Alder (Emma) Wheeler is a PhD student in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley, in the Society & Environment division. They are a member of the Critical Environmental Justice Lab and the Disabled Ecologies Lab, which both explore how systems of power shape landscapes and bodies, and how webs of solidarity emerge in response across human and more-than-human worlds. Alder’s work background spans botany, natural history education, and land stewardship alongside deep experience in social services, community organizing, and collective work. Born and raised in the Tomales Bay Watershed, they are now returning to it in their graduate research by organizing affinity-based stewardship programs for people historically excluded from natural resource management, including queer and trans, BIPOC, women, and disabled communities. Through workshops and retreats, Alder uses participatory action research and co-authorship as tools to reimagine what stewardship education and practice can look like when grounded in solidarity, care, and collective learning. In their spare time, Alder likes to sing and harmonize, go fishing and foraging, make elaborate meals for friends, and be in or near bodies of water. Although they now live in the East Bay, they can still frequently be found doing their coursework at Point Reyes Station’s Old Western Saloon.
