Sarah Baughman never thought of herself as a science person. She attended an arts-based high school and then earned an associate degree in fine arts and philosophy. For 10 years, she worked as a baker in a coffee shop that also did community outreach.
A trip with a friend to the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisc., in 2021 changed everything.
“We learned about the cranes and habitat restoration. I couldn’t believe that was something you could do for work and that there was a strong restoration movement in Wisconsin,” Baughman recalls.
She turned to her friend and said: “I think I want to go to college and become an ecologist.”
By the time they drove out of the parking lot, Baughman had applied to UW-Green Bay from her phone. She began classes a few months later. Soon she was working on environmental research funded through the Freshwater Collaborative.
“Within a year I went from baking full time to being a full-time student and an undergraduate researcher,” she says.
Five years later, Baughman is the bird and peatland research coordinator at UW-Green Bay. Not only does she conduct environmental research and lead community outreach programs, but she also mentors high school students through UW-Green Bay’s High School Summer Scholars Program, also funded through the Freshwater Collaborative.
A New Career Takes Flight
Baughman had a wealth of knowledge from years of birding with her father. She wanted to get hands-on research experience. She emailed Erin Giese, associate director of UW-Green Bay’s Cofrin Center for Biodiversity, about volunteer opportunities. The two women instantly hit it off, and they submitted a proposal to the Freshwater Collaborative for an undergraduate research award.
She received a $10,000 grant from the collaborative in 2022 to study coastal bird populations along Lake Michigan, from Milwaukee to northern Door County. Soon, she was scouting research sites, recruiting volunteers, writing grant proposals and reports, and coordinating community science efforts to conduct bird surveys.
“Sarah’s Freshwater Collaborative project launched her into project leadership roles with the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity,” Giese says.
Her next step was getting involved in a budding new program: the Oneida Bird Monitoring Program, a partnership among the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, Northeastern Wisconsin (NEW) Bird Alliance and Audubon Great Lakes. She began leading bird outings for community members and used her art skills to create an illustrated beginner’s field guide to the birds of the Oneida Nation, collaborating on the project with Oneida Tribal Elders and UW-Green Bay students and staff.
“Sarah is one of the best students I have ever had the privilege of working with, and I would be lost without her leadership and dedication to bird conservation,” Giese says.
It’s no wonder that after graduating from UW-Green Bay in 2025, Baughman was hired to coordinate the Oneida Bird Monitoring Program as well as peatland research at the campus herbarium, where she also had worked as a student. Both roles are steeped in community outreach.
Baughman credits her Freshwater Collaborative research grant with preparing her to work in public outreach. Giese encouraged her to present her undergraduate research at Research in the Rotunda twice.
“Those first presentations set a foundation for me to see how research can be shared,” she says. “They built my skills as a student and a communicator. Now I’m leading the way for others and helping them learn.”
From Mentee to Mentor
Baughman works closely with interns in UW-Green Bay’s High School Summer Scholars program. They join her on bird surveys where they learn to identify birds and record data, and she tells them about the importance of conservation and restoration in land management decisions. Students also help plan and participate in events where they talk to community members about birds and wetlands. She also brings art and science together to create educational materials.
This spring, Baughman reviewed applications for the Freshwater@UW Summer Research Opportunities Program, a program coordinated through UW-Madison and funded by Freshwater Collaborative. It gives undergraduates in Wisconsin and beyond mentored research experiences at one of the Universities of Wisconsin campuses. Two students will conduct research with UW-Green Bay faculty this summer.
As for her own career path, Baughman is enrolled in UW-Green Bay’s Biodiversity Conservation and Management program, an online certificate program that builds to a master’s degree. Between the graduate program and full-time work, Baughman is busy but happy.
“I’m solving problems every day that improve our program,” she says. “And I still get to go birding all the time with my dad. I can’t believe this is what I get to do.”
Written by Heidi Jeter, Freshwater Collaborative