By Alison Sheahan
I’d be hard-pressed to think of a more terrific way to spend a wintry afternoon than my (pre-pandemic) tea (& goodies!) at Silver Diner with Beth Kiser early this year. I knew of Beth from her efforts to organize the Park Stewards program (Adopt-a-Park leaders who oversee volunteer stewardship work in Arlington, Alexandria, and Falls Church parks and engage with neighboring park communities). But I was pleased to find we had many other overlapping priorities and friendships. I enjoyed getting to know Beth and I’m sure you will too. We began by talking about the more distant past….
Tell us something about your life experience that has shaped your perspective on nature.
I grew up in western North Carolina and spent a ton of time outdoors. My toy Fisher Price people had campfires and root cellars and cooked roasts over a spit. I remember the thrill of uncovering toads and snakes, eating chinquapins, and finding “touch-me-nots” (Impatiens capensis) with my granddad, with the seeds exploding in all directions. I remember hiking with my dad in hemlock forests and drinking icy cold spring water and breathing in the earthy smell of the woods.
Conservation and restoration always felt to me like a totally normal and practical thing to do. I learned how non-native invasive plants can take over when I first saw kudzu swallowing the hillsides of the Blue Ridge Parkway. When I lived in Wisconsin in the 1990s, I was able to volunteer with a prairie burn. A lightbulb moment was reading Doug Tallamy’s book, Bringing Nature Home, about native plants, the insects that co-evolved to eat them, and the birds that eat only insects. I now feel like anytime I plant anything in our yard, it’s a fun opportunity to build our local ecosystem while getting to watch it up close. (And I love to grow and share native plants!)
Growing poverty oatgrass from seed for native lawn in 2020. Photo courtesy of Beth Kiser. 
Buckeye butterfly in Beth’s native habitat garden in 2019. Photo courtesy of Beth Kiser.
Tell us something more about your background.
I work as an economist learning how risks can move through the financial system. I think my experiences in nature and through ARMN have brought me insights in economics, and vice versa. Economics and ecology are both about complex, interconnected systems.
What are your favorite ARMN volunteer projects?
Oh gosh, there are so many. I’ve had the opportunity to sample several over time. I love the annual “City Nature Challenge,” the bioblitz event where people in cities around the world collect and upload nature data that can be used for scientific research. It’s a great way to discover and record the cool critters and plants in our area. I’ve also enjoyed stream monitoring, especially getting in the water and turning over rocks to see what’s there. Through the Roving Naturalist program, I was able to take a live snake to the Arlington County Fair to share with the public. It’s so nice to meet people in our wonderfully diverse area and find out what they find exciting (or even scary!) about nature.
My favorite ARMN project today is the Park Stewards Program. Phil Klingelhofer and I started setting it up in 2017 and it’s really grown, thanks to all the volunteer leaders who’ve shared their amazing skills, knowledge, and hard work, and the natural resources and park managers in our area jurisdictions who’ve offered training and coordination. This work feels really important because it’s something we can actually do locally. Protecting the natural areas in our parks helps take carbon out of the air, prevents stormwater damage, and cools the “urban heat island.” It lets us see migrating birds in the spring and fall and fireflies in the summer. And it helps people connect with nature.
What has surprised you most about ARMN?
I’m always struck by the incredible range of expertise and leadership skills of people in this community, and the perseverance and hope that ARMN folks bring to their volunteer work.
What do you like most about ARMN?
I love the opportunity to be outside in nature while working with such kind and thoughtful volunteers. It took me awhile to connect with people after the initial ARMN basic training classes, but once I got into some regular projects, I was all in.
Tell us something unusual about yourself.
Hmm…Target shooting? In my early teens I participated with my dad in target shooting competitions using reproduction muzzle-loading rifles.
Thank you, Beth, for your passion, humor, humility, and wonderful outreach for our precious planet.
