About Harry Foster-Merrill
Hello! My name is Harry, and I am a student at Tufts University and part of the 2026 cohort of Laidlaw Scholars.
My project develops the Visible Habitat Profile (VHP), a pilot field tool that lets land stewards compare easy-to-measure habitat features (deadwood volume, native woody species richness, and litter depth) against regional reference ranges to judge whether their forest plot is unusual.
Through this research, my overall goal is to reframe rewilding as a public health strategy, not just an environmental one. As antibiotic resistance is increasing, some of the most promising sources of new antibiotics are soil microbes. By identifying which recovering forests have conditions associated with strong microbial communities, I hope to help direct conservation efforts toward the forests most likely to yield tomorrow's medical discoveries.
If you would like to connect or have any questions at all, please feel free to reach out!
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