Becky Barak is a plant community and restoration ecologist, a 2017 David H. Smith Fellow and a founder of the website Plant Love Stories. She has wondered about the “acid test” quote for years. 

[Becky writes...] Restoration is an acid test for ecology. 

Raise your hand if you’ve heard that statement before. I’ve heard it before -- in restoration ecology talks, classes and papers. I thought it was a restoration cliche. But when I asked on twitter, I was surprised that more than 70 percent of respondents (thanks for responding, respondents!) hadn’t yet heard this quote. So, what does it mean? Where does it come from? And what the heck is an acid test?

Nate just got his green card here at Plant//People! Welcome, officially, to the team, Nate! Check out his bio at the top of this page ^^ -Anna

[Nate writes...] It’s wintertime; the snow is falling and I’m watching the Downy Woodpeckers battle the Nuthatches in my front yard for the suet block.

​[Anna writes...] Would a bird intentionally spread fires?

Wildfires are known to attract certain birds of prey. These birds aren’t looking to warm their feathers; they’re hoping their next meal will come from the insects and small mammals fleeing the blaze.

​Some raptors have even been reported to spread fires themselves.

​[Nate writes…] This is the second post of a monthly series where I discuss things I observe in my life/travels that are likely to change in the future either fully or partially due to our changing climate. Climate is a more complicated word than most people realize. It’s the weather conditions in a place over a long period of time. “It’s raining today” or “Last week was really hot!” are examples of changing weather, while “Hurricanes have become a lot stronger over the past century” or “Wine country in Oregon is going to change dramatically in the next century” are examples of changing climate.

Nate Emery is currently a post-doc in the department of Plant Biology at Michigan State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and conducts research in plant ecophysiology, biology education, and faculty professional development. Follow him on Twitter @FoggyIdeas or check out his website for more information.

I think that it’s usually fairly difficult for us to imagine what will happen in the future with climate change.​ Especially since we humans have a particularly hard time grasping concepts related to large changes over long periods of time. What does “1 million years ago” even mean? What was even happening then? Apparently, our common ancestor with Neanderthals was roaming around. Humans were definitely not around yet.

Or: A sack of chemicals by any other name would smell as sweet (1).
​
[Andy writes... ] Do you want safe food? Do you eat chemicals? How do you decide what’s natural, and is “natural” a good indicator of safety? What’s a chemical anyway? Is a banana still natural if it contains 2-hydroxy-3-methylethyl?

Nate Emery is currently a post-doc in the department of Plant Biology at Michigan State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and conducts research in plant ecophysiology, biology education, and faculty professional development. Follow him on Twitter @FoggyIdeas or check out his website for more information.

​[Nate writes...]​ ​

​Dear Bill Nye and company,
 
I’ve wanted to write about your new show “Bill Nye Saves the World” for some time now. I am a huge fan of your old show ("Bill Nye the Science Guy," 1993-1998). It was original, engaging, and inspired scientific curiosity in a whole generation.

​Your new show is obviously targeting a different audience and has a very different tone and approach.

To be honest, upon watching the first few episodes, I was immediately turned off.