J. DREW LANHAM

I am a wondering wander in love with nature and all the sensuality that falls softly in raindrops, rises riotously with each dawn chorus and whispers goodnight with Whip-poor-wills at dusk. I was born in 1965 and raised in the depths of the Sumter National Forest in a district called the Long Cane. Steven’s and Cheve’s Creeks feed into the Savannah River not far from the rolling piedmont landscape and the small family farm in Edgefield, South Carolina that nurtured me. I count three degrees from Clemson University as structured steps to learning and self-awareness. Honored as a  Distinguished Alumni Professor and Alumni Master Teacher, my 20 years as faculty includes courses, research and outreach in woodland ecology, conservation biology, forest biodiversity, wildlife policy and conservation ornithology and more than forty graduate students mentored.

I believe that it is critical that science move into action beyond the ivory tower. Surrounding oneself with those similarly impassioned is essential to move a mission forward. My conservation relationships as a board member with the South Carolina Wildlife Federation, South Carolina Audubon, American Birding Association, Aldo Leopold Foundation, BirdNote and the North American Association for Environmental Education are a means for putting conservation into practice. I count special kinships with Audubon/Toyota Together Green Fellows; fellow writers at Wildbranch Workshop in Craftsbury Common, Vermont and time at Knoll Farm’s  Whole Thinking Community as valuable as any degree earned.