Mission

Nature Up North is a community-based organization based at St. Lawrence University whose mission is to foster a deeper sense of appreciation for, and connection to, the North Country environment and in doing so to create a bioregionally literate community that is committed to protecting the wild things and wild places that define this place we call home.

Long-term Vision

The goal of Nature Up North is to use technology to encourage and enhance outdoor experiential learning. In a world increasingly dominated by technology and defined by a growing sense of apathy toward the natural world, Nature Up North seeks to build an environmental community in northern New York using the technological tools with which people are most familiar. Using web-based technology, Nature Up North enables sharing of experiences and observations in nature through science, art, photography or writing. We seek to foster connections between the North Country landscape, the people who inhabit it, and the inextricable connections between the two.

Connect with Us

Interested in getting outdoors and learning more about the North Country environment?  No matter what your age, interest, or ability level, there are many ways to get involved with Nature Up North: 

• Get outside with us.  We offer guided hikes, canoe paddles, naturalist walks, community campfires, and educational workshops that are free, open to the public, and led by our talented staff members! 
• Citizen Science.  Our citizen science projects will help you learn to become a scientific observer in your own back yard while contributing valuable information on the North Country environment. Have you ever wondered what flowers are the first to bloom in spring, what birds are first to migrate back to the North Country, or what trees are last to lose their leaves in fall?  By helping us collect data about these events, you will be contributing to important scientific research that is going on across the country. Check out our Citizen Science page for more info. 
• Join our online community.  Create a free user account and start sharing your Encounters, download free  trail maps, learn about the fun local outdoor events on our Events Calendar.  Join the discussion by commenting on others' Encounter posts and clicking "Northworthy" on the posts you like.  
• Become a community partner.  Nature Up North is developing partnerships with individuals and organizations here in the North Country who are interested in environmental education, outdoor recreation, and healthy lifestyles. If you are interested in partnering with us, please e-mail info@natureupnorth.org.
• K-12 Programs.  We are working with local teachers and enhance school curricula with more hands-on, place-based environmental learning opportunities.  If you are a teacher or administrator, contact us to talk about ways we can work with you.   

YOU are the roots that anchor this project to the North Country. Your questions, comments and suggestions are an integral part in helping us develop a project that meets your needs, and the needs of our community. So get outside! Explore, examine, share, and help Nature Up North become the project it is meant to be.

Our Team

Project Director

Nature Up North is the brainchild of Dr. Erika Barthelmess who is a vertebrate ecologist and conservation biologist. Erika works as an Associate Professor of Biology at St. Lawrence University. She earned her B.A. in Biology at Earlham College, her Ph.D.in Systematics and Ecology at the University of Kansas, and conducted post-doctoral research at Vanderbilt University before arriving at St. Lawrence.Her research interests are broad and include the biology of small, isolated populations, the intersection of behavioral ecology and conservation, road ecology, and the ecology and natural history of porcupines. Her longstanding interest in environmental education began as a college student when she worked in a local museum offering programs for local school groups. More recently, she has provided educational programming for State Parks and local North Country schools. In her spare time, Erika enjoys hiking, canoeing, and Labrador retrievers.  She is also the past-president of the St. Lawrence Land Trust, a North Country conservation organization.

Project Manager

Dan French is a 2021 graduate of Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. While there, he majored in Sustainability with minors in General Business and Management. As an undergrad he had the opportunity to intern with the National Park Service's Office of Policy in Washington D.C., conduct self-led research on the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid's impact on North American species of Hemlock, and was elected secretary of his universities ultimate fresbee team, Bentley Icehouse. A native of Potsdam NY, Dan spent many summers cultivating his love for outdoor education at 4-H Camp Overlook where he was a camper turned staff for a total of 14 years. In his free time, Dan enjoys hiking in the Adirondacks and skiing when the snow allows. Most recently, Dan returned to the North Country after a one year term of service as an AmeriCorps member in Montana. He served as the National Wildlife Federation's Garden for Wildlife (TM) Coordinator in Missoula and the surrounding area. Now that he's back, Dan hopes to expand his connection to the environment through whitewater kayaking, backpacking, and expanding access to the wonders of the North Country to anyone and everyone who wants to tag along.

Interns and Volunteers

Brendan Karadenes | He/Him/His | Computer Science Intern

I am a senior from Saratoga, NY and a Data Science major with a Spanish Studies minor. I enjoy playing baseball, kayaking, and walking the Saddlemire Trail. I joined Nature Up North in the Fall of 2023 as a CS intern and have greatly enjoyed working with the program.

