Kohawk Rachael Murtaugh leads post-derecho Cedar Rapids reforestation efforts
“With time, I’ve gotten used to what we see until I go to a city that wasn’t affected and has all their trees. I can see the difference, and you feel grief. That’s something I hear from a lot of people. They have experienced true grief for losing a tree,” Rachael Murtaugh ’11 said.
On August 10, 2020, Cedar Rapids experienced a severe storm with damaging winds reaching more than 100 mph. Called a derecho, the storm left thousands without power for weeks, affecting access to food, fuel and even shelter. Coe College lost more than 200 trees alone, while Cedar Rapids lost more than 670,000 trees. With over half a million trees destroyed, ReLeaf Cedar Rapids was born to lead the reforestation of Cedar Rapids with Rachael leading the charge.
Rachael wears many hats as the ReLeaf program manager. She works with a core team creating a derecho recovery plan, writing grants, coordinating volunteers and budgeting with the goal to finalize a long-term reforestation initiative in partnership with Trees Forever, Jeff Speck of Speck & Associates and Confluence Inc. Her role is only two months old, but her roots run deep in research to replant trees responsibly for people and the local ecology.
“It isn’t just plopping trees in the ground. We need to consider climate change, wildlife habitats, pollinators, pests, species diversity and social equity,” she said.
Rachael is arranging to plant Iowa native trees. Because people with consistent access to green spaces have reduced stress and anxiety, among a variety of health and environmental benefits, Rachael is paying close attention to underserved communities to ensure equal access to trees. Her biggest responsibility is ensuring the species of trees and their specific locations across Cedar Rapids are compatible.
“Native species are adapted to our climate. We have to plan on species that can survive from drought and heat stress. The tricky thing about climate change is that trees can live for more than 150 years, but we don’t know exactly what the climate will look like then. The trees we plant may have to deal with periodic flooding, drought, increased heat and possibly colder winters,” she said.
Rachael brings years of valuable experience in forestry and building departments from the ground up. After graduating from Coe with degrees in environmental science and biology, she earned a master's degree in conservation biology from Illinois State University. Following her time at Illinois State, she set up the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center’s environmental chemistry lab at Lewis and Clark Community College and moved on to create and spearhead Mount Mercy University’s sustainability office before taking on the role of ReLeaf program manager.
But first, Rachael found her way to conservation on a canoe trip singing Taylor Swift and showtunes at the top of her lungs with friends in the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota as a student at the Wilderness Field Station — Coe’s learning oasis and living laboratory in the Superior National Forest. The idyllic setting is open to all students and is a literal change in scenery from the typical classroom allowing curious students like Rachael to study a variety of nature-centric topics under the stars and on the water. The memories created at the Field Station are often unforgettable, and it was in this setting that Rachael took an interest in wildlife management with a class in mammalogy.
She went on to spend summers taking inventory of state park trees as part of Heins-Johnson Professor of Biology Paula Sanchini’s forestry research with Trees Forever. Paula was instrumental in encouraging Rachael to pursue an environmental science major in addition to her biology studies.
“Paula was interested in developing me as a researcher. She valued the impact of my work and took my ideas into consideration. It was key to me building my confidence in decision making, critical thinking and independence,” she said.
Coe’s student-centered approach and interdisciplinary curriculum provided Rachael unique opportunities to gain skills like writing with Retired Professor of English Ann Struthers. In addition to helping Rachael express herself outside of science, she’s falling back on lessons in poetry to fuel the creativity of her new role.
“Part of my job is telling the story of the derecho and recovery. There’s a creative aspect to that,” Rachael said. “I took all of Ann’s poetry classes. She broke her hip my senior year and instead of canceling classes we all went to her apartment to have class. Her husband made us brownies. She was amazing.”
“Education is often seen as a training course for a career, but it is so far beyond that. The goal of liberal arts is to develop you and your skills beyond training for a job. I learned to think creatively and developed empathy, compassion and respect for different cultures at Coe. I use all of these every day for my job,” she added.
Armed with skills and expertise, Rachael is a force of nature leading a new program with heart.
“I can look back over the course of my life and see the change that has happened. I see the reduction in insect population. I can see it with my own eyes. I can see changes in our forests. I can see and feel the changes in climate from when I was little. Looking at the projections, I'm genuinely afraid for the future my son and his children will have. I want to spend my time trying to protect it. I wake up knowing time away from my family is improving our city and environment. It’s making people’s lives better,” she said.