About the publication
The Nature We Make is a publication about the urban environment that most of us inhabit. It is rooted in the idea that viewing cities, suburbs, and built infrastructure as part of nature will help us to see our world in new ways and re-imagine our place in it. Without glorifying cities, bemoaning development, or romanticizing nature, I approach the urban world with curiosity and a desire for connection, grounded in research and personal observation. With reader support, I hope to deepen my reporting, broaden my exploration, and include new voices.
About Courtney Humphries
I’m an award-winning writer, environmental researcher, and educator whose work focuses on understanding human-nature connections in the built environment and decision-making in a changing climate. I’m a former Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT and have a masters in science writing from MIT. I spent a decade working as a freelance science journalist and then returned to school to pursue a passion for urban environmental issues, earning a PhD in environmental sciences from the University of Massachusetts Boston. My essays and journalism have been published in the Boston Globe, WBUR’s Cognoscenti, Technology Review, Nautilus, Nature, Wired, The Atlantic, Politico, Harvard Magazine, Architect, and other publications. I have taught environmental studies, journalism, and communication at Boston College and Smith College. For more of my work, see my professional website.
About the artist
Artwork on the home page and elsewhere on the site is by Sandra Humphries, a landscape painter based in New Mexico. Sandra’s work in watermedia and oils has been shown in numerous juried national and international shows and has gained her a Signature Membership in the National Watercolor Society and her artworks have been chosen for NM Art in Public Places. More of her work can be seen at her professional website.
