Anne Krippenstapel recently joined the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) as a field scientist. She earned her bachelor's degree in forestry from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and worked as a forestry tech, running a chainsaw, treating invasive plants, and doing timber stand improvement. Anne was the executive director of the environmental nonprofit, Keep Carbondale Beautiful and organized litter pickups with volunteers, hosted fundraising with native tree sales, and did community education and event planning. She also worked as a field assistant for a long-term white oak study on regeneration at Trail of Tears.
What are you looking forward to the most in your new role at INHS? Looking forward to learning new skills and interagency matters.
How old were you when you first became interested in science? The natural world has always been fascinating.
What drew you to study forestry? I was drawn to the feeling of freedom being outside.
What question do you get asked most frequently about your career or the subject you study? Being asked to identify blurry pics of plants or wildlife is a touch grating.
What are some challenges you’ve faced in your career? Physically demanding days hiking hard terrain, stung by angry ground bees, skin-damaging poison ivy, and also hard-to-navigate university portal systems that aren't user-friendly, is the worst of it.
What do you wish more people understood about science or being a scientist? Ten different foresters will give ten different answers on any given topic.
What advice would you give to future scientists? Observe more than speak.
