Dr. Christopher Normet reflects on three seasons of field work in the secluded area of Warden’s Grove in the Canadian Arctic region. Here, he studied the breeding of Harris’s sparrows; one of the many small brown birds that often go unnoticed. While he describes his base camp and accomplishes his work of studying this little brown bird, Norment also tries to answer the question of what good is his science and attempts to connect science to humanity as he leaves his family behind, descends into solitude, finds home and knowledge in a desolate landscape and becomes intimate with life and death in Warden’s Grove.
I was lucky enough to have Dr. Norment as my college advisor and professor for many of my classes. This book wasn’t published until after I graduated, but I am glad I found it. I was reminded of the holistic way of looking at nature and science that he often taught. Return to Warden’s Grove is not only an intimate look into the biology of the Harris’s Sparrow, but also about how human’s connect to nature and the importance of this process. Written non-linearly over three seasons of research, Dr. Norment makes connections in natural ways and is able to tell a story that is more than facts collected from research.
I was lucky enough to have Dr. Norment as my college advisor and professor for many of my classes. This book wasn’t published until after I graduated, but I am glad I found it. I was reminded of the holistic way of looking at nature and science that he often taught. Return to Warden’s Grove is not only an intimate look into the biology of the Harris’s Sparrow, but also about how human’s connect to nature and the importance of this process. Written non-linearly over three seasons of research, Dr. Norment makes connections in natural ways and is able to tell a story that is more than facts collected from research.
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