Bill Buck, from The 91制片厂 Botanical Garden, is on a bryophyte collecting trip to the islands off Cape Horn, the southernmost point of South America, with colleagues that include Jim Shevock, Blanka Shaw, and Juan Larra铆n. An excerpt from his most recent blog post reads, “For a bryologist, this is a paradise. The biomass of bryophytes, in this area that receives about 12 feet of rain a year, is much greater than that of the trees. The ground is at least a foot deep in bryophytes and the bryophytes sheathe the tree trunks to more than twice the diameter of the trees themselves.” Wow!

Follow his expedition .

For more details and the full article Or see the entire issue .

For more details and the full article .

The following remembrance is from the President of RPI, Dr. Jackson:

It is with great sadness and deep regret that I announce the recent passing of Dr. Robert P. Ingalls, the executive officer of the Computer Science Department at Rensselaer and a respected teacher of many computer science courses. Dr. Ingalls passed away late last week.

After a distinguished career in developmental psychology, Dr. Ingalls’ interests turned to computer science in the mid-1980s. He earned his master’s degree in computer science here in 1986, and joined the Computer Science Department that same year as director of operations, eventually rising to serve in the role of executive officer.

Dr. Ingalls earned his bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology from Williams College in 1967, and went on to earn his master’s degree from the University of Connecticut in 1968. He earned his Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Connecticut in 1972.

Dr. Ingalls was the author of a number of books on developmental psychology, including “Mental Retardation: The Changing Outlook.” He taught psychology at the California State College at Chico, and here in Troy at Russell Sage College, before joining the 91制片厂 State Council on Children and Families.

After he came to Troy, Dr. Ingalls continued his lifelong interest in natural history. He was an accomplished field botanist, and an observer and advocate for the ecology of Rensselaer County. He served as a member and officer of the Rensselaer Land Trust and acted as a steward for the Nature Conservancy. Dr. Ingalls’ interests were many and diverse, and his enthusiasm engaged all who knew him.

There will be a memorial service for Dr. Ingalls at the Chapel and Cultural Center, 2125 Burdett Avenue in Troy, on Saturday, December 4, at 11:00 a.m., followed by a reception in The Great Room at the Heffner
Alumni House.

This link is to an obituary in the Watertown Daily Times:

I met Dr. Ketchledge in 1971 when I was his undergraduate student in dendrology at SUNY College of Forestry (as it was known back then) at Syracuse in the early 1970s. I remember him as a great teacher (he gave me an A) and I think his love of trees and plants probably rubbed off on me as I found my way to a botany career over the years. Little did I know back then that we would be friends and colleagues as we both worked to preserve the flora of the high peaks of the Adirondacks. When I started working with The Natural Heritage Program in the early 1990s I went on numerous field trips with Ketch to observe the Adirondack flora.聽 We both trained the summit stewards on Whiteface Mountain, a flora he spent many years refining (he was the first one to spot the invasive wild chervil on the Lake Placid turn). He was also especially fond of the plants at Bloomingdale Bog and some of the weird-looking lycopods in the sandy areas of nearby Vermontville. He was an excellent bryologist too and he never failed to point out the interesting mosses he saw along the way. He provided me with a treasure-trove of information about Adirondack alpine plants and I always enjoyed being out in the field and learning from him. In a 1999 letter to me he wrote, “As I reflect back over what I’ve done since surviving combat in WWII, my greatest pleasure and satisfaction is the many lasting friendships that I still enjoy from my years of sharing information with eager young people at ESF, each one a reflection in turn of my own quest for information and knowledge of the natural world from which we spring. I honestly believe I have learned and enjoyed that phase of my career more than any other effort/voyage I have have pursued.”

I will miss him.聽 Below is a photo of Ketch (on the far right) I took in June of 2001 on one of our trips together to Whiteface.

From the Intro to Jackie Callahan’s blog: I have been in love with nature most of my adult life. This passion first began with my desire to draw wildflowers. Then, I began to be curious about all of the other beautiful and interesting things I was seeing around me: insects, birds, trees, etc., and I was inspired to draw these, as well. Eventually, I began to immerse myself more deeply into my study of the natural world. I started the practice of keeping a nature-journal. It was specifically about my outings in my kayak on Fish Creek, an outlet of Saratoga Lake. I described what I saw, made sketches, took photographs, etc., as a result, I have a twelve-year study of the natural history of Fish Creek. These records have been a source of inspiration for me, for: songs, drawings, paintings, poetry, and stories. I have self-published a book, The Wildflowers of Saratoga National Historical Park, and I illustrated Skidmore College professor, Sue Van Hook鈥檚 book, Treasure in the Northwoods, but my first love is the journal I have kept on Fish Creek. I would like to use this blog to share excerpts of that journal with kindred spirits: nature- lovers, artists, poets, musicians, etc., all over the world.

Follow Jackie’s blog at:

There will be a more extensive obituary in the NYFA December newsletter.