Hi everyone! I am Darcy Rose McKinley Lester, forest sciences major.  I am a very outdoorsy person, and I love backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, rock climbing, and skiing.  I also LOVE to read. I’ll read almost anything, romance, science fiction, westerns, fantasy, whatever.  Its the only time I willingly sit still!

This is me (hopefully obviously) backpacking through the Catskills in early spring. 

This spring, I will be studying in Canberra at Australian National University.  I am super excited for so many reasons, not the least of which is that ANU has a school of forestry, which means I get to take a lot of classes in my major while abroad.  I cannot wait to see how Australians view forest management and what silvicultural prescriptions they use most often over there. I am also looking forward to learning how to identify Australian trees, most of which are in the genus Eucalyptus.  (As you can see, I really love my chosen field). 

In addition, there are a bunch of national parks that surround Canberra that I am absolutely psyched to explore.  The geography and topography of eastern Australia is quite different from central PA, and I just can’t wait!  Since I’m pretty broke just trying to pay for college, I won’t get to do a lot of traveling around the country, but I am bringing my backpacking and climbing gear. I hope I can find some new friends who love having adventures as much as I do and will take me with them! 

Toodles!