Welcome to the jungle..

Mountain Laurel tunnel near Asheville, NC

Hey all, my name is Lauren.  College student, aspiring wildlife biologist and very amateur photographer, hoping to share my adventures.  Slight backstory…Though I now live in North Carolina and attend UNC-Chapel Hill (go Heels), I grew up in Boise, Idaho and spent my summers outdoors–camping, hiking, hot springing, birding, and exploring the mountains of Idaho, largely thanks to my nature-loving dad.  I began dipping my toe into the wildlife bio field when I was 14.  I volunteered at the Idaho Bird Observatory (now Intermountain Bird Observatory, the absolute best thing I ever did during high school, embarrassing and cute pictures to come in future post) and the World Center for Birds of Prey, the headquarters of the Peregrine Fund.  When I moved to Asheville, NC after my sophomore year of high school, I volunteered with a local branch of the Forest Service on a reptile and amphibian study before losing myself a bit in the chaos of moving and transitioning to college.  I started college on the pre-med track, thinking about money and job stability, only to realize halfway through a lonely and stressful summer of classes that I wasn’t happy.  I kept finding myself walking through the trees, staring up at the birds.  I finally changed my major to Environmental Science and began connecting with the people that would inspire me to take the next steps toward a career in wildlife.  This summer, I was accepted to Boise State University’s Raptor Research REU Program, an internship funded by the National Science Foundation.  I will be studying the Northern Goshawk in the Sawtooth National Forest in Southern Idaho.  Look forward to a little science, some stories, and a lot of pictures!