Book by SBU Researchers Advocates for a ‘Nature State of Mind’
Nature State of Mind: SUNY Students Reflect on Our Environment, an ambitious student-led project, is not just a book, but a celebration of the intrinsic connection between humanity and the environment.
Released in late March, the work is a testament to the transformative power of nature on the human consciousness. Led by a group of Stony Brook researchers, the collection is the cumulation of a collaborative effort spanning 13 SUNY schools and 70 student artists and writers across New York State. In it, through writing, photography, artwork and more, SUNY students capture the diversity of New York State’s rich environment.
David Taylor, an associate professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS), served as the project’s faculty advisor. He said the inspiration for the book came from a similar project two years ago, when two Environmental Club students compiled a 135-page book that gave voice to Stony Brook’s historic Ashley Schiff sanctuary. The resulting volume, Forever Wild, was curated by Sowad Ocean Karim ’23 and Kellianne Ticcony ’23 and celebrates the importance of nature, the environment and the preserve.
“Forever Wild was published around the same time as Earthstock was taking place in 2023,” said Taylor, who is also interim division head of the Sustainability Studies Program. “After seeing that book, I had some students come to me asking if we could do something like that again.”
This time, Taylor suggested something at a statewide level that would bring SUNY schools together. He organized two independent research classes in the spring and fall of 2024, involving five students — Alanna Earls (major in environmental humanities), Esther Poon (sustainability studies), Faria Lorin (environmental studies), Suzette Hernandez (environmental humanities) and Jevahni Truman.
“We sorted out an email list so that we could reach as many people as possible,” said Taylor. “We received contributions, and we also sent out more solicitations to make sure we could get as many participants as possible. It has been so much work, but these students have done an outstanding job.”
“Putting this book together was important to me because it really shows that students care about and are inspired by their local environments,” said Earls, who enjoyed connecting with the students, clubs and faculty from other SUNY campuses, and getting involved in events like Earthstock. “These experiences made putting the book together even more meaningful to me. It feels really rewarding to see the physical copy of the book and I hope everyone that was involved enjoys seeing the finished product.”
“The team poured hundreds of hours over the course of over a year making decisions from which SUNYs to select to the cover image,” added Poon, recently honored as a Student Leader for Sustainability at the Herald Sustainability Awards of Long Island. “We wanted to find a way to unite the SUNYs through environmental literature and art. The team was a joy to work with and I am ecstatic to see it be released. I am very proud of all of us knowing that our hard work has paid off.”
Taylor described the response from the other SUNY schools as “really energetic.”
“We really wanted other like-minded people to participate and be involved, and I was really happy with the SUNY schools that stepped up and contributed,” he said.
All proceeds from the book are going to the New York State Outdoor Educators Association (NYSOEA), a New York State non-profit, all-volunteer organization supporting outdoor and environmental education, outdoor recreation, and interpretive services.
Taylor hopes to present the book to New York Climate Exchange (NYCE) partners at the Climate Solutions Summit NYC on Governors Island April 23-24. “The students involved with this book are going to be there, and we’re going to do posters of some of the contributions of the Stony Brook students,” he said. “The SUNY schools are in this together. We need to think about how we value our campuses and the environment around those campuses, and to show that they have an enormous impact on student lives in ways we don’t really fully think about enough.”
Taylor, who hopes to organize a reading in Albany, said a far-reaching project like this gives students experience that stretches beyond the classroom.
“These students learned how to put together a major book project and the process that one would go through publishing with a major university press,” he said. “So the students got a real sense of what it means to work on a major project.”
The other valuable thing is the connections they made, having reached out to well over 100 people across New York State. “They really learned a lot about how to carry on such a project, and also they’ve created a contact list that is enormous,” Taylor said. “I’ve gotten emails from faculty and other people throughout the state complimenting me on the great work these students have done.”
Nature State of Mind is available through Barnes and Noble Press.
— Robert Emproto