Heyo! I’m Ethan Skuches (pronounced like… crutches…). Professionally, I am broadly interested in how humans can best prepare forests (and ecosystems at large) for shifts in climate, and how this preparation coincides with public education and the commercial marketing/ supply of native plants.
Within this, I’m really interested in how any type of planting project (restoration, urban street trees, yards, etc.) can be used as a conduit for forest assisted migration. I’m currently pursuing my PhD in Environmental Science at the University of Virginia, working with Dr. Meghan Blumstein and the BUDS Lab!
Outside of research, I tend to romp around and fill my time with a myriad of things: knitting, reading, swimming, hiking, looking at plants, and losing at trivia, to name a few.
PhD Student in Environmental Science, Ecology | University of Virginia | Charlottesville, Virginia | June 2025- Present
B.A. in Environmental Studies | Vassar College | Poughkeepsie, New York | Grad. 2022
Graduate Representative | University of Virginia Landscape & Arboretum Committee | Dec. 2025 - Present
Graduate Student Mentor | University of Virginia Environmental Science Department | September 2025- Present
Steering Committee Member | Mid-Atlantic Seed Partnership, Northeast Seed Network | June 2025- Present
Member | Municipal Tree Advisory Committee | Beacon, New York | 2023 - 2025
Member | Vassar College Arboretum Committee | 2023-2025
Member | Vassar College Preserve Advisory Committee | 2023-2025
University of Virginia
Graduate-level TA: Introduction to GIS (Fall 2025)
Undergraduate-level TA: Introduction to GIS (Fall 2025), Conservation Ecology (Spring 2026)
Vassar College
Undergraduate-level course TA: Introduction to Environmental Science Field Lab (Fall 2023, 2024)