Jeffrey T. Kane

Elwood B. Moore Forestry Award 2011

My name is Jeffrey Kane and I was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1988. At the age of 5 my family and I moved to Middletown, New Jersey and this is where I have been residing for the past 17 years of my life. Even from the time when we were living in Brooklyn my parents have always made it a point to facilitate my interaction with the natural world by bringing me and my three brothers camping, visiting public green spaces, and our annual vacations to southern Maine. My mother was the main driving force behind these expeditions as she herself is a lover of nature. I remember many times after I had annoyed her enough around the house to say such things as, “go outside and look at the sky”, “go and listen to the birds”, or “go listen to the rain”, and I would. It was these moments when looking up at the sky, when listening to the birds, when listening to the rain and thunderstorms during the spring season that stimulated my curiosity for natural systems and how they functioned. It is also the feeling of connectedness during these times that motivated me to maximize my time spent outdoors and explore further. All of these trips and experiences have had a great influence on my decision to study Ecology and the interests I have today.

Some notable experiences I have had at Rutgers definitely include class time in Jason Grabowsky’s Urban Forestry Class. I remember the class when we were discussing the negative effects heavy machinery has on the soil and trees of a construction site and he mentioned that it is more important to protect the soil not the trees, trees can be replaced but once the soil is compacted it remains so almost indefinitely. That class changed the way I look at built up landscapes. Conservation Ecology with David Ehrenfeld has also been enlightening to say the least. During class time with professor Ehrenfeld I have come to believe that there are great opportunities presented with many of the environmental problems we are facing today, and that transitioning towards a more sustainable way of living does not have to come at the sake of our happiness but may actually be more fulfilling, assuming we do so soon.

My main interests currently lie in the area of sustainable agriculture. I believe that how we produce our food and where it comes from is and will be increasingly important in the years to come. For the summer I will be working as an Integrated Pest Management Technician for all of Central New Jersey. I will be working with farmers and making recommendations about more sustainable alternatives to managing pests, with chemical applications as a last resort. After that I will continue to pursue my interests in this field but at the same time not limiting myself to any one thing is also important. All I know is that the future is wide open and the opportunities many for me and my fellow graduates of 2011.