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Biography

I grew up in Orkney, a farming and fishing community between Scotland and Norway 6 degrees south of the Arctic Circle. Through the year I worked on the family farm, and in summers I worked on a crab boat (think Deadliest Catch with cooler accents). At the University of Aberdeen, I studied Tropical Environmental Science, which included an undergraduate field research expedition to Trinidad. One year later I gained a Masters degree in Tropical Soils and Sustainable Land Management from the University of Newcastle, which included a field research expedition to Tanzania. Between the two degrees I spent a year working as a conservation volunteer on a private Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica and as a naturalist guide in the Peruvian Amazon. After completing my Masters degree I spent 4 years working as a naturalist guide in the Ecuadorian Amazon before moving to California in 2002. Since 2003 I have been teaching biology, ecology, and conservation at West Valley College, and microbiology, and California Native Plants and Cañada College. Last year at Cañada College I created the curriculum for a new course in Sustainable Land Management. My wife, also a biology teacher, and I have travelled extensively to view nature, including trips to Madagascar, Borneo, Malaysia, Thailand, Peru, and South Africa. We have co-lead student field trips to Costa Rica and Ecuador. Each spring I volunteer for the California Native Plant Society and San Mateo County Parks, identifying and recording information on the distribution and abundance of rare native plants in San Mateo County.

Education

BS. Tropical Environmental Science
University of Aberdeen

MSc. Tropical Soils and Sustainable Land Management
University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne