CadyLancaster

Wood Scientist

Ashland, Oregon



Istudythechemicalsofwoodinordertoidentifywoodthathasbeenillegallychopped down.


Illegalloggingisacrime.Treesarecutdownandusedforallsortsofpurposes.Eachtreespecieshasitsown“fingerprint.”Myjobistobuildadatabaseoftreefingerprints.Thenwecanfigureoutwhichtreeshavebeenillegallycut down.


First,weidentifythespeciesofwoodinanythingfromfloorboardstojewelry.ThenItakeapartthewoodenobjects.Next,Icollectwoodsliversfromthem.ThenItakethesliverstoaspecialmachine.It“burns”thesample.Thisreleaseschemicals.Differentchemicalsmakeupthetreefingerprints.Icomparethemtothedatabase.Itcanbeusedworldwidetocatchcriminalswhoaretakingtreesfromprotected places.

DarrenJ.H.Sleep

Wildlife Biologist 

Ottawa,Ontario, Canada



Istudywildlifeandtheirhabitatstounderstandwhattheyneedto thrive.


MydadgavemeadvicewhenIwasyoung.Hesaid,“Findajobyoulovesomuchyou’ddoitforfree.”That’sprettygoodadvice.I’mgladIfollowedit.I’vealwayslovedanimalsandbeingoutdoors.Workingasawildlifebiologistallowsmetomakeadifferenceinthe world.


Myjobistoteachpeopleaboutthenaturalworld.Iteachthemhowwecanworkwithitandprotect it.

Ispendalotoftimeinanoffice.Butmyfavoritetimesarespentoutdoors.Istudybirds,bats,mice,andothercritters.Here,I’mworkingwitha caribou.

AshleyCobletestswaterina stream.

AshleyCoble

Hydrologist 

Corvallis, Oregon



Istudyhowforestryactivitiesaffectwater.Ihelpprotectourfreshwaterlakesandrivers.Ialsostudythelivingthingsthatlivein them.


Youmightfindmewadinginastreamandtakingwatersamples.Partofmyjobistolearnhowwatertravelsthroughaforest— howitsoaksintothesoilorentersa stream.


Ialsomeasurethechemistryofastream.Iwonder:What’sinit?Throughmyresearch,Ihelpprotectthequantityandqualityofwaterinstreams,rivers,andlakes.Ihelpsafeguardwildlifeandourdrinking water.