Whether she is discussing Savannah elephants from her time in Africa or the coyotes in Raleigh, it is obvious that Dr. Stephanie Schuttler loves what she does and she is good at it.  Listening to her give a Daily Planet talk about her elephant research led me to more and more questions about the social lives of these mysterious animals, and isn’t that really getting to the heart of science?

Ray Bradbury is credited with saying, “Touch a scientist and you touch a child.”  I may be taking his quote out of context, but in light of my experience with Dr. Schuttler over the past two weeks, I can’t help but think of all the children who will be influenced by her passion when Cathy, Jordan and I return to our schools and dive deep into the world of eMammal camera trapping.  Our students will spend time setting camera traps, collecting data, and identifying animals around their schools.  Even more exciting, their data will be added to an even larger database of animal photos from across the state and will be used in a research study of how human activity affects animals in exurban areas.  When Dr. Schuttler comes to visit, our students will also see that this “Fancy Scientist”  doesn’t fit the mold they probably have envisioned.  What a revelation that will be and what a great motivator for our girls!  I’m so excited about all the possibilities this next year holds for all of us!

(L-R) Jordan, Mamatha, Dr. Stephanie Schuttler, Denise, Cathy