Ela-Sita Carpenter: Supporting wildlife, wherever it grows
The natural world is intrinsic to Dr. Ela-Sita Carpenter’s identity. Her unique name is a product of her multi-faith family. Her first name is the Cherokee word for “Earth” and her middle name honors the Hindu goddess Sita.
Her parents gave her names of such significance to celebrate their faith and culture, and to commemorate their own connection to nature. Her late father was the first naturalist for the City of Baltimore, and both he and her mother volunteered with the Friends of Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park .
Their home was small, in a neighborhood she described as “not the safest.” Carpenter’s parents often took her and her older brother on hiking and camping trips for fresh air and perspective. Nature provided a safe escape for the family to bond with one another. These experiences inspired her dream to one day become a wildlife biologist.
Full of curiosity, she spent much of her childhood watching nature documentaries and daydreaming about her future. Before long, she noticed something was off. The people and places she saw looked nothing like herself and her home.
“The documentaries I watched growing up always took place in remote areas; that’s where I thought I had to go,” said Carpenter. “Additionally, none of the people in those documentaries looked like me, and that was discouraging.”
It wasn’t until she began studying for her PhD in Natural Resources at the University of Missouri at Columbia that Carpenter realized the potential of urban ecology. Her dissertation research focused on bat activity in her native city of Baltimore — specifically, what kinds of bats use vacant lots across the city to roost and forage, and what factors affect the level of activity across different species.
Even as a busy graduate student, she continued to work with the Baltimore community as an urban ecologist with the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. After receiving her degree in May of 2019, she worked as a naturalist until, in early 2021, she was hired with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the new urban wildlife biologist stationed at the Chesapeake Bay Field Office in Maryland.
In her short time with the Service, Carpenter has already introduced new ways to engage the local community with the Masonville Cove Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership. In the coming months, she hopes to harness the power of citizen science and involve the public in gathering wildlife census data.
There is a misconception, she feels, that urban spaces are useless for wildlife. Carpenter wants to help others recognize how essential these places are to understanding the deep connection between the human and natural worlds.
“Trying to study one without the other is incomplete, and trying to solve problems in one isn’t complete without addressing the problems in the other,” she said.
Even in her off hours, Carpenter’s heart is in the wilderness. She is a talented nature photographer and enjoys hiking, birdwatching, camping, and canoeing. She still volunteers with her mother, maintaining a small part of Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park that includes a stone labyrinth, short trail, and grove of stunning saucer magnolias.
It is these moments, these experiences in nature, that give Carpenter hope. She sees strength and resilience reflected in the wilderness around her.
“The seasons remind me that, in life, ups and downs happen, but good things always return,” she said. “Seeing trees in parks that have grown through boulders reminds me of the value of perseverance and patience.”
As she continues to grow her conservation career, Carpenter hopes to help others see the value of the nature around them regardless of the setting. With her roots in the natural world and her heart outstretched to others, Carpenter is already making progress on her goal to shine a light on the importance and resilience of urban wildlife.
