Behind the Pages

Jada Fitch grew up in a log cabin her father built in Sebago, Maine, near her grandparents’ store, Fitch’s General. She spent much of her childhood there or at home, drawing and making crafts with her mother, a stained-glass artist. After art school, time in Los Angeles, and nearly a decade in Portland, Maine, balancing day jobs with freelance projects, Jada discovered birdwatching and became captivated, making birds her primary artistic focus. As her illustrations gained recognition, she transitioned into freelancing full time and continued to find inspiration while volunteering at a local bird-banding station. Today, she lives in a 230-year-old farmhouse in Downeast Maine, creating artwork for clients such as National Audubon, American Bird Conservancy, and Down East Magazine, while also enjoying bird walks, gardening, and personal projects that include her book (a collaboration with writer Kateri Kosek) The Forest Revealed: An Illustrated Year, excerpted on page 42. In this photo, Jada is working on the cover painting for the book.

Dozens of people contribute to creating each issue of Northern Woodlands. Here are a few of the people whose work is featured in the Winter magazine.

From left: Adelaide Murphy Tyrol, Alexandra Kosiba, PhD, Ben Wymer, and Andrew Cassel.

Adelaide Murphy Tyrol (Art Review, page 79; illustrations for Seasonal Notes, page 14, The Outside Story, page 26, and The Invertebrate Bestiary, page 70) has been creating – and writing about – art for Northern Woodlands for more than two decades. An accomplished fine artist, Adelaide is a former partner in New York City–based Oliphant Studio, where she created backdrops for celebrity photoshoots and film and television productions. She has co-curated and created paintings for A Critical Balance: Artists Take Action, a touring exhibition devoted to raising awareness about endangered species. She works from her studio in Plainfield, Vermont. Photo courtesy of Adelaide Murphy Tyrol.

Alexandra Kosiba, PhD (Forest Insights, page 74) is a forest ecologist, tree physiologist, and Extension assistant professor at University of Vermont, where she leads the Extension Forestry Program. She develops resources and conducts applied research to help landowners, foresters, policymakers, and the public understand how climate change and other stressors affect forests and how forests support climate change mitigation. Her work also addresses forest health, including managing at-risk tree species, planning to maintain critical forest services, and conducting long-term forest monitoring. Photo courtesy of Alexandra Kosiba.

Ben Wymer (1,000 Words, page 5) is a wildlife ecologist, wildlife and conservation photographer, and certified wildlife tracker. His work has taken him across the country: from tracking lynx in the North Cascades of Washington to studying martens and fishers in California, Minnesota, and New Hampshire. When he is not working on research projects, Ben spends his time tracking and camera trapping wildlife using DSLR camera traps. Photo courtesy of Ben Wymer.

Andrew Cassel (“How Warming Temperatures Are Affecting Soil Health,” Knots & Bolts, page 20) is a freelance science writer focused on forests, water, and the critical zone. He began on the communications team at University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2010, moved to Vermont in 2019 to join Middlebury College, and later led communications and science engagement at Hubbard Brook Research Foundation. He now partners with research groups and nonprofits to turn complex work into clear, useful stories. Photo by Zeiss.