Liz Anderson | She/Her/Hers | Digital Media Intern

Liz is a junior from Andover, MA majoring in Conservation Biology and planning on minoring in Anthropology. She enjoys hiking, yoga, cross country skiing, baking, and reading. She also loves teaching her cat, Andre, fun tricks! Liz's favorite place in the North Country is Huckleberry Lake.  

Donatella DeFazio | She/Her/Hers | Digital Media Intern

Donatella is a junior from Canton, CT and is majoring in Math and Engineering, hoping to become an environmental engineer and work with renewable energy. She enjoys playing field hockey, skiing, watching movies and keeping up with Formula 1. Winter is her favorite season and fun fact, Donatella is named after Donatella Versace, the Italian fashion designer! 

Wejden Jemmezi | She/Her/Hers | Digital Media Intern

Wejden is a freshman from Tunisia with a passion for global studies and an undeniable love for cats. She is currently tackling her 6th language - Swahili. She's excited to dive deeper into it next year at SLU while participating in the KSP program.

When she's not hitting the books, you might find Wejden pedaling around on a bike or taking a leisurely stroll. Recently, she's been loving working with watercolors, which is becoming one of her favorite things to do!

Bryn Rodgers | She/Her/Hers | Hybrid DM and EE Intern

Bryn is a junior majoring in Environmental Studies and Sociology and minoring in Outdoor Studies. She enjoys rock climbing, swimming in lakes/rivers, and water coloring. Bryn has appreciated learning more about the North Country environment and food systems through classes and experiences. Her favorite tree is a weeping willow!  

Ellie Pollard | She/Her/Hers | Environmental Education Intern

Hello, my name is Ellie Pollard and I'm from Beverly Massachusetts. I am a Senior at St. Lawrence University studying Environmental Studies and Psychology with a minor in Art.  I recently returned from my semester abroad in Kenya where I got to experience my first environmental education internship. I love to travel, swim, and play outdoors!  

Sage Kehr | She/Her/Hers | Environmental Education Intern

My name is Sage Kehr, and I attend St. Lawrence University as a prospective Conservation Biology major and Native American History minor. I love to be outdoors and enjoy hiking, swimming, and being around wildlife and animals. I dream of working in an animal rehabilitation center and saving endangered species.  

Nela Chestojanova | She/Her/Hers | Digital Media Intern

Nela is a freshman from Macedonia planning to major in Biomedical Sciences. She loves to bake pastries, passionately watches Formula 1 and regularly extends her Duolingo Streak. She joined Nature Up North in her first year and is still acclimating to the weather in the North Country while exploring the area and improving her digital skills.

Advisory Committee

Eric Williams-Bergen is the Director of Research and Digital Scholarship at St. Lawrence University. He brings together his knowledge of scholarly resources and emerging technologies to help the libraries and IT focus on the planning, implementation and support of digital projects such as LIT web resources, digital collections and institutional repositories.  Also a homesteader, Eric has served as a board member for GardenShare and specializes in developing websites for local nonprofit organizations and cooperatives. He has played a key role in developing St. Lawrence University’s new Sustainability Semester. He received his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from St. Lawrence University and a Master’s in Library and Information Science from Simmons College. Outside of his work for the University, Eric enjoys spending as much time as possible in the natural world, including kayaking, hiking, and biking with his family.

Dr. Choong-Soo Lee attended Wesleyan University as an undergraduate where he majored in Computer Science, Economics, and Physics. In 2010, he earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science at WPI In 2010, and he joins St. Lawrence University after teaching at Gustavus Adolphus College for three years. His areas of research include multimedia, home networks, and human computer interaction. While earning his Ph.D, Dr. Lee took a leave of absence to complete his mandatory military service in South Korea where he worked with both Republic of Korea and U.S. military officers. His non-academic interests include classical music, hiking, and video games.

Lisa Torrey teaches in the department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics at St. Lawrence University. Her courses are about programming, algorithms, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computational theory. She mentors student projects in a wide range of topics, though most often in machine learning.

Sara Ashpole is an assistant professor of Envionmental Studies, receiving both her undergraduate and masters degrees in Zoology and Tozicology from the University of Guelph, Ontario. Sara completed her Ph.D. in planning at the University of Waterloo, Ontario and is advising graduate students there. Since 1999, Sara's research has been collaborative with NGO, government, First Nation peoples, and private landowners examining cumulative impacts to amphibian, reptile, and turtle populations in the Great Lakes and South Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. Projects include long term amphibian population monitoring, wetland restoration and rehabilitation, road ecology, alien vertebrate species mitigation, agricultural eco-toxicology, landowner stewardship, community outreach and education.