FIELD NOTES BLOG

Meet Bryce

Bryce Messer
January 30, 2024

Salutations Everybody! My name is Bryce Messer and I am happy to be serving Severson Dells, for the first time, as an AmeriCorps Environmental Educator. I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia but moved to Illinois a little over 1 year ago, so I am excited to learn everything I can about the natural wonders of the area.


I graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Biology with minors in Geology and History of Science. Then I received my master’s degree from Southern Illinois University majoring in Zoology. As a requirement for graduation, I developed a habitat management plan for the American Pronghorn across a 140,000-acre ranch in New Mexico.


Before my time at Severson Dells, I worked in wildlife rehabilitation with WildCare Oklahoma to nurture sick, injured, and orphaned animals back to health. Following leaving Oklahoma I served as a natural resource technician at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico then traveled to Trinidad & Tobago to study the evolutionary histories of guppies.




I have had a lifelong love for wildlife and the outdoors which means I spend most of my time outside hiking, fishing, birding, and hunting. When not outside I enjoy playing video games, live-action role-playing, and watching movies & anime.

RECENT ARTICLES

May Climate News: Could 2026 Be One of The Hottest on Record? Scientists Think So.

By Emma Zimmerman • May 12, 2026
If March felt unusually warm where you live this year, you weren’t imagining it. March 2026 wasn’t just the warmest March on record in the United States; it was the most abnormally warm month ever recorded in the lower 48 states, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data . That means no other month in our recorded history has ever been this far above average. On average, temperatures across the country reached approximately 50.85°F, which is 9.35°F above what’s considered normal for March based on 20th-century data. What is even more concerning is that the entire year leading up to it, from April 2025 through March 2026, was the warmest 12-month period ever recorded in the continental United States. This news should be sounding alarms everywhere.

Tick Guide: How to Stay Safe During Tick Season

By Emma Zimmerman • May 6, 2026
As the weather warms and we spend more time outdoors, so do our other far from welcome companions: ticks! Over the past few decades, tick populations and their geographic range have expanded in northern Illinois. We’re now encountering more ticks than before, and a greater number of them carry diseases. This isn’t a reason to avoid going outside, but it is something we should all be aware of and prepared for as we inevitably encounter them this summer. Consider this your guide to staying safe during tick season.

Lowdown with Linda: Volunteering

By Linda Sandquist • April 27, 2026
As our organization’s Director of Development, I have the pleasure of presenting opportunities to people to invest their time, treasure, and talent in the work we do. I ask people to invest their financial gifts to keep our operations going and I’ll soon be asking people to help fund the renovation of the former clubhouse at Prairie’s Edge into Wild Roots Nature Center. I ask people for their talent when I consult members of our board of directors on investment matters, legal questions, and networking opportunities. But the best ask is when my colleagues and I ask people to give up their time to help Severson Dells (soon to be Wild Roots Nature Center ) provide hands-on, science-based nature education. We simply cannot operate without our volunteers ! Imagine a school field trip without the smiling adult faces who help kids howl like coyotes, touch a toad, or smell wildflowers for the first time. Our Science Saturday Hosts bring science to life at our activity stations and engage intergenerational visitors with fun and intriguing STEM education. Our Conservation Crew volunteers get their hands dirty when they pull up and destroy invasive species, collect prairie seeds, and install native plant gardens in the community. It’s my pleasure to wrap up the month of April with a big thank you to all the people who volunteer for Severson Dells Nature Center. You are special people and deserve to be recognized. I would be remiss if I didn’t ask anyone reading this to consider volunteering here with us . I promise we will welcome you with open arms and you will feel connected to other like-minded people and a very special place. You’ll make a difference in your life and in the lives of others. And that’s my lowdown.