Jeffrey Hughes may have retired after more than three decades as a UVM professor and director of the Field Naturalist Program, but he hasn’t stopped learning and teaching about what is needed to address the challenges that humans face in the natural world.
This is likely no surprise for those with a connection to Dr. Hughes. An inveterate, transdisciplinary learner, Jeffrey’s pursuits have ranged from majoring in French, Philosophy, and Botany, to working as a flyfishing guide, a Peace Corps Volunteer, a milk jug factory worker, an environmental consultant, a nursing home orderly, a blueberry raker, and a ranger at Denali and Glacier Bay National Parks (and later, a master’s degree in Applied Ecology and a PhD in Forest Ecology).
Through these experiences and others, Jeffrey learned that enduring, meaningful environmental change requires “serious consideration of perspectives outside one’s own politico-socio-economic trappings,” he says. “That’s tough when you know that you’re right and they’re wrong, but effortfully trying to walk in another person’s shoes helps breakthroughs happen.”
Jeffrey no longer teaches classes, but he continues to support those who seek to solve complex environmental problems. He hopes that two of his books will be of particular use:
The two books, he says, distill foundational parts of UVM’s Field Naturalist graduate program that he directed for so many years. He will direct all proceeds from sales of these books will go to the Field Naturalist Program.
Navigating the human and social dimensions of environmental work, he says, is as important as the science. Too often, in fact, they determine whether scientific reality sees the light of day. That was a sensibility he brought to teaching and advising. "To be effective, we need to go beyond preaching our truths, we need to consider – with a truly open mind - their truths as well. We shouldn’t expect others to consider our views if we’re unwilling to consider theirs.”
"But listening to others is not enough, and critically evaluating opposing views is not enough either," he advises. "Effective problem-solvers challenge their own ideas as vigorously and critically as they challenge those of others. Think twice before assuming that the other side ‘doesn’t get it.’ Oftentimes, they get it as much as you do, just in a way that you haven’t bothered to try to understand.”
Jeff says that after truly listening to those who (he believes) see things differently, he’s always surprised at how similar the goals actually are. “Most often, stark differences we hold are more about strategic differences than about desired outcomes. How we get where we want to go is often the bone of contention.” Jeff’s books seek to help people and communities reach their shared goals by teaching ways to get past the contention.
"People who labor to make our world a better place motivated me to write these books. Unfortunately, as important as passion, commitment, effort, and intention may be, they’re not enough to get the job done. Experience and ‘know-how’ are equally essential. Over my years at UVM, I assembled a number of skill-set primers for organizations in need. At an environmental conference, editors of Cornell and Yale Presses encouraged me to package those primers into a user-friendly book. And so, "An Environmental Leader's Tool Kit" was born.”
Now that his books are out in the world, Jeff is excited to have them provide a secondary benefit: support for the program that trains tomorrow’s environmental leaders. Towards that end, he plans to donate all profits right back to the Field Naturalist Program. It's just another example of how the Program seeks to build enduring relationships that benefit many.
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Jeffrey Hughes and His Enduring Commitment to UVM’s Field Naturalist Program
Cheryl Carmi
Dec 11, 2025