About

A bit about me because blog posts will be motivated and informed by my commitments and history.

My name is Brian Drayton. I am a Quaker, a science educator, and an ecologist. With a family. Life-long New Englander.

Quaker stuff:  I attend Souhegan Friends Meeting (Preparative), which is part of Weare Monthly Meeting, New England Yearly Meeting. Prior meeting memberships include Fresh Pond, Lynn, and Friends Meeting at Cambridge.  I am recorded as a minister, and have carried a life-long concern to encourage and support Gospel ministry.  I visit meetings, often give retreats, workshops, or talks on Quaker spirituality, history, and practice. I also write, some titles include:  Messages to Meetings, A Language for the Inward Landscape (with Bill Taber), Climate change a spiritual challenge, Getting Rooted, James Nayler Speaking, On Living with a concern for Gospel Ministry (now in a second edition).

Science educator: To my surprise, I have spent 37 years at one institution, TERC in Cambridge, writing curriculum, working with teachers, doing research, and other things, in and around science ed, with a long-standing emphasis on life-science and ecology;  climate change has been part of my portfolio since 1989.  Also interested in the philosophy of biology, and part of a long-running John Dewey study group. I have written things on a range of topics in science education, and you can find a list here.

Ecologist:  Mid-career, I sought and found a Ph.D. in plant ecology (Prof. Richard Primack). Particular interests: changes in the forests of New England, invasive species, and responses to climate change.

Personal:  Born 1953. Married (1975) to Darcy Drayton, a Waldorf teacher, and painter in oils and watercolors. Two sons,  Micah and Abraham, who have excellent families of their own.  I grew up in Maine, on Georgetown Island;  went to school at Harvard (linguistics, Indo-European, Not-Quite-Dissertation) and Boston University (Ph.D., plant ecology).  Have worked as: freelance editor, director of a rest home (New England Friends Home 1981-4); customer ed  for LISP Machines, Inc. (1984-6); and science educator (1986-). Raised Episcopalian, was sent to Catholic schools, came to Friends when I went to college.  Play some music (guitar and folk harp); try not to forget all the languages I have learned.