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Black Lives Matter
I’ve been contemplating what to say here about the national and global outrage expressed in response to police violence against people of color. This is not a new problem for our nation; though like many others, I hope we are at last reaching a new horizon. Rather than indulge in my own take, I prefer…
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Reconnecting
Normally this time of year I would be at my annual Women’s Writing Retreat, more affectionately known as Dollbabies Week. Like so many other spring activities and conferences, that plan was washed away by the tide of Covid-19. My literary colleagues and I have organized a remote edition instead. It won’t be the same, but…
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Bees in the Time of Covid-19
Life has been transformed in the past couple weeks for pretty much everyone in the United States, and around the world. At Avila University, faculty, staff and students have undertaken a monumental effort to move our entire spring curriculum online. Virtual classes started yesterday, almost all of us wading into unknown territory. On the bright…
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Urban Habitats for Native Bees
I’m happy to report that my article on native bees in urban habitats is now available in this month’s issue of Ecological Restoration. Based on work completed with my Honors Biology student Laura Presler for her capstone project at Avila University, the paper provides evidence for the important role of small remnant habitats in conserving native…
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Dia de la Amistad
My bee page is now updated – check it out for details about our 2020 field season. I’m excited about my projects, coordinated as always with KC Wildlands, KC Parks, and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). We’re going to conduct a standardized survey of a unique habitat in the Kansas City area, the rocky…
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First Goals and Aspirations for 2020
Avila University started its regular spring semester about two weeks ago. Seems I’ve hardly drawn a breath, and the month has already slipped by! After some worry that I might be teaching an overload again this spring, I managed to negotiate with the powers that be so that my teaching obligations remain within contract. This…
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Winter Solstice Reading
Happy Winter Solstice! I’m celebrating this year by bringing back a tradition I let slide a while ago: my annual holiday reading. Technology has changed since the last time I did this, so it took some time to figure things out, but the recording is finished and uploaded – embedded below and available on…
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Holiday Respite
Well, I warned you back in September, and I was right: My autumn overload was too much to allow weekly niceties such as visiting my online journal and communicating with all of you. I have missed this space. Truly. I’m hopeful I will have more time to spend with you in the spring, as I…
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Autumn Line Up
We are a quarter of the way through the semester already, and I haven’t given you the scoop yet on the awesome courses I’m teaching at Avila. Here they are: BI 112 Introductory Biology: Ecology and Evolution. Some professors shy away from newbie courses, but at Avila we say, “Bring ’em on!” More so with BI…
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Biodiversity Includes Knowledge Diversity
According to many textbooks, an ecosystem is defined as a community of living organisms interacting with each other and the nonliving components of their environment. Whenever I introduce this concept to students, I ask them to consider what is meant by “living” and “nonliving.” Common examples of “nonliving” parts of an ecosystem include air (oxygen, carbon…
K.R. Gastreich, Author
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K. R. Gastreich, Author 