My Leopold Scholar Journey: A Reflection on Belonging to the Land

By Shloka Chodhari ’26 

This June, I joined nine Lawrentians as part of the 2025 Leopold Scholars in Ecology and Ethics for a five day immersive program based at West Chester University (West Chester, PA).  Named in honor of Aldo Leopold (Lawrenceville Class of 1905 and author of the seminal A Sand County Almanac) the program offered a chance to step out of the classroom and into the field, deepening student understanding of ecology, ethics, and our shared responsibility to the natural world.

Leopold wrote in Sand County Almanac about a land ethic that “enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals.” That vision came alive for me as we spent each day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. knee-deep in stream ecosystems, studying not only what we could see but what those waters revealed about environmental health and justice.

Our work, guided by Dr. Steve Laubach, Lawrenceville Director of Sustainability and science teacher, and Caroline Bottega (Upper School science teacher at The Hun School), and supported by staff from the Stroud Water Research Center, focused on two stream sites in the West Chester, PA, area. We approached each stream with a multi-dimensional lens: physically by looking at channel structure; chemically by analyzing nitrate levels, pH, alkalinity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and chloride levels; and biologically by identifying macroinvertebrate and fish populations.

One of the most fascinating moments came during electrofishing. While we didn’t handle the equipment ourselves, watching Stroud Center professionals use currents to temporarily stun fish for monitoring revealed a hidden layer of stream biodiversity. Seeing trout, minnows, and other species brought to the surface reminded me just how much life these waters sustain, often unseen.

Each stone we turned revealed a new window into the ecosystem. From dragonfly nymphs to caddisfly larvae, we categorized species and used an index to rate each stream’s health. It was exciting to see firsthand how the concepts we’d encountered in Lawrenceville courses such as Inquiries and Biological and Environmental Sciences, Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, and Inquiries in Chemical and Physical Sciences, translated into real-world research.

Another highlight of the program was the experience of canoeing! We spotted turtles, a bald eagle, and countless birds and insects. Being not just observers but participants in nature reminded me of Leopold’s belief that the evolution of a land ethic is both an intellectual and emotional journey. It’s not enough to understand how ecosystems work; we must feel connected enough to care.

Our final poster presentation analysis will take place in the fall term during the Sustainability Seminar, a one-term class exploring concepts in sustainability such as agriculture, energy, water, and waste. We’ll revisit the data we collected and continue our analysis in small groups, an exciting opportunity to build on our fieldwork. We will also prepare to present at the School’s Fall Academic Showcase, where Lawrentians will share summer and fall research projects with faculty, staff, and fellow students. 

What impressed me most throughout the week was how present Leopold’s voice remained. His writings encouraged me to move beyond observation and into participation. In A Sand County Almanac, Leopold challenges readers to “think like a mountain” and see the world not from our own viewpoint, but from that of the land itself. That shift from seeing ourselves controlling nature to being a part of the land community now sits at the center of how I view my role as a student and member of this community.

The Leopold Scholars program left me not only with a once-in-a-lifetime experience of data collection and field skills, but with a renewed commitment to caring for the world I inhabit. As Leopold reminds us, “we can only be ethical in relation to something we can see, feel, understand, love.” For me, this program made that something much more real.

For more information, contact Lisa M. Gillard H'17, director of public relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.