MAD Scientist Associates, LLC

On April 1, 2022, MAD Scientist Associates celebrates 24 years in business!  Chris and Mark are thankful for the fulfilling work and Making A Difference with a great team of MAD scientists! Also for April, we share our photo of the month: Meet Toadshade! Also known as Sessile Trillium (Trillium sessile), this is one of Ohio’s early-blooming native woodland wildflowers. The tiny, white-flowered plant on the left is the aptly-named Harbinger of Spring (Erigenia bulbosa), often one of the first flowers to open and a welcome sign that spring has sprung!

We were happy to support and attend the third (second in-person) Vernal Poolooza conference at Salt Fork State Park Lodge. It was wonderful to see friends and colleagues and share our love for these fantastic, fleeting wetlands. Many of our staff assisted with the organization of the conference, as well as presented during sessions. Keynote speakers included David Fitzsimmons, the renowned photographer and author of the Curious Critter series, and Tom Biebighauser, author and owner of “Wetland Restoration and Training, LLC.” Tom led a hands-on session where a new vernal pool was dug, seeded, and adorned in just a few hours! If you’re interested in attending the next conference in 2024, please contact us or the Ohio Wetlands Association.

At the tail end of 2021, we wrapped up the construction of another wetland project for a homeowner in Delaware County. This is the second project we’ve completed for this family, bringing their created wetland acreage to nearly 5 acres! We were able to work with the client’s desire to increase privacy from the road and neighbors while tending to a natural aesthetic that would be pleasing (perhaps inspirational) to anyone passing by. We look forward to seeing this site mature and hope to add some updated aerials over time. If you’re a lover of wild spaces, own land, and want to create your own “personal park,” let us help you bring that dream to life!

A hearty welcome to Robert Keast as our Restoration Designer!  He has a B.S. in Urban Planning and Environmental Science from Eastern Michigan University, and a Master of Landscape Architecture from The Ohio State University.   To learn more about Robert, go to our TEAM page.

Many of our staff had the unique opportunity to participate in Cadine Navarro’s art project titled “It Sounds Like Love.” For us, it began by attending an evening event at the Frank Gallery in Westerville, where her prints were on display. We can best describe the experience as meditative, thought-provoking, and creatively inspiring. The premise was understanding that there is a language among all living things, not just humans, and that the depth of human understanding is often limited. Experiencing something of this uniqueness in a group setting exposes us to our collective ignorance and simultaneously, our curiosity. If you’d like to learn more about this project or the artist, you can view their webpage.

Today marks the start of Invasive Species Awareness Week.  As such, we’ve prepared blog posts that highlight a few of the MANY species that affect our local ecosystems.  We’ll mention as well that we’ve only highlighted plant species- those that we most regularly are tasked with managing- but there are invasive wildlife species too!  For information on Ohio’s least wanted species, defer to Ohio DNR or USDA, and consider joining organizations like watershed action groups or COPRISM (Central Ohio Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management) or other action groups.  Invasive species are a lot like litter- you think it’s someone else’s job to remove them, but rarely is that job accomplished. To learn more, check out our MAD Matters Blog article by Environmental Technician Cody […]

Did we mention that we geek out over vernal pools this time of year? Last March, our team obtained a special use permit to explore the pools at Gahanna Woods State Nature Preserve and found this juvenile Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculata) under a log. The beech leaf, about 3 inches long, provides scale. Their colors are particularly vibrant at this stage!

In his role as Board President of the Ohio Biological Survey, Mark played a key role in the planning of this year’s Ohio Natural History Conference – a joint effort with the Ohio Partnership for Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (OHPARC). And his role with OHPARC, Nick also played a key role. Today, he served as a session moderator, and he is also one of the chapter authors for the recent publication of Reptiles of Ohio, which was the inspiration for the conference theme “Herpetology in Ohio.”  It was the best-attended conference to date and was a huge success! Dan also attended the conference and joined Nick, Mark, and OBS Executive Director Dr. Connie Hausman afterward for a group photo. It was a great day with […]

We want to give a warm welcome to Corbin Binkley!  Our multi-season and multi-year intern, now a full-time Environmental Technician! Jasper, the office dog, was pleased to have him back in the office after a semester away. Check out our Teams page to learn more about him  Corbin, that is. Not Jasper.