Published: February 8, 2017

Field Museum Educational Investments in Pembroke

Aster Hasle, Lead Conservation Ecologist, Keller Science Action Center

The Field Museum Keller Science Action Center’s Youth Conservation Action (YCA) Team partnered with Lorenzo R. Smith Sustainability and Technology Academy (LRSSTA) for the 2016-2017 academic year. The team is working with teachers to provide Mighty Acorns (3rd – 5th grade) and Earth Force (6th – 8th grade) programming to educate students about nature and stewardship in the Pembroke-Hopkins Park community. Students participate in field trips and in-class activities that allow them to make connections to nature in their backyard, such as The Pembroke Savanna Nature Preserve (Ball Hill). Field Museum is excited to be collaborating with The Nature Conservancy and local landowners to get LRSSTA students outdoors.  

After a successful year at the Pembroke Public Library, LRSSTA is the new home of Rooted! The Richness of Land & Culture, an exhibit co-developed by Field Museum and PHP residents that highlights the significance of this ecosystem and local human history. We encourage members of the community to enjoy this exhibit.


Aster Hasle
Lead Conservation Ecologist

Aster Hasle is a Lead Conservation Ecologist with the Field Museum's Keller Science Action Center. Aster brings their background in both ecology and Geographic Information Systems to the Action Center's Chicago Region Conservation Programs. Their current projects include conservation planning for monarch butterflies and other pollinators in urban areas, exploring eDNA in urban places, and conservation lands in Pembroke Township, Illinois. Central to all of Aster's work is an interest in the power of privately held land to support conservation and quality of life for local residents. Aster has a B.S. from Roger Williams University and a M. S. in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan.

More about Keller Science Action Center work on urban monarch butterflies.