During one fieldwork campaign for my undergraduate research, my fellow ecologists and I had spent an exhausting day observing birds in the forest and collecting valuable data when a shocking incident happened. That evening, I headed to the restroom in the weathered fieldhouse where we were staying and discovered a hidden camera. I reported this to my crew leader, who immediately escalated the incident, but I had to continue interacting with the culprit we had identified until the police arrived.
A few years later, I was verbally harassed at another remote campsite by an older male coworker for my supposedly terrible cooking. As the only undergraduate on the team, I was discouraged from reporting the incident by those I was supposed to rely on for guidance. With no cell service, I walked to the nearest diner to access Wi-Fi and informed my lead investigator of the incident. That night, I tightly secured the zippers of my tent door with a lock.
Many field researchers have faced similar experiences, where inadequate support and validation are so common that it makes such incidents feel like just another part of the job. But this is just an excuse to evade improving field culture. Science faces growing challenges regarding funding and employment, and fieldwork remains vital for research and for training early-career scientists by offering real-world data collection experience such as soil sampling, insect surveying, or bird tracking. But such environments can exacerbate power imbalances and increase vulnerability to sexual misconduct.
Fieldwork is often physically and emotionally exhausting, with limited support systems that highlight the urgent need for better mental health resources. Many roles are underpaid and require extended isolation in unfamiliar, often remote environments with unreliable Wi-Fi and poor cell service, conditions that can severely impact emotional well-being.
Positive fieldwork experiences can be transformative, but negative or even traumatic experiences can lead to individuals leaving the field of science altogether. “I think it definitely was a thing that fieldwork is this test, and you have to pass the test if you are going to make it into the club,” remarked Alix Contosta, a research associate professor at the University of New Hampshire, in a recent interview. Anna Le, a fisheries biologist and founder of the consultancy Grayling Education, told me: “This is just what I have to go through just like everyone else to be able to get a seat at the table.” Now, she sees this mindset as a way to excuse systemic issues rather than address them.
In my current role, I work directly with field researchers as the community relations specialist for the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation and share the belief that creating a supportive working environment is essential.
Positive fieldwork experiences can be transformative, but negative or even traumatic experiences can lead to individuals leaving the field of science altogether.
Jerika Loren Heinze, a fieldwork safety consultant and founder of the Fieldwork Initiative network, explained that field campaigns were historically reserved for heteronormative, cis-White males from elite backgrounds and designed to be under-resourced in order to prove the workers could handle struggle. She described that folks in these privileged positions held this bootstrap ideology, similar to a hazing practice. Le further added that people from marginalized or under-represented communities often face additional stressors: “Being a woman of color in these very rural places, I was feeling a lot of hypervigilance.” To access field sites, she would sometimes need to enter private property (with permission) but also encountered signs saying “do not cross or else we shoot you,” Le said.
Mental health among scientists is often largely overlooked, and recent cuts to scientific funding may further reduce access to adequate mental health resources, increasing stress and worsening inequities. Contosta emphasized the distinction between a challenging field experience and being pushed past your physical, emotional, and mental breaking point. An ongoing global mental health crisis — along with the rise of ecological grief, anxiety, and climate doomism — makes integrating mental health support into field campaigns critical. When mental health is more openly talked about in field teams, “those teams seem to be more successful and productive,” said Molly Phillips, the mentoring and workforce development coordinator at the Long Term Ecological Research Network.
Both of my negative fieldwork experiences hindered my science. Shifting the culture will require building an effective support system of preventative, mitigative, and guiding resources. Such actions could include establishing codes of conduct, offering training workshops, providing professional counseling and mediation services, and designing a flowchart to guide individuals through the steps of how to seek support.
Mental health among scientists is often largely overlooked, and recent cuts to scientific funding may further reduce access to adequate mental health resources, increasing stress and worsening inequities.
But having resources alone is not enough. It is essential that these strategies are properly executed. The National Science Foundation has made some strides by introducing new guidelines in the last few years to ensure safe and inclusive work environments, requiring field team leaders to develop strategies for addressing hostile behaviors, outline steps for fostering belonging, and establish clear communication protocols. And to ensure their effectiveness and the active implementation of these strategies, strong accountability measures and oversight are needed.
Beyond protecting people and ensuring quality science, fostering an environment that highlights mental health carries wider significance. It serves as a form of resistance by preventing burnout and challenging a culture that values overworking at the expense of personal well-being. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to have these resources available. Taking care of mental health and wellness in high-stress environments, and encouraging others to do the same, fosters a stronger sense of safety. Providing this safety allows folks to allocate more effort and passion to their vital work that may be under threat. It creates a fieldwork environment in which everyone has the opportunity to thrive, rather than just survive.
Dayna De La Cruz is the Young Voices of Science and Community Relations Specialist at the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation, an environmental nonprofit promoting the understanding and stewardship of forest ecosystems through scientific research and monitoring, policy outreach, and education.
