Jared Gorrell is a graduate student of Dr. Dwayne Estes, SGI’s Executive Director, at Austin Peay State University (APSU). Jared earned his Bachelor’s degree in Botany from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2019. As a graduate student at APSU, Jared is focusing on a botany and ecology at an SGI project site, the Sumter Farm, located in Geiger, Alabama. He’s hoping to achieve his Master’s degree by December 2023. Recently we sat down with Jared to learn a little more about him and his role at SGI.

Q. How did you get interested in nature and the outdoors?

When I was 3 years old, I was obsessed with watching the Crocodile Hunter with Steve Irwin. I watched it so much that I started talking with an Australian accent. That’s where my love for the outdoors and herpetology began. In fifth grade my interests began shifting more towards plants. At this point, I’m interested in anything outdoors.

Q. How did you get interested in grasslands?

I grew up in the Prairie State, Illinois, so grasslands were everywhere. The prairies of Illinois have a lot more going on as far as biodiversity goes than the woods. There are more plants, birds, and insects in these grasslands and I’ve been interested since I can remember.

Q. What did you do prior to coming to SGI?

After I got my Bachelor’s degree, I was an intern for the Illinois Natural History Survey where I worked on critical trends assessments. This involved analyzing different trends across sites and how the vegetation at these sites was changing. Unfortunately, most vegetation trends were declining due to exotic species invasion.

Once my internship was over, I took a job with the Clifton Institute in Virginia studying Piedmont prairies and savanna ecosystems. That job really led to my interests in Southeastern grasslands because of the high diversity of plant species. For example, there are 7-8 species of bush clover across the South compared to 2-3 species in the Midwest. Now, I get to enjoy studying the grassland ecosystems with Dr. Estes at APSU.

Q. What is your role within SGI?

My main role is conducting graduate research in Alabama at the Sumter Farm, which is an SGI project area. However, I play a large role at the APSU herbarium where I lead specimen management (mounting specimens, interacting with other herbariums for specimen information, etc.). I also assist SGI with botany surveys for project areas as needed.

Q. What are you most excited about when it comes to working with SGI?

Listening to Dwayne’s stories is always a good time! But seriously, getting to work in unique grassland ecosystems that most folks don’t even know exists is really an amazing experience. I feel like I’m part of cutting edge work in the botany field, and I’m getting to discover new ecosystems and new plant species.

Q. What are some of your hobbies?

Birding, herping, botanizing, and being outdoors. I really like talking about pop culture movies too…I’m a Stars War fan but not toxic about it! Oh, and I really enjoy uploading species to iNaturalist.

Q. Anything else you’d like to share with us?

I really appreciate SGI and what the organization is trying to do, and it’s fun to watch them grow and be included as an SGI team member.

Layla Dunlap, Director of Finance and Operations

Layla oversees SGI’s staff, projects, and budgets, while taking care of all the behind-the-scenes logistics that are vital to SGI’s operations.