Welcome to Switzer Network News, a regular series of news reports produced by Jerry Kay of Media Interchange and Switzer Fellows. These reports profile the environmental accomplishments and innovations of Switzer Fellows as leaders in their respective fields.  We encourage you to subscribe to our reports which are available via iTunes, Google, and Yahoo, as well as email.

Switzer Network News: Conservation Science & Biology Posts

Go Botany! Engaging Budding Botanists Using Technology
Sunday, April 1 2012

Botanists and other scientists are using technology to reach wider audiences. One example is the website Go Botany! developed by 1990 Switzer Fellow Elizabeth Farnsworth.  Learn about how the site was designed to engage people in identifying plants and foster social networking. 

Whale Trust
Friday, March 11 2011

Whale Trust, co-founded by Switzer Fellow Meagan Jones, supports research on whales and their marine environment.  The organization is committed to bridging that research with public outreach, education and conservation.

Setting an Ocean Agenda in the Halls of Power
Wednesday, December 1 2010

Switzer Fellow Denny Takahashi-Kelso, Executive Vice President of Ocean Conservancy, the oldest U.S. based ocean conservation organization focusing on the long-range sustainability, productivity and biodiversity of the ocean, explains why this is a pivotal moment for the ocean and the human communities that depend on the ocean.

Building Funds for Positive Change
Thursday, September 9 2010

From rebuilding fisheries in New England to redeveloping former industrial sites, CLF Ventures builds monetary funds around three criteria: positive social, environmental and economic results. Learn more from Switzer Fellow Jo Anne Shatkin, Managing Director of CLF.

Lead Poisoning of Albatross Chicks
Wednesday, July 14 2010

Lead-based paint enjoyed widespread use up until 1978. In her effort to save a species, Switzer fellow Myra Finkelstein uses the latest scientific tools to pinpoint crumbling paint as the source of painful diseases, crippling wing mutations, and early death in albatross chicks. 

California Invasive Plant Council
Thursday, June 17 2010

When is a pretty plant a problem? When it displaces native vegetation and disrupts the food chain. Doug Johnson, Executive Director of the California Invasive Plant Council, is a Switzer Fellow working with private and government agencies to identify invading plants, arrest their spread and educate the public to healthy alternatives.