College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Forestry

KJ Kettler, Forester and Manager of the W.K. Kellogg Experimental Forest, has a unique perspective for this chaotic time and offered some of his experiences and reflections in April.

What has been your biggest obstacle switching to remote working or social distancing?
Since I live on the property, I have continued to report to my office which is about 100 feet east of my home...the commute is horrible! I have not really had much of an obstacle regarding remote work personally.

Social distancing has been a challenge. Closing the parking lot and a portion of the forest to mitigate the potential of exposure to, from and among the public has been the biggest challenge. Many people were not taking the situation seriously, and I still have folks throughout the week who disregard signs/posted areas. People are getting stir crazy and a nice sunny day brings a lot of frustrated people looking for a place to recreate and some are not always as responsible as they should be. Many other non-profits have closed their trails completely and the City of Kalamazoo has just closed all parks which puts more load on those locations still allowing some form of recreation. For the most part, people are being responsible now and have become more responsible as the situation worsened. Another challenge is not being able to easily obtain materials to complete planned projects. There are a lot of non-essential operations and projects that could be completed if I could run to the hardware store as we normally would. So, making do with what we have on site has been a challenge.

How has this changed the way you work?

I am currently the only person working at Kellogg Forest and the minimum basic operations are a lot to undertake at a facility like this for one staff member. We have had a lot of rain/storms recently which has made outdoor responsibilities challenging. Next week, Mickey Trimner will be reporting to work so we can adequately meet those basic minimum operations as spring progresses and general landscaping, maintenance needs, etc. increase. It will also enable us to safely operate equipment and chainsaws which is something that was usually not possible during the past few weeks unless my wife was available to be there in case an incident did occur.

Do you feel you are still able to effectively work with faculty and students remotely?

With the necessary restrictions placed on research/educational programming by the university, I have not had a real need to work with faculty or students during this short period of time. Being at an outlying property, I typically work with students and faculty remotely on a regular basis, so not much has changed in that regard. No funny/inappropriate Zoom stories to report at this time!

Do you have any other valuable insights or experiences you could share?

Something like this really puts everything into perspective and makes you appreciate the lives we are able to lead in this country and how little we actually need. My upbringing and experiences throughout life have always made me recognize the importance of team work and respect that everyone brings something of value to the situation. I have had to undertake the responsibilities my staff would normally handle for the past couple of weeks and it has fostered a deeper appreciation for all that they contribute to this facility.

Lastly...make sure you always have a month supply of beer or your choice vice on hand!