My name is Nastassja Noell (she/her – they/them), I am a lichenologist by trade and training and I am also an artist and writer. You can find more about my lichen research here and my creative works here.

I have led and conducted lichen biodiversity surveys across the Americas, from the Channeