About The Backyard Naturalist
What is a naturalist, exactly? A naturalist is not EXACTLY anything. Instead, he or she is a generalist, a sort of jack-of-all-trades in the natural world. A naturalist knows a little bit about a whole lot of things, as opposed to a specialist, who knows a lot about a very few things—like brain surgery.
A naturalist is very often an amateur, like Thomas Jefferson, who at his day job had to deal mostly with politics, but who was vitally interested in having Lewis and Clark report to him on all the animals, plants, and indigenous tribes they encountered. A naturalist wants to understand his or her place in nature—how we interact with the natural world.
But why Backyard Naturalist? Why not a front-yard naturalist—or heck, a naturalist out to change the whole world? The label “backyard” recognizes that you’re an amateur, not a specialist. Being a Backyard Naturalist allows you the freedom to experiment in your own back yard—before you parade your successes in the front yard, in full view, your highly visible storefront.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with starting in your front yard. Just be prepared to answer questions from passersby, like “what are you doing?” or “Are you crazy?”
Whether you practice your naturalist trade in public or not, this website is intended to direct you to sources of information—and to give you ideas for spreading your newly found yard ethic beyond the confines of your yard. Spreading these messages beyond the fence line is a first small step toward a more ethical neighborhood, and one small step toward a more ethical world.
About Loring Bullard
For 23 years, Loring served as Executive Director for the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks, a nonprofit organization working to protect sources of public drinking water for Springfield and Greene County, Missouri.
Prior to that, he worked in environmental health for 13 years, and now serves as a watershed consultant for the James River Basin Partnership.
He taught environmental science and aquatic biology at Drury University, has a Master’s degree in Natural and Applied Science from Missouri State University, and currently serves on the boards of two nonprofit organizations, Ozark Land Trust and DarkSky Missouri.
Loring has a lifelong love of water and enjoys canoeing and fishing on Ozark streams. He is married to Beth, has two grown daughters, six grandchildren, and lives in Springfield.
Loring has published many books and articles, including:
A naturalist is very often an amateur, like Thomas Jefferson, who at his day job had to deal mostly with politics, but who was vitally interested in having Lewis and Clark report to him on all the animals, plants, and indigenous tribes they encountered. A naturalist wants to understand his or her place in nature—how we interact with the natural world.
But why Backyard Naturalist? Why not a front-yard naturalist—or heck, a naturalist out to change the whole world? The label “backyard” recognizes that you’re an amateur, not a specialist. Being a Backyard Naturalist allows you the freedom to experiment in your own back yard—before you parade your successes in the front yard, in full view, your highly visible storefront.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with starting in your front yard. Just be prepared to answer questions from passersby, like “what are you doing?” or “Are you crazy?”
Whether you practice your naturalist trade in public or not, this website is intended to direct you to sources of information—and to give you ideas for spreading your newly found yard ethic beyond the confines of your yard. Spreading these messages beyond the fence line is a first small step toward a more ethical neighborhood, and one small step toward a more ethical world.
About Loring Bullard
For 23 years, Loring served as Executive Director for the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks, a nonprofit organization working to protect sources of public drinking water for Springfield and Greene County, Missouri.
Prior to that, he worked in environmental health for 13 years, and now serves as a watershed consultant for the James River Basin Partnership.
He taught environmental science and aquatic biology at Drury University, has a Master’s degree in Natural and Applied Science from Missouri State University, and currently serves on the boards of two nonprofit organizations, Ozark Land Trust and DarkSky Missouri.
Loring has a lifelong love of water and enjoys canoeing and fishing on Ozark streams. He is married to Beth, has two grown daughters, six grandchildren, and lives in Springfield.
Loring has published many books and articles, including:
- An Environmental Journey: Tales of Tragedy and Hope from the Heartland, Ozarks Studies Institute, Missouri State University, 2025
- Saving Bull Creek, Ozarks Studies Institute, 2024
- Living Waters: The Springs of Missouri, Ozarks Studies Institute, 2020
- Consider the Source: A History of the Springfield, Missouri Public Water Supply, Watershed Press, 2005
- Healing Water: Missouri’s Historic Mineral Springs and Spas, University of Missouri Press, 2004
- The Springs of Greene County, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 2001
- May Day on the Finley, in Missouri Conservationist, 2009
- Missouri: The Spring State, in Missouri Conservationist, 2002
- Viva le Dolomieu: Defining Ozark Streams through Fish and Fossil, in Missouri Conservationist, 2015
- Missouri Salt: The Rise and Fall of a Frontier Industry, in Missouri Historical Review, 2012
- St. Louis v. Chicago: The Water Pollution Case of 1900-1906, in Missouri Historical Review, 2023
- A Historied Creek: Springfield’s Jordan Creek, in Missouri Resources, 2008
- Source to Tap: History of Missouri Public Drinking Water Supplies, in Missouri Resources, 2010
- Healing Springs: Missouri’s Historic Mineral Springs and Spas, in Missouri Resources, 2002
- The Water Battle of 1900-1906: St. Louis v. Chicago, in Missouri Resources, 2013
- Natural Resource Protection ― 1904, in Missouri Resources, 2005