Our Name
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The Harris Conservation Initiative for Reptiles and Amphibians ("The Harris Conservation Initiative"/ HCI) is a 509(a)2 nonprofit named after my grandparents, Harry and Stella Harris, of Cordova, a small agricultural town of 520 people on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, USA. My family is working class- after being drafted into the Korean War and fulfilling his tour of duty, my grandfather left the army and spent his life as a construction worker at James Julian Construction in Delaware. My grandmother worked as a cafeteria manager at the Moton and Dobson buildings at Easton Elementary School in Easton, Maryland. My mother supported our family with her market produce business, and even after retirement, my grandparents helped us on the farm and at our family’s produce stand. The photo above was taken in 1953, when my grandmother visited my grandfather during his US Army basic training in Kentucky.
Both wanted a better life for all of their grandchildren, and they nurtured my love of learning and the natural world. My grandmother purchased every book that caught my eye; the topics of these books usually centered on dinosaurs, tropical forests, frogs, lizards, and botany. My grandfather took me fishing and shared with me his passion of raising aquarium fish and tropical birds. When I wanted my first pet frog, he helped convert an old fish tank into a setup appropriate for housing amphibians. Little did he know that this single act would set me on the path to a career in ex-situ reptile and amphibian conservation.
I am the first person in my family to ever attend college, and the only one to obtain a master’s degree. While they always worried about me, they supported my travels and work around the world. My grandfather passed away in 2012, while I was in the forests of Puerto Rico; I was unable to leave the island and as a result, I missed his funeral. I swore to myself that when the time came, I would be there when my grandmother passed. Unfortunately, on July 17th, 2021, my grandmother passed; I was living in the Philippines at the time, and the day before her passing, I left for the remote Gigantes Islands to conduct field work for our conservation efforts for Platymantis insulatus. Even if I could have immediately returned, travel restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic prevented me from leaving the country. I missed her funeral as well.
Even though they are gone, every day I try to live in a manner that would make them proud. The Harris Conservation Initiative is my way of honoring their memory. Through this organization, I seek to enact real, measurable conservation actions that focus on overlooked, understudied, and ignored species of herpetofauna and freshwater fish, while also providing the exchange and research opportunities that I have been privileged to have with others. Over time, we plan to expand our focus to include conservation efforts for overlooked species of mammals, birds, insects and plants as well, when applicable.
Most importantly, the Harris Conservation Initiative seeks to enact conservation measures through voluntary collaboration. Coming from a farming family on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, I know the delicate relationship between farmers, watermen, tradesmen, and conservationists. No matter where we work, we must seek solutions to our environmental issues that do not infringe on peoples' rights to support their families or earn a living. That is a narrow path to travel, but it can be done if we work together.
-Norman Greenhawk, Director, The Harris Conservation Initiative