Beyond the Screen: Reimagining Field Science Across the Rockies
If you've been following my work with Wild Rose Education or my teaching across the Rocky Mountain West, you know my heart beats for place-based, field-anchored education. Whether guiding students through sub-alpine plant ecology or designing professional development for environmental educators, I've spent my career asking one core question: How do we help people connect deeply with the natural world to build resilience, curiosity, and real-world understanding?
Over the past few months, a series of unexpected breakthroughs has transformed a simple idea into an ambitious vision.
"Imagine replacing screen fatigue with snowshoes, analog field journals, and shipping-container hydroponics in the Yukon."
The Unexpected Tap on the Shoulder
It all began with a total surprise: being recruited to apply for the Visiting Research Chair in Health and Environmental Education at the University of Calgary through Fulbright Canada. Receiving that invitation was an incredible honor, but it also launched an intense period of proposal development.
While the Fulbright selection process is rigorous, highly competitive, and far from a done deal, the journey of building this application has unlocked doors I never anticipated.
My core proposal—"Seeing the Land: Field-Science Routines for Educator Resilience Across the Rockies"—focuses on combating screen fatigue and climate anxiety among educators by embedding analog field-science routines and trail-based "thinking tools" directly into STEM teacher training.
Designing with Intentionality: Every Conversation a Core Insight
Rather than writing a proposal in an academic bubble, I spent two months building intentional relationships across the University of Calgary community. Truly, every single exchange provided an essential nugget of insight that directly shaped the project framework.
My understanding of UCalgary's ecosystem grew out of rich exchanges across the Werklund School of Education. Thanks to the generous guidance of leadership and faculty—including Dr. Miwa Takeuchi, Dr. David Scott, Dr. Greg Lowan-Trudeau, Dr. Jennifer Adams, Dr. Yvonne Poitras Pratt, Dr. Douglas Clark, and Associate Deans Dr. Shelly Russell-Mayhew and Dr. Roswita Dressler—we mapped out a way to integrate this research directly into existing STEM programs without adding operational costs!
Discovering Living Classrooms Across the Cordillera
Another major "aha!" moment came during a conversation with David Anderson (Director of the Colorado Natural Heritage Program and a Fulbright Specialist alumnus). He suggested leveraging a continuous Rocky Mountain Cordillera pedagogical arc—connecting field education from the Southern Rockies of Colorado, through the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, to the sub-Arctic landscapes of the Yukon.
Discovering that UCalgary operates both the Kananaskis Barrier Lake Field Station and the Kluane Lake Research Station (KLRS) was an awesome surprise that fully unlocked the potential of this project!
Kananaskis Centre: Nestled on the edge of Spray Valley Provincial Park in Kananaskis Country, near Banff National Park, Barrier Lake provides an ideal living laboratory for winter B.Ed. "Walking Seminars" (or cross-country skiing!).
Kluane Lake (KLRS): On the shores of Kluane Lake in the Yukon, we plan to co-design hands-on science modules with the Ag1054 team, turning their off-grid shipping container hydroponics greenhouse into a living STEM laboratory for local youth.
When was the last time you spent an hour outside without checking a screen? That exact feeling of mental reset is what we are building into this curriculum.
Which part of the Rocky Mountain Cordillera would you most want to explore?
🌲 Colorado (Southern Rockies)
Greater Yellowstone Area (Northern Rockies)
❄️ Barrier Lake, Alberta (Candian Rockies)
🏔️ Kluane Lake, Yukon (Yukon Mountains)
Core Methodology: Analog "Thinking Tools"
At the heart of this proposal is a practical shift away from screen-induced cognitive overload toward low-tech, tactile field routines:
Relational Land Ledgers: Tactile journaling routines combining words, numbers, and visual sketches to provide ground-truth observations that complement macro-scale satellite datasets.
Ethical Data & OCAP® Principles: Grounded in Indigenous data sovereignty, participants retain absolute custody of their personal field logs, sharing insights via oral storytelling and choosing their own creator credit.
The INIWIRMO Routine: Guided inquiry sequences relying on "I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of" prompts.
Arts-Based Perceptual Ecology: Using line drawing, color matching, and accessible instruments like paper Foldscopes to open scientific observation to everyone.
Grounding the Project: The AINA Host Invitation
These intentional conversations culminated in another major breakthrough: I officially received a formal letter of invitation from the Arctic Institute of North America (AINA) at the University of Calgary to serve as a visiting scholar from mid-January through mid-May 2028, contingent on securing fellowship funding!
Signed by Dr. Maribeth Murray (Executive Director of AINA) and Dr. Brent Else (Associate Director of KLRS), this formal host invitation provides essential institutional support for the competitive review stage. Founded by an Act of Parliament in 1945, AINA is Canada’s oldest Arctic research institute
If awarded the Fulbright, AINA has pledged:
Main-Campus Workspace & Collaboration: Office workspace, communications support, meeting facilities, and academic collaboration at the University of Calgary.
Sub-Arctic Field Capstone at KLRS: On-site hosting at the Kluane Lake Research Station (KLRS) in the Yukon during May 2028, with integration into station outreach, science communication, and hydroponics project initiatives.
Research Integration & Funding Support: Direct engagement with ongoing AINA activities, potential logistical support for Yukon travel, and joint assistance in identifying complementary funding opportunities.
Expanding Impact: The Trebek Initiative & National Geographic Horizon
To further scale our community impact and field execution, I have also just learned of an additional grant opportunity through The Trebek Initiative—a joint grant-making partnership between the National Geographic Society and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS), which I will apply for by the end of October.
While the Fulbright Chair supports my academic residency and research at Werklund, the Trebek Initiative would serve as my direct field execution arm. If awarded, this significant grant will fund micro-sensor field kits, honoraria for First Nations Elders, youth stipends, and photo-elicitation exhibits themed around moving "Beyond Ecological Grief" during our sub-Arctic capstone at Kluane Lake. It also opens the door to joining the global National Geographic Explorer network.
The Path Forward
Having host invitations and collaborator partnerships in place is a crucial milestone, but both grants involve competitive selection processes:
September 2026: Final submission of the Fulbright U.S. Scholar proposal.
October 2026: Trebek Initiative grant application deadline.
Fall 2026 – Spring 2027: Binational peer review and evaluation.
May 2027: Official award notifications.
Mid-January – Mid-May 2028: Proposed residency window across UCalgary, Barrier Lake, and Kluane Lake!
I am deeply grateful to the leadership and faculty at the Werklund School of Education, the Arctic Institute of North America, and a handful of close colleagues and friends for helping to shape this vision alongside me.
Want to follow the journey? The next year involves binational review panels and grant evaluations. I’ll be sharing behind-the-scenes field-journaling prompts, updates, and sneak peeks right here on the blog.
👇 Drop a comment below: What analog tools or routines help you recharge when digital burnout sets in?
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