Naturalist Jim Conrad

Main field of interest: Teaching nature-study techniques, and philosophizing about why understanding nature is so important.

Education: M.Sc. in Botany, B.Sc. in Biology & Geology

Background: Born in 1947, Jim grew up on a small tobacco farm in western Kentucky, in the southeastern USA. After college he served as a naturalist in a Kentucky state park, then for three years worked at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. While there he collected plants for taxonomic research in several Latin American countries.

Then he began his main career as a freelance writer focusing mostly on topics relating to natural history. For his work he has traveled in about forty countries, in the process publishing over 200 magazine articles and stories, and six books. His most popular books are MEXICO: A Hiker's Guide to Mexican Natural History and The Maya Road.

Jim lives an experimental life, one in which he explores the possibilities of living an enriched existence in which he can contribute to society, but also live a life that is simple, very inexpensive, and relatively easy on the environment. If you'd like a glimpse into that life, click here.

You might guess that Jim has strong opinions about many things. You can read some of his essays from a naturalist's point of view here.

During his writing career he frequently served on plant-collecting expeditions in the Americas and Africa. For several summers he has worked as a botanical illustrator at the University of Bayreuth, Bavaria, Germany and as a naturalist at a "jungle lodge" in Belize. For two years he was mainly based in Waloonian Belgium, too.

In early 1997 Jim became an Internet-connected hermit/naturalist in the forests and fields of southwestern Mississippi. During this time he dedicated himself fully to advancing environmental education and cross-cultural sensitization by establishing appropriate websites. His first efforts resulted in the creation of the popular EarthFoot's Free Ecotour Posterboard. In 2004, once that website was fully operational, he turned it over to a friend. Most recently he has developed the Backyard Nature and Traditional Mexican Markets websites, as well as several other online books and sites.

You can download books written during various of Jim's naturalizing trips here.

Since 2005 Jim has wandered a bit, in the process depositing a good bit of information about nature in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, California's Sierra Nevadas, and central Kentucky. At this time Jim is back in Mexico, now in Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, working on ecotourism projects. He's always looking for new territory in which to live and work so if you have suggestions and maybe a hangdog little hut next to a forest somewhere drop him a line.

Each week Jim issues his Naturalist Newsletters. They consist of several pages about the plants and animals he has interacted with that week, and maybe a little philosophizing. If you would like a free subscription, click here. You can review all previous newsletters on the Web.

You can write to Jim by clicking here.