Eastern Shore of Virginia
The good news is that Kevin made it home safely from his big adventure in Australia. He started his first year of graduate school at William & Mary in their Biology graduate program. Their Biology department is well known for Ornithology, Ecology and Conservation Biology. This was exactly what Kevin wanted to study.
Kevin’s interest in nature, and especially birds, kept growing. He taught students how to recognize trees on the campus of William & Mary (his Boy Scout skills paid off). Kevin also worked as an intern on research projects for the Nature Conservancy in Virginia. Kevin’s family thought he would make a great teacher as he loved to share his love of nature with everyone.
Oystercatcher
Kevin spent many hours on the Eastern Shore of Virginia tracking the nesting habits of Oystercatchers. His graduate thesis was about how the weather (storms, wind, etc.) affect the nests and population of the birds. He used historical maps to see how the sandy islands and beaches had moved over the years or had channels cut in them by the forces of nature.
Kevin completed his first year at William & Mary and began his second year in 2001. And then … The Bad News