Natalia Piland

I am interested in the intersection of humans and nature, with a commitment to understanding how humans affect and are affected by the nature around them. Through this interest, I have been committed to conservation, ecology, and environmental education throughout my life: as a leader of the Bronx High School of Science League for Environmental and Animal Protection, as a researcher on Tree Swallows as an undergraduate at Cornell University, and as a program officer at the Wildlife Conservation Society's Amazon Program.

Today, my dissertation research at the University of Chicago focuses on how neotropical cities create new spaces for bird species to inhabit and new pressures for birds to adapt to. While living in Lima after college, two colleagues (Rocío Lopez de la Lama and Armando Valdés Velásquez) and I started a community blog called Limanatural, where local leaders can share their vision for a more nature-friendly Lima and engage in conversation with a wide audience.

December 2016