Earlier this month, a group of twelve graduate students, faculty, and administrators associated with Yale Environmental Humanities travelled to the Yale-Myers Forest in Eastford, Connecticut, for their second annual spring retreat. Organized by Yale Environmental Humanities Faculty Director Paul Sabin and Graduate Coordinator Colton Klein, this year’s retreat brought together interdisciplinary humanities scholars with research interests in the environment for three days of community-building and conversation about field ecology, forest management, and environmental history.
After arriving at Yale-Myers, the group was welcomed by Marlyse C. Duguid, Thomas J. Siccama Senior Lecturer in Field Ecology and Director of Research for Yale Forests, who led a two-hour walking tour that touched on the histories of land use, energy, agriculture, and local craft, as well as onsite observations about biodiversity and invasive species. The second day of the retreat began with a conversation with Jack Hitt––an award-winning journalist and regular contributor to the New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, and This American Life––about storytelling, public history, and narrative writing. In between presentations, the group had the opportunity to spend time sharing ideas and feedback about ongoing research projects while canoeing and building campfires.
As with last year’s trip, this year’s retreat aimed to provide humanities scholars with exposure to science-based management practices and land-use history while continuing to foster a robust community of interdisciplinary graduate students here at Yale.
