For Love of Nature: Exploration and Discovery at Biological Field Stations

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Abstract
Contemporary natural history, imbued with renewed spirit and emergent on many fronts, is still essentially an outdoor science dependent on field exploration and discovery. An account is given of personal experiences in nature that led to research pursuits in the laboratory. The urge to explore, it is argued, like the ability to discover, can be developed. Biological field stations provide the ideal setting in which to teach students the art of discovery. Courses designed for that purpose could help train field researchers with a strong personal committment to the preservation of nature. Biologists so committed, by virture of their potential activism, are much needed.