Griffin Solsburg

Griffin Solsburg was introduced to the world of naturalizing and exploring the wonders of nature while taking The Natural History of the UCSC Campus and the Natural Field Quarter courses in 2019. These two courses changed the way he viewed the world, providing him with the physical and mental tools to more effectively observe and question the things he witnessed around him. His experiences at UC Santa Cruz were not only informative and worthwhile, but are responsible for developing the foundation of his love of natural history. He graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2019 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Ecology and Evolution. 

Griffin believes that natural history will help him maintain his passion for the world, while also influencing him to find the beauty in both the extraordinary and the mundane. Being able to naturalize and identify flora and fauna is an invaluable skill that he will continue to use throughout his career in ecology and environmental work. He has a special love for ferns and has always been fascinated by this ancient family of plants which use spores to spread rather than seeds. A memorable experience he had was one from a field visit to Big Sur during the Natural History Field Quarter where he spent an entire day focusing on a small fern. He dedicated over 6 hours to this small shrub, keying the plant, analyzing and asking himself questions about the specimen and the environment he found it in. This experience helped him grow as a naturalist significantly, as it forced him to practice observational questions for multiple hours; a task he was not confident he would be able to focus on, but ended up enjoying every second of it.