Blake Enos
About Blake
- Field and focus area of study: Natural Resources and the Environment; Forest Ecology
- Hometown: Lower East Side, New York City
- Fun fact: I love baking pies
- View Blake's LinkedIn Profile
What were you doing prior to the MPS degree program?
Prior to this program I was working as a professional Horticulturist at The High Line in NYC.
What are your short-term and long-term career goals?
In the short term I am to either work on managing and planning nature preserves in the Finger Lakes region or to continue research in restoration ecology. For the long term I would like to work as a restoration ecologist and plan large and small scale restoration and reforestation projects.
How has your MPS experience changed you, both personally and professionally?
I feel that I have a much enriched base knowledge about ecology and the natural world from my courses and I additionally have an incredibly strong network of likeminded professionals and peers. Personally I feel much more sure and confident about the direction in which I want my career and life to go and the ways by which I can make these things happen.
How has pursuing an MPS helped your understanding of Forest Ecology? The future of Forest Ecology?
I have been fortunate to be able to take classes in soil science, weed or invasive biology and management, agroforestry, hydrology, GIS, conservation ecology, and restoration ecology, all of which are incredibly important pieces of foundational knowledge for understanding and managing forests and natural areas. I believe the future of forest ecology is in restoration, which has more and more been the focus of my studies and research as I begin to understand the realities of the world around me.
What has been the most memorable or impactful part of being in the Natural Resources MPS program?
The people, both faculty and other students and researchers, have absolutely been the most impactful part of this program. The faculty I have been able to work with have guided and supported me right from the start, and I have been able to meet people from every corner of the globe, all working on very different and disparate parts of a very large global issue. It really feels like a tight-knit community.
Describe your education / career path and how that led you to pursue a Cornell Natural Resources MPS degree program.
I began my career in landscape architecture after graduating with a bachelor’s also from Cornell. I worked in Oregon for a few years and then transitioned to working in horticulture in NYC for a few years after that. I wanted to work more with my hands and get out of the computer/office lifestyle. I was working on restoration work in a sense while doing horticulture but I knew I wanted to take that aspect of my work up a notch and for that I needed a greater base of knowledge in the sciences and not just design.
Share about your capstone project. What are you focused on?
My capstone project is a forest restoration project at a former trash dump on a newly acquired parcel of land at Lindsay-Parsons biodiversity Preserve. I’m working on the technical planning aspects of the project, both growing and propagating the trees to be planted, as well as site remediation and understanding of the site. The idea is to use a cadre of underutilized edible or useful native trees and shrubs in the restoration to share knowledge of dual purposes and uses for diverse restored forests.