News & views from Discovery Southeast

The first issue of Discoveries was in spring, 1995, when we were nearly a decade old. Our new executive director, Susan Goes, had layout experience, and set us up with a pagemaker template for facing-pages printing that I used for many years. In the beginning, our aspirations were for a quarterly publication. I tried to compose a thoughtful feature for every issue on some topic in natural history—a complement to the organizational news written by a succession of directors.

Our last printed newsletter, still in the old facing-pages format, was in spring 2011. Although membership updates and Discovery news still goes out through the mail, like all organizations we increasingly communicate through website, email and social media. Much of our decline in substantive natural history essays is certainly on me; I find less time in my year, lately, to set other obligations aside, and spend two weeks polishing an essay that I—and Discovery—can be proud of.

But those newsletters remain, archived here. I hope you find them as relevant today as when they were written.

PS Spring 2020: Til now there have been 21 newsletter pdfs archived here on JuneauNature. But there’s actually a total of 30 in my bindered hardcopy collection. This winter I ‘salvaged’ the entire series by rescanning, running character recognition, and migrating em to the more screen-friendly landscape format. I’ll be gradually adding these old issues, and updating the existing ones in this chronologically sorted sequence:

1_1995spr_springyet

2_1995fa_southbound

3_1996wi_undersnow

4_1996fall_streamwalkers

5_1997wi_bears&us

6_1997su_wildwatershed

7_1997fall_xutsimpressions

8_1998wi_mexico

9_1998fa_art&noticing

10_1999wi_wolfshed

11_1999spr_wetlandbirds

12_1999fall_noname

13_2000spr_riverrelations

14_2000su_3Dlandscapes

15_2000fa_natives&newcomers

16_2001wi_cluereading

17_2001su_DZsolstice

18_ 2001fa_offtrail

19_2002spr_secretplaces

20_2002fa_trackingtoads

21_2003wi_deerforest

22_2003su_risenvalleys

23_ 2004fa_SEestuaries

24_2005spr_repeatphotography

25_2006wi_deernotes

26_2006fa_fieldquestioning

27_2007spr_dippers

28_2011spr_rocks&life

29_2011fa_journaling

30_2013wi_backtracking

In this section

2001 fall newsletter: Off trail

Our Fall 2001 newsletter includes an article by Steve Merli exploring the benefits of going off trail with kids, and…

Fall 2001 | Steve Merli, Richard Carstensen | 6 pages

2001 summer newsletter, Gold Creek solstice: field notes from the crest of the year

On the solstice, I walked the Flume Trail above Dzantik’i Héeni, flounders creek (Gold Creek). Enamored of my newest tool—a…

Summer 2001 | Richard Carstensen | 4 pages

1999 fall newsletter: No Name Bay and other misnomers

My feature essay explores native and non-native places names †in Southeast Alaska. Another piece by Kathy Hocker discusses the importance…

Fall 1999 | Richard Carstensen | 4 pages

1998 fall newsletter: The art of noticing

Kathy Hocker is Southeast Alaska‚’s premier artist-naturalist, teaching classes on field techniques for all ages. In 1998, she wrote a…

1998 | Kathy Hocker | 5 pages

2011 fall newsletter. Recording nature

Field journaling as Raven goes global Journaling is my work and play. It’s how I taught myself to be a…

2011 | Richard Carstensen, Kathy Hocker, Kevin O'Malley | 16 pages

2013 winter newsletter. Backtracking

Discovery’s past and future Discovery Southeast’s Winter 2013 newsletter includes my feature on the foundations of our organization. †You’ll also…

Winter 2013 | Richard Carstensen|Scott Burton | 18 pages

2011 spring newsletter: Geology and life

Connections between the living and non-living world Feature article on response of flora and fauna to geologic landforms and bedrock…

Spring 2011 | Richard Carstensen | 12 pages

2007 spring newsletter: Songsters by the streams

American dippers The Spring 2007 Discoveries includes a feature essay by Mary Willson on dippers, from many years of research…

Spring 2007 | Mary Willson | 12 pages

2006 winter newsletter. Sitka deer: Thoughts and field notes

Excerpts from 25 years of journals Feature on Sitka black-tailed deer: habitat relations, stotting, mountaintop bachelor gangs, differential wariness of…

Winter 2006 | Richard Carstensen | 12 pages

2006 fall newsletter. Priming the pump

Socratic method in field and print Feature article on using the Socratic method in outdoor education. Title comes from our…

Fall 2006 | Dana Owen|Kathy Hocker|Richard Carstensen | 12 pages