alumni GUEST AUTHOR ALUMNI first to arrive onto productive territory. In their world an early bird truly does get the worm, or more specifically the right to nest in the very best of preferred habitats. Females follow suit seeking those males in prime plumage, with the best songs, on the very best territories. In this, the most basic of biological processes, billions of defoliating insects will perish. For most people, the brief visit these birds make to the North represents nothing but a pretty song, the coming of spring, and perhaps a brief but colorful glimpse high in the tree tops. Their journey, however, transcends the poetic and the services they provide our forests as “worm killers” transcends value. Millions of birds make this journey… millions more try. Without them our forests would be anything but healthy. “Fire fire…where where… here here,” an indigo bunting perched high in a sugar maple proclaimed territory. “You must be Chris… nice to meet you… I’ve been trying to see that bird all morning… I understand you know your birds… do you know what it is?” Lasko asked walking from his farmhouse and prepared for a day in the field. “Yes Sir,” the first of likely many Southernisms’s immediately slipped out. “Likewise … pleased to meet you … sure do!” He was delighted to learn I knew a couple of things about birds and I was equally happy to know I was working with the perfect landowner for my first project with the Forest Society. Throughout the day we inspected, GPS’d, and photographed his property’s boundary but all the while I kept my eyes and ears focused beyond and made the point of mentioning the more obvious charismatic birds. A male scarlet tanager tee’d high on a snag overlooking the property’s wetland provided exceptionally nice looks. I like to think of this sort of work as “forest multi-tasking.” In similar fashion, by the end of my stay on the Lasko property I had recorded over 30 bird species and piqued a landowner’s newfound interest in his property. Birds are not only great indicators of a property’s habitat condition, but likewise excellent tools to connect people with place… the perfect marriage for private land conservation transactions. It’s truly gratifying to know that the long and, at times, seemingly circuitous career path I’ve taken has led to this moment. Connecting people with place is perhaps the most fundamental of Unity’s educational philosophies. Incorporating this ideology into my own career focus while still doing good natural resource conservation work has been especially rewarding. A graduate of Unity College, C.K. Borg is a conservation biologist and naturalist. Borg’s eight years of work in the field of land conservation has resulted in the protection of over 35,000 acres. He holds a bachelor’s of science degree in wildlife biology and a master’s of science degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from New Mexico State University. Additionally, Borg has over nine years of work experience in the biological sciences.
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| UNITY SUMMER 2012