Adam Kohl is a field biologist and freelance naturalist based in Wendell, MA available for a range of services.

Services:

  • Rare plant surveys
  • Consulting for pollinator plans and habitat landscaping
  • Moth surveys (sheet & lights, and/or light-trap)
  • Bioblitz & property inventories
  • Plant ID & edible plant walks
  • Seed collection (strict ethics policy)
  • Native plant propagation & education
  • Private & group lessons

Experience:

Work Experience: 

2022-2024 Field biologist: Norcross Sanctuary. Wales, MA. Surveys for natural communities, important features, moths, leafmines, galls, and within vegetation plots. In collaboration with Charley Eiseman (Naturalist – Northfield, MA). 

2022-2024 Lab manager, lead technician: Cole Ecological. Greenfield, MA. Processing benthic macroinvertebrate samples for water quality biomonitoring across the United States.

2022-2023 Conservation agent: Town of Leverett, MA. Working with the conservation commission on issues pertaining to the Wetlands Protection Act, as well as land conservation projects and other administrative duties. 

2021-2023 Approved botanist for state-listed plant surveys: approved by Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. Westborough, MA. 

2020-2024 Independent researcher of nocturnal moth pollination: with funding from and in collaboration with Gegear Lab at UMass Dartmouth. Dartmouth, MA (2021). 

2019-2023 Conservation agent: Town of Wendell, MA. Working with the conservation commission on issues pertaining to the Wetlands Protection Act, Town of Wendell Wetlands Bylaw, and other administrative duties. (Volunteer member 2016-2019).

2019-2021 Seed collector of common native plant species: Native Plant Trust. Framingham and Whately, MA. Scouting for, acquiring permission to collect, and collecting seeds in accordance with Native Plant Trust guidelines. 

2019-2023 Field botanist, entomological surveyor, and horticultural consultant: Landscape Interactions LLC. Northampton, MA. Including producing over 30 botanical inventory reports for the UMass ‘Pollinator-friendly’ certification for solar arrays across Massachusetts. 

2016-2017 Habitat designer: in collaboration with Moosewood Ecological (Chesterfield, NH) for Army Corps of Engineers at Otter Brook. Roxbury, NH. 

2016-2022 Field botanist: Betsy Von Holle Ph.D and Christopher Neill Ph.D’s research at Cape Cod National Seashore. Wellfleet, MA. 

2016-2022 Owner and operator: native plant nursery. Wendell, MA. Propagating over 100 species of native plants from predominantly local ecotype seed. 

2014-2016 Propagation & nursery assistant, Plant sales coordinator: New England Wild Flower Society (now Native Plant Trust). Whately and Framingham, MA. Work included designing, building, and maintaining a fern propagation lab, propagating exclusively from spores. 

Presentations and Documents:

2024-Presenter: How Insects Use Plants: A Walking Tour of Plant-Insect Interactions. Garden In The Woods. Native Plant Trust in Framingham MA. 

2023- Presenter: Identification, Propagation, and Faunal Associations of Asters and Goldenrods. Hitchcock Center for the Environment. Amherst, MA.

2023- Presenter: Beyond Flowers: Host and Nest Needs of Lesser-considered Flower-visitors. Presented at Harvard Forest’s Fisher Museum (3/12), Splendor Solis Books (4/14), Marlborough Public Library (4/29), Wendell Free Library (5/21). 

2022-2023: Presenter: Plants and the Insects that Love Them. New England Botanical Society’s Queer Plant Convergence at Norcross Sanctuary. As well as hosting ‘blacklight nights’ for nocturnal insect intrigue. 

2022-2023 Appointed member: Town of Wendell Open Space Committee. Wendell, MA. Revising the Town of Wendell Open Space Plan in collaboration with Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG). 

2023- Consulting entomologist: Regenerative Design Group. Greenfield, MA. Consulting on a proposal document for A Pollinator Action Plan for the city of Somerville, MA.

2022-2023 Presenter: Grow Native Massachusetts. Cambridge, MA. Walks on identification, propagation, and faunal associations of asters and goldenrods (2022) and Spring ephemerals (2023). 

2022 Consultant: Maine Audubon. Falmouth, ME. Contributor/Editor on the document Habitat Restoration and Native Planting for Maine Solar Development

2019-2023 Founder and member: Wendell Pollinator Group. Guided plant and insect walks, presentations, garden design & implementation, biodiversity surveys, and creation of the document Wendell Pollinator Action Plan in collaboration with Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG). Wendell, MA. 

2018-2020 Presenter on native plant propagation: Northeast Organic Farmers Association. Including slideshow presentations, seed collection walks, and sowing demonstrations.

Volunteer experience: 

2020-2023: Naturalist: Contributor of 12,000+ observations comprising 3,700+ species on the iNaturalist community science platform. 

2021-2023 Founder and Project Manager: Flower-visiting Moths of the Northeast (iNaturalist project). Collecting flower-visitation records for moths in the region, with currently 36 members/contributors.

2018-2023 Volunteer contributor of 4,400 observations (950+ moth species) to Mass Moths project, including several new species records for Franklin Co., several new stations for state-listed moth species, new host records for Bucculatrix staintonella, and a new state record and host record for Coleophora multipulvella among other finds. 

2016-2023 Private researcher: working to document the biodiversity of Wendell, MA in collaboration with J. William Stubblefield PhD (3,500+ species documented). 

2016-2023 Volunteer contributor: over 50 town-level plant records to Bertin R, et. al (2020) Vascular flora of Franklin County, Massachusetts. New England Botanical Club including new stations for state-listed plant species.

pic by Matt Samolis