Monday, March 24, 2014

Moving on: Sweet Tea Science

Hello friends (and maybe a few followers I hadn't lost)!  It has been quite a long time.  If you happen to know me personally, you'll know this is not the first blog I have begun and subsequently abandoned.  I love to write and I love to share things I find interesting or helpful, but I tend to have my fingers in about 20 different pots.  Pet projects come and go.  Pet projects most vulnerable to "going" are those I have undertaken solo.  My hectic life requires major accountability.  I'm a graduate student, I'm a partner (and now trying to plan a wedding!), I am a daughter and a sister, and I'm an athlete.  Adding blogger to my list of adjectives has always been a goal, but it's just darn difficult to make the time when it's just lil' ol' me.

Enter Sweet Tea Science

I'd been feeling this way about Practical Ecologist for a few months.  Feeling like blogging was another thing added to my Stress List, not a fun side project.  I was chatting with my best partner in crime, when it struck me, we should write a blog together.  See, Meridith had her own personal blog, which was also constantly in some state of neglect.  Meridith had a wonderful talent for fun and funny writing, often about science.  Did I mention that we were roommates in college, took almost all the same biology courses together at Western, attended the ELME program together in 2007, and took the Amazing Besties National Park Roadtrip together in 2012.  Plus, we're adorable.  Sweet Tea Science was born.
Summer 2012.  Arches National Park, Utah.  A stop along the Amazing Besties National Park Roadtrip.            Photo cred: MLB
Another struggle with this blog, I lost track of who I wanted my audience to be.  Was it my peers in science and ecology?  Could it be people interested in living more sustainable lives?  Was it simply the public or even young people interested in science?  I didn't feel like it could be all those things.  I think at this point in my career, at a point where I am trying to climb a really precarious academic ladder, I need to keep my professional and outreach efforts in different boxes.  These boxes sit open and next to each other in the clutter that is my life, so there is overlap!  And there is always room for reorganization in the future, but for now I think this is best.

Some Potential Questions

Where can I find you on the internet?  You can find my musings about science, ecology, sustainability, and general science outreach shenanigans at Sweet Tea Science!  We are currently just on Tumblr, but we will be transitioning to more long-form blogs come summer time.  Feel free to follow us on Instagram and Twitter!  I will be making a professional website to house news about my research and such related academic nonsense.  That is still in the works, but once it is done I will link to it from my Sweet Tea Science "About Me" page.

Where will I be able to access Practical Ecologist content?  I don't know if blogger ever really deletes anything, but just in case, all this content (and all the content from Meridith's old blog) has been migrated over to the long-form Sweet Tea Science blog that we are working on as we speak.

Will you still be writing about green living or doing any lifestyle posts?  Our current vision for Sweet Tea Science does involve some lifestyle posts about living sustainable and simple.  Unlike this blog, that won't be the focus in the future.

Until Next Time

Martinez Regional Shoreline Park, Martinez, CA
Thanks for reading my infrequent posts.  Thanks for those of you that gave feedback and comments.  Thanks to my cat for warming my lap while I mused about my life.  And thank you in advance for following along on my next internet venture!  See you around the interwebs!

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