Renee Schiavone
Renee lives in Bend, Oregon, and is a writer who enjoys deep research and thoughtful examination in subjects related climate science, policy, and society’s relations to these topics. Renee is passionate about the intersection between snow and water. Formerly a whitewater raft guide on some of Oregon’s critical rivers, she learned a lot about the vital connection between mountain snow and water resource management, in relation to both climate, health and recreation. She thinks it’s important to understand the ways we treat and understand our snowpack effects the quality and productivity of our watersheds. Renee is also passionate about finding ways to explore our ecosystem sustainably, whether it’s backcountry skiing, trail running, or more recently gravel biking. She loves finding new ways to move in the mountains with as little as possible, and enjoy pushing her body’s limits to go further.
Being the daughter of a biologist, she has always been endlessly curious about our environment and how we can protect it. That curiosity has translated to her life as a writer, where she is always looking to explore our relationship with the natural world. She says “Recreating in the backcountry has been a hobby that has allowed me to explore my curiosities while giving me insight into what our relationship with snow looks like. CSO is the perfect intersection between community and science, and joining this community gives me the opportunity to keep doing what I love while nerding out a little extra on the science.”
We ask Renee what she tries to remind herself about every day. She responds “The Japanese concept of misogi, which is the idea of a difficult and transformational journey. Met by the basic idea that modern humans are too comfortable, some have interpreted misogi to be a transformation that happens when we push our limits. Basically, it’s a reminder to myself that I can do hard things.”
What is community science? Why join CSO?
“[Community science] is a lot like scientific writing communications. Sometimes you need the perspectives of both scientific and non-scientific minds in order to contribute to the overall understanding and distribution of data.” says Renee. For people reading this and contemplating whether they should start participate in CSO, she says “If you’re spending most of your winter in the snow anyway, joining an organization like Community Snow Observations is an easy way to give back to the community and promote the safety of everyone getting out there.”
If Renee had to eat thing for the rest of her life it would be: Peanut butter.
Check out Renee on Instagram @reneeschiavone
And check out her website! https://www.reneeaschiavone.com/