J. Drew Lanham facts for kids
Joseph Drew Lanham is an American author, poet, and wildlife biologist. He received a special award called a MacArthur Fellowship in 2022. This award recognized his unique way of mixing science about nature with personal stories, history, and culture.
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About Dr. Lanham
Early Life and Education
Joseph Drew Lanham grew up in Edgefield, South Carolina. He went to Clemson University to study zoology, which is the study of animals. He later earned his PhD in Forest Resources from the same university in 1997. In 2012, he became an Alumni Distinguished Professor there. Today, he teaches classes about birds and wildlife science.
His Work and Research
Dr. Lanham describes his work as "connecting the conservation dots." This means he tries to link different ideas and people to help nature. His early research looked at how things like forest management and other human activities affect songbirds, reptiles, small mammals, and butterflies.
More recently, he has been exploring how different groups of people, especially Black Americans, connect with wildlife and conservation. He is also interested in how birdwatchers and hunters can work together to protect nature in a more complete way. His main research focuses on the lives of songbirds.
Helping Nature and Earning Awards
Dr. Lanham is a board member for several important groups that work to protect nature. These include the South Carolina Wildlife Federation and National Audubon Society. In 2019, the National Audubon Society gave him the Dan W. Lufkin Prize for Environmental Leadership. This award honors people who have spent their lives helping the environment.
He has taught many courses and guided over 40 students in topics like woodland ecology and bird conservation. He also received the E. O. Wilson Biodiversity Award in December 2020 for his excellent science and advocacy. In February 2022, a newspaper in Charleston, SC, recognized him as one of twelve Black Leaders in South Carolina.
Sharing Important Ideas
Dr. Lanham strongly believes that African Americans have a vital role in protecting natural resources. He is curious about how our culture and background can change how we see and care for nature. He thinks conservation needs both smart science and heartfelt art.
In 2013, he wrote an article called "9 Rules for the Black Birdwatcher" for Orion Magazine. This article highlighted that there were not many Black birdwatchers or much diversity among naturalists. This piece inspired a short film with the same title, which became very popular online. In 2016, he wrote another piece called "Birding While Black."
In 2017, he published a book called The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature. This book won several awards and was listed as one of the best scholarly books of the 2010s. Dr. Lanham also appeared in a TV series called Birds of North America in 2019. In 2020, he was featured on the podcast This Is Love in an episode called "Prairie Warbler."
Personal Life
Dr. Joseph Drew Lanham is married to Janice Garrison Lanham. She is a senior lecturer in the School of Nursing at Clemson University. They have two adult children. Dr. Lanham and his family live in the Upstate region of South Carolina.
