What was Hale’s path to studying the leading edges of earthworm invasions? After receiving her undergraduate degree, Hale found she was drawn most to forest ecology and sought out a masters program in that field. Her thesis research quantified and compared the compositional and structural features of old growth vs. mature, managed hardwood forests in Minnesota. It was during this research that Hale learned that earthworms are not native to the Great Lakes region and saw some invaded sites with profound losses of the native understory plant species.
“I researched available literature and realized that European earthworms had the potential to cause large negative affects in hardwood forests,” said Hale. “Also, no one was studying this issue. Big questions existed as to how and why such impacts might be the result of earthworm invasions.”
This became the focus of her doctoral research, which began in 1998. She received her Ph.D. in 2004.
Hale currently teaches Environmental Education and Ecology courses at UMD and is a Research Associate at NRRI. She holds a B.S. in Ecology from the University of Minnesota, a M.S. in Environmental Sciences (UMD) and a Ph.D. in Forest Ecology and Science Education from the University of Minnesota.
Hale is the founder of the Great Lakes Worm Watch where she trains and collaborates with citizens and scientists throughout the Great lakes basin to monitor the spread and impacts of exotic earthworms. She also leads a program to train and support graduate fellows in Biology, Geology, Mathematics and Chemistry to teach in a K-12 setting, with a mentor experienced in communicating scientific concepts to non-technical audiences.
What’s left to learn?
“I am a generalist at heart so I'm interested in almost anything that relates to forests and ecosystems,” said Hale. “From a research perspective, I’m interested in understanding the cascading impacts of earthworm invasions on forest vertebrates, forest food webs and nutrient dynamics and adjacent aquatic habitats. From a public education perspective, I am very interested in building citizen science efforts to increase public understanding and engagement in ecological monitoring and research, how it affects their lives and how they can help to protect our natural resources.”
Hale lives with her “hubby” Jeff Hall and daughter May. Her hobbies include raising chickens, gardening and fruit trees. She enjoys skiing, snowshoeing, hiking and traveling.
Cindy's Favorites:
Funniest thing about me: I never wanted to get a Ph.D.
I’m passionate about… my family, my farm and finding joy in life.
I’m totally bored with… all the mindless TV shows, you name it!
How I’d change the world… eliminate all forms of advertising.