The Bridge to Wildlife

By Paola Anguiano

Robyn Graygor opens the door of her apartment with a smile drawn on her face. She steps outside to check the weather conditions before deciding whether to conduct the interview indoors or outdoors. Then she puts on a sweatshirt and a jacket, both different tones of green, and we go to the benches outside her apartment.

Graygor is a senior double majoring in environmental studies and journalism. She is working on a senior project about log crossings.

Robyn Graygor leaning against a tree. (Photo by Paola Anguiano)

First, we want to know about the author of this fascinating senior project. Tell me a bit about yourself. What are your interests?

So, I think a lot of my interests are focused outside. I like rock climbing. I like different environmental research, outdoor activities like snowboarding, hiking, swimming, [and] all that type of stuff. I also like the arts, adding a creative lens to science.

I want to know about your family. Tell me about your parents…

My parents are the reason why I wanted to pursue environmental studies. They travel the world on a tandem bicycle and are like hippies and love nature. [They] go on eight-mile hikes every day. They are awesome; they raised me to love the natural world, catch snakes, turtles, and stuff.

Sounds like you had a lovely childhood.

Yeah! I did. And I grew up on Lake Kitchawan, which is not far from here. And growing up near a lake, [it’s] a good way to connect yourself and nature too. We would always go swimming and ice skating and do all the lake things, [like] catching frogs. They’re great parents. I love them.

Have they been supportive about your career and college?

Yes, they definitely inspired me. I think that’s where a lot of my enthusiasm comes from. I’m basically my mom. We’re the same person, and she’s even more bubbly and all that. They definitely instilled in me their love for the environment and all creatures.

Since when did your interest start in environmental studies and journalism?

For environmental studies, it started when I was 5 because I went to an ecology camp at Ward Pound Ridge. I went to that ecology camp until I was in ninth grade, when you aged out. Then I volunteered there for three years, then I worked there for three years as a counselor, then I worked there as a naturalist. So, it’s like that part and just being out there in nature with a bunch of other kids who love nature and with really cool counselors who are teaching us all this crazy niche information. I knew I was environmental studies from there. And then for journalism, I’ve always liked writing. I didn’t know for a while. I thought maybe I should do creative writing, but then I took a journalism class in high school when I was a junior. We watched “Spotlight,” which is a documentary about exposing the church. And I was like, ‘I want to do this.’ It’s like being a detective and also writing, and that would just tie really well with fighting environmental injustice.

Can you give me a brief overview of your senior project?

The actual research paper for environmental studies was proposed last year when I was in Junior Seminar, and my senior project advisor, Dr. Allyson Jackson, from the environmental studies department, has this contact in Maine, of a professor she knows, who was interested in learning more about log crossings and the ways they support terrestrial wildlife. It was kind of a team effort between them figuring that out, and [then] she got sent cameras from the University of Maine. That was the inspiration, and I ended up thinking it was really interesting, so I took it on. Because my senior project is loosely based off a study that happened in Oregon in the Rock Creek Watershed, and you know that it was definitely more like vast wilderness, and then Purchase is a completely different ecosystem where we are on a very urban campus in an urban area. The Blind Brook, which I’m focusing on for my log crossings, is a real snare, a small, polluted river, so being able to see all this wildlife has been awesome.

What are the goals and objectives of your project?

I think that for my research paper, I just want to figure out what animals are using these log crossings in which seasons are most important: early fall, winter, spring, [or] summer. Also, there will be a junior taking on this project and stretching it out until next year. So, I’m trying to start this basis for a potentially multi-year study that different seniors will be taking on. And for the journalism side, I just want to bring attention to this natural feature, log crossings, that no one would really think twice about and just emphasize that the things that you might never think are important to the environment can hold pretty significant importance.

Are there any skills you have developed during the process of your senior project?

Like just becoming familiar with trail cameras and with tracking animals. I came into it knowing how to identify game trails, which are narrow trails that just any wildlife, they want to use the path of least resistance, so like deer especially, they’ll walk on one path over and over again, [and] they’ll have their own network of trails through the ecosystem. But now I’m really able to see where there [are] signs of life. I’ve gotten better at identifying animal tracks and scat and just being able to tell, ‘Oh, an otter was there recently’ and stuff like that. That’s been awesome. [Smiles.] I think that’s been a really awesome skill to learn.

Have there been any challenges?

Yeah! Oh my God. [Laughs.] My camera, my cameras are definitely finicky. Sometimes they’ll just die or shut off, or like an animal will come up and be curious about them and play with it and angle it all the way down. And I don’t know until I get there and take the SD card out and look at all the pictures. Sometimes they just won’t trigger and take photos, a lot of things like that. One of my cameras, someone broke out of the tree and took the whole camera, and then went to the other camera that was nearby and took the SD card out. There [are] definitely inconsistencies in my data where people have messed with my cameras. Probably the main issue I’ve dealt with.

For someone who is not familiar with the log crossings. How would you explain your senior project to them?

I would say that, basically, log crossings are just a fallen tree or a buildup of woody fragments that create a natural bridge. They serve the same function as a bridge that we would use to walk across or drive across. Wildlife uses these natural log crossing bridges to navigate throughout their ecosystem. Log crossings are literally like a bridge for wildlife.

I really love that! It’s so cool.

Yeah! And the coolest part about it is that they just occur naturally, like trees are gonna fall down across the stream; the only thing we have to do is leave it alone.

Have you personally crossed logs?

Yes, I have. A lot of them I have to cross to get to my camera. The Blind Brook Stream, it’s a flashy river. So, if it rains, it’s very sensitive. Its water levels will rise and fall pretty quickly. So, day-to-day, if I’m going out to check my crossings one week, the next two weeks, they’ll be a totally different water level. So, I’ll definitely be crossing those things all the time. Some of them are a little suspicious to get on. For sure, I fell in once, but mostly they’re fine to cross.

So, you like animals, right? Are there any species that you are afraid of?

While I’ve been doing my camera trapping, I’ve come across coyotes and minks and stuff like that—creatures that you know are minding their own business and I am impeding on their home—and honestly, the thing that I’m the most scared of is a human. If I’m out deep in the woods doing my camera traps and I feel like a random person is just wandering [around], that scares me like 10 times more than coming across the coyote. So, I feel like wildlife is not really my concern.

Finally, what advice would you give to new students at Purchase?

Honestly, I was just talking about this the other day. I definitely can see how people struggle adjusting to college. I think that the best way to feel at home is to root yourself deep in the campus. Get involved, do things, become a club head, join a club, [or] start your own club. Do whatever you need to do; be a service head. Have people know your name, what you have to offer, and your passions, and that gives you a purpose and makes you feel more at home. I think that’s the best advice I would give: Don’t hide away; do what you love, and people will be attracted to it.