinced that encouraging conservation action begins by helping people feel like they have a place in nature. Research indicates that time spent in nature is associated with positive environmental behaviors, not to mention myriad other personal benefits. I look forward to using this space to encourage folks to slow down and discover the delights that can be found in wild places or just outside your front door. I’ll share musings on all things creature-related and inspire you with images of natural wonders that “kill me with delight” everyday. That phrase, borrowed from Mary Oliver’s brilliant poem, Mindful, exactly portrays how my whole heart lights up when I’m in the presence of wild things. She reminds us of the astonishment and wisdom nature offers, if only we’ll pause to take a look. I hope you’ll join me exploring this wonder-full world.
Mindful
by Mary Oliver
Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle
in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for -
to look, to listen,
to lose myself
inside this soft world -
to instruct myself
over and over
in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant -
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,
the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help
but grow wise
with such teachings
as these -
the untrimmable light
of the world,
the ocean's shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?
When the rosy finches flowed over the crest.....that killed me with delight! Thanks for sharing Mary Oliver's lovely thought.