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xylem-and-flow t1_iy8u7jn wrote

Reply to comment by Smarpar in US bat species devastated by fungus now listed as endangered by zsreport

Right there with you my friend. I am in a very fortunate spot now. I run the native plant nursery within a larger restoration non-profit. Even as a non-profit there are ties that I am not wild about, but the few times I have to poke my head out of the yard and greenhouses, I just smile and nod with the important people.

I still get to produce thousands and thousands of native plants a year for restoration efforts, USFS, municipal groups, and gardeners. Since I am the sole nursery staff, I get to collect my own seed and make sure marginal species and eco types keep on kicking. There are challenges for sure, but each plant that leaves the gate gives me some kind of hope.

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Smarpar t1_iy8zogy wrote

I had always planned to move out of the private sector and into the public. I know it’ll never be perfect but it’ll at least be less profit driven than consulting. The tough part is, I actually love what I do right now. I work from home making maps and models of contaminants in air, soil, soil vapor, surface water and groundwater. Showing where they are and where we predict they’re traveling. Projecting different outcomes considering different remediation systems. And I find that really fun. None of the gov jobs I’ve seen do as much of that, they usually contract it out to companies like mine. So I don’t know maybe I stay for my own happiness even if it tugs at my morals some. It’s still doing good ultimately even if our clients are often the bad guys.

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