We still have our hands with which to write, we still have our senses with which to observe, our minds with which to interpret, imagine and share. Most of all we have the most incredible community of family and friends to nurture us in ever inspiring and surprising ways.

What we don’t have are nearly all the the tools we’ve been scraping together to work on our ever evolving project and to tell our stories. While on a long overdue visit with our wonderful community of old friends in the SF Bay Area our car was broken into. In one moment of letting our guard down we lost nearly all the equipment, nature journals and camping gear we’ve been using for the creative project that has been driving our vagabonding. Not to mention some of of favorite clothing and underwear. I’ve spent enough fruitless hours wondering how after being so prudent and watchful throughout any number of vulnerable locations the one time we felt it necessary to let our guard down in a reasonably safe place was exactly the wrong time. We intend to come out of this crisis stronger and more focused. As dedicated naturalists we feel inspired and to compelled to join the March for Science in Washington taking place April 22, 2017. We intend to continue to share our story and have no doubt that we can add value to the work being done and contribute.

Because of that surprising community there ended up being a couple ways that folks can contribute, if inspired, to our rebound effort:

• We started a Gofundme page here.

• And some sneaky friends surprised us with a Paypal fundraiser at vagabondnaturalistfund@gmail.com If you have Paypal account, this option incures no fees if you use the “send money” feature.

Helping us to our goal will cover travel expenses and re-investing in the equipment that allows us to create. Our goal is likely much less than the cost to replace our our material possessions, but we try to be frugal people and enjoy improvising with our toolkit. So we’ll work with what we’ve got.

The intention is to flip our luck around and use this momentum to carry into another year or fruitful reciprocity. Together over the past 2 years we’ve put in well over 1500 hours of volunteer time, traveled a significant portion of North America and lived and worked in two National Parks. In that time we’ve had an invaluable education on the land and all the life that inhabits it, including us humans. Science is the backbone to all of our knowledge about the world around us and has brought living things into sharper focus. It is the firm ground on which to structure our narratives and the soil from which our imaginations can flourish. The well-being of all life depends on good science and the will to use that knowledge wisely. Science is an inherently neutral, non-partisan concept; a method to seek the truth. However it is indisputable that we are living in a moment of widespread insecurity about what is fact and a climate of selective bashing of scientific thought. We wish to be part of the effort to create an inclusive atmosphere that strengthens the connections between people and the tools that contribute to our collective knowledge. There is always so much still to learn and curiosity belongs to everyone. You can learn more about the March for Science here.