Susan and VCE staff members,
I am honored to be recognized by the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. See page 10 of the VCE Fall 2025 Field Notes Newsletter: Bernie Paquette is named this year's JULIE NICHOLSON COMMUNITY SCIENCE AWARD. I am humbled and awed by past recipients of the award, and grateful 
Welcome to the community of inverters (observing insects)
that I can contribute my curiosity and passion for insects to help more people become introduced to these fascinating creatures, taking a closer look.
Award Acceptance – 2025 Julie Nicholson Community Science Award
It’s probably just as well you didn’t reach me by phone to share the news of this award, because for perhaps the first time in my life, I would have been speechless. Truly at a loss for words. The gratitude I feel is as deep and difficult to express as the awe I experience when insects allow me the privilege to observe and photograph them. They are the ones most deserving of our highest regard. I admit, it feels a bit embarrassing to accept recognition when, in my eyes, the insects are the real stars of the show.
Promoting "inverting"—the observation of invertebrates—often feels like channeling P.T. Barnum, standing before a crowd to announce: “Ladies and gentlemen, behold the Greatest Show on Earth!”
And what a show it is. Insects perform feats no human ever could. Some engage in otherworldly mating rituals. Some have five eyes, seeing and sensing things beyond our imagination. Some fly in all directions at speeds over 40 mph. Their wardrobes of patterns and colors would make Coco Chanel and Ralph Lauren look plain by comparison. Their architectural ingenuity would send our best designers back to the drawing board.
In the world of insects, the unusual is practically standard. Just look at the recent appearance of a White Monarch (WCAX, 8/15/2025), or the discovery of a new bee for Vermont—Epeolus lunatus, the Lunate Longhorn cuckoo bee (Amber Jones, July 2025). The uncommon is not out of reach, and the rare or even undiscovered still await us.
Under the “Insect Tent,” alongside the uncountable species, are the biologists, entomologists, and naturalists who generously share their knowledge and passion. I’ve had many mentors along the way, and I hold each of them in the highest esteem.
In truth, I’m just the kid hanging up the circus posters and munching popcorn—while watching, in fascination, as insects go about their daily lives. How they find food, pollinate, mate, build shelter, and bask in the sun. Some live solitary lives, others in complex societies—all in plain sight, if we only take the time to stop, look, and truly see. It’s a miniature alien world that unfolds right before us.
Inverting is, without question, The Greatest Show on Earth—an immense world of small, extraordinary wonders. And the best part? The show takes place as close as our backyards.
I believe that inverting will soon be the new birding. Just as Bob Spear’s passion for birds helped build a vibrant birding community in our part of Vermont, I hope to help spark a similarly strong movement around invertebrates. I hope to help lift this quiet, crawling, humming world into the public eye.
I am deeply humbled and honored to be counted among the incredible individuals who’ve received this award before me. Their contributions are truly monumental. As for me, I’ll accept a gentle pat on the back for helping to promote inverting and advocating for the insect world. Unlike the successes of the award recipients before me, my impact is only beginning to unfold.
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