My Nature Journal

Joie: I'm Joie McLeod, and since February 2025, I've been living in Trinidad with family, where casual wildlife observations have become daily sources of wonder. It turns out ground doves are excellent real estate developers, beetles have important business agendas, and nature has a wonderful sense of humor about territorial ownership. This journal documents the ongoing negotiations between human residents and the creatures who've established their own claims on our property. Every day brings new stories about the personalities and politics of backyard neighbors who clearly have their own ideas about who really runs this place. I am currently researching cognitive load theory - how high school science teachers break down complex concepts and develop metacognition in their students. I'm also developing research on what I call the "Early Adopter Fallacy" for an upcoming journal article.