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Olivia Box

Olivia Box

Olivia is a writer, beekeeper, and an ecologist. Currently, she is a graduate student at the University of Vermont where she is studying forests threatened by climate change and invasive pests. Her freelance work has been featured in Northern Woodlands, Massive Science, and The Counter. You can follow her work at  @oliviafaybox or see her complete portfolio here.
Usambara Mountains, Tanzania
Plants & Animals

Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities

Deforestation in areas where residents hunt and gather food can lead to malnutrition, food insecurity, and greater forest loss.
A hand feeding a bird on the road
Plants & Animals

The One Health Framework

A policy framework proposal seeks to elevate the needs and rights of all living organisms in the environment.
Alpine Chickweed
Plants & Animals

How Does the Warming Arctic Impact Plants?

For flowering plants in the Arctic, cold temperatures don't mean death. But warmer temperatures might.
An ice core extracted at Talos Dome showing an ash layer corresponding to the Toba supervolcano eruption in Indonesia about 75k years ago
Science & Technology

What is in an Ice Core?

Climate science frequently references ice cores, but it's what is in the cores that matters to science and history.
A person hiking off-trail
Science & Technology

Off-Trail Trampling Has Lasting Impacts

Sometimes taking the trail less traveled actually does more harm than good.
Empty cable cars hang over a ski slope that has had to be closed because of a lack of snow, on January 30, 2020 in Minamiuonuma, Japan.
Business

Ski Resorts and Climate Change

The effects of climate change are already being felt by some ski resorts, but filling in the slopes with artificial snow may not be a good solution.
A cat relaxing on a warm radiator
Science & Technology

Heating Your Home Sustainably

Home heating can be done more sustainably than we currently do it. How to do it depends on a number of factors.
An illustration of flowers and weeds
Plants & Animals

A Weed is but an Unloved Flower

"Whatever Otherness weeds may possess, it is an outcome of human artifice.”
Ella Tyree in Ebony, February 1949
Politics & History

Women in Science Textbooks

A team of scholars examined the seven most popular ecology textbooks. Guess what they didn't find?
The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis
Plants & Animals

The True Costs of Invasive Species

The time between species arrival and the onset of management is critical to determining the ultimate cost of an invasive species.
A green Oregon Oak covered in moss with many branches
Plants & Animals

What is Old Growth, and Why It Matters

Old growth forests are often famed for their beauty, cultural and historical significance. But there's more to old growth than just the age of the trees.
Photograph: Amphibians of La Escalera Region, Southeastern Venezuela Source: WIkimedia Commons
Plants & Animals

Why the History of Science Should Matter to Scientists

Two historians consider the field of taxonomy to ask what history can provide science at the bench level.
E. O. Wilson, 2003
Plants & Animals

E. O. Wilson and Biodiversity

Everyone talks about biodiversity these days, but an entomologist just might be its fiercest advocate.
An ant in the snow
Plants & Animals

How Do Insects Survive Winter?

Some species have adapted to get themselves close to freezing without dying.
Roots and leaves
Plants & Animals

Why the Belowground Ecosystem Matters

Trees get all the credit. But for biodiversity, look down, too.
Downtown Los Angeles skyline
Plants & Animals

How to Plant Trees in the City: It’s Complicated

Trees in cities have the ability to sequester carbon, provide shade, and mitigate flooding. But no one tree fits all environments.
An autumn leaf on a branch
Science & Technology

Will We Lose Fall Foliage to Climate Change?

The brilliant hues of autumn are created by a variety of factors that shift year by year. A warming planet is already one of them.
Oak tree
Plants & Animals

What Does a Tree See?

A hundred-year-old red oak in a Massachusetts forest told a writer and a team of scientists secrets about change over time.
A wooden skyscraper
Art & Art History

Wood: The Best “New” Building Material?

A 2017 study for an 80-story wooden structure in Chicago was an opportunity to examine the potential for the building material's future.
Scenic View Of Wind Turbines Against Sky During Sunset
Science & Technology

How Wind Energy Could Affect Marine Ecosystems

As giant turbines pop up offshore, changes to underwater habitat and sediment will come, too.
Salmo trutta (Brown trout)
Plants & Animals

To Study Today’s Ecosystems, Look to History

An unlikely source of data about the decline of trout in modern Spain: a book from the 1850s.
A person wearing a denim jacket
Science & Technology

Could Our Love of Clothing Promote Sustainable Fashion?

There are some clothes you hang on to, year after year, because they're durable and amazing.
Aerial View of Boreal Nature Forest in Summer, Quebec, Canada
Plants & Animals

Climate Change’s Dangerous Effects on the Boreal Forest

The forest's unique ecosystem protects the world's largest carbon sink—the Earth's permafrost layer. But for how much longer?
42nd Street in Manhattan, New York
Plants & Animals

Could More Urban Trees Mitigate Runoff and Flooding?

With climate change comes more flooding. As cities confront the risks and potential damages, trees could become even more important.
A Spring Peeper rests casually on a garden flower.
Plants & Animals

Are Peepers Starting to Peep Earlier?

The call of the common frog species Pseudacris crucifer is a reliable marker of spring. Will climate change affect that?

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