GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist and her five parrots are currently relocating to Germany, where she will continue writing her blog while also writing a book and learning German. (Meanwhile, her parrots will continue to nibble on her extensive personal library.) If you appreciate GrrlScientist's writing, you can help pay her living expenses by hiring her to "blog" your conference, speak at your club or write articles for your publication (or by clicking on the Paypal button below). If you read an essay on this blog that you especially enjoyed, please nominate it for inclusion in 
tags: DonorsChoose2008, education, public school education, fund raising, evolution education, nature education, bird education
Already, dear readers, you are making a difference. For example, a few days ago, a classroom in North Carolina learned that they will be able to learn how to identify wild birds because you donated enough for them to fulfill their funding request. Thank you!
Of course, I will be sharing all updates with you that they send during the upcoming school year.
Dear GrrlScientist,
Thank you so much for funding my request for binoculars. Your gift was especially thoughtful. Since I first posted my proposal, our after school Explorers Club has grown from 30 to 85 children in grades K-5! Thanks to your generous donation, we now have enough binoculars for each small group of children to have a pair of binoculars to share. The students are becoming very familiar with the field guides and they get excited when they actually identify a bird with the book. These binoculars will also be great as the weather turns cold. Bird feeders and bird baths are located near the windows and students can bird watch from inside when the weather is bad. Our next Explorers Club meeting is Oct.6 and I know the children will be amazed to learn that a generous person provided them with binoculars to use in their outdoor "adventures." Thank you again from the bottom of my heart! Tina
Education & Careers
Humanities & Social Science
Comments
I tend to think of you as my distant blog daughter and I cannot tell you how proud I am of your ideas, creativity, efforts, etc. You have taken a personal passion, some lemons from a challenging life, and made a really good Limoncello. Bless you dear girl!
Posted by: Tabor | October 9, 2008 12:33 PM
aw, thanks tabor. you're so sweet to me. but i have to point out that my READERS are the ones who are doing these good works, not me (i am still trying to figure out how to keep my rent paid, especially now that unemployment has jumped dramatically). i am merely drawing my readers' attention to the needs of a small number of classrooms throughout the nation, and showing them that they can make a difference in the lives of kids who have very little, except teachers who care about them.
Posted by: "GrrlScientist" | October 9, 2008 1:21 PM