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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.
Firefighters monitor a controlled burn at Bouverie Preserve on May 30, 2017 in Glen Ellen, California
Science & Technology

Smoke Pollution from Prescribed Burns vs. Wildfires

Government can regulate air quality. But some policies on smoke might be self-defeating.
Bobolink
Plants & Animals

Restoring Native Grasslands to Help Birds

Grassland birds, such as the prairie chicken, plover, and bobolink, need a complex environment of varying structure, area, and grass types.
Olive groves, vineyards and farms on rolling hills of Abruzzo. Italy
Plants & Animals

Soil Health Can Positively Affect Farm Revenue

In a case study from Italy, researchers found that biodiverse soil had good economic results for farms.
Permaculture in Stockholm
Science & Technology

Permaculture is Agriculture Reimagined

No permaculture site is the same, but all draw on a unifying set of principles to maintain biodiversity and create resilient systems now and in the future.
tree bark
Plants & Animals

Tree Bark and Fire

A tree's hard outer bark helps it survive. Studying why it's thicker on some trees than others could help scientists understand how to protect them.
Poison ivy
Plants & Animals

With Climate Change, Poison Ivy May Get Itchier

Bad news for the estimated 80 percent of the human population that's allergic to the dreaded—and abundant—leaves of three.
Tree Rings of a Stump
Science & Technology

How Tree Ring Records Can Help Predict Droughts

Inside the trunks of trees lies a wealth of data on climate that goes back generations.
Cattle in a forest
Plants & Animals

Silvopasture; Or, Why Are There Cows in the Woods?

Cattle grazing on invasive plants in longleaf pine forests could benefit ecosystems and farmers alike.
Dried flowers
Plants & Animals

Which Flowers Bloom First and Why?

A massive collection of dried flower specimens demonstrates that climate change disrupts the timing of spring blooms.
Small white flowers bloom on the end of a cherry tree branch near the base of the Washington Monument in Washington, DC.
Plants & Animals

Is Your Favorite Tree an Invasive Species?

Some superstar trees in the US are actually invasive to their ecosystems. Blossoming cherry trees, for example.
A dead tree in a forest
Plants & Animals

What Happens to a Tree When It Dies?

Decomposing trees on the forest floor become "dead wood"—a part of ecosystems that researchers are only beginning to understand.
Swimming beaver (Castor fiber)
Plants & Animals

A Comeback for Beavers?

As two researchers found out, rewilding a species can be done in different ways, sometimes with different outcomes.
Lodge-pole pines c. 1857
Plants & Animals

Good News for the Lodgepole Pine!

The long-lived species' survivor genes are dispersed from the Yukon to southern California, meaning that it has a good chance of weathering climate change.

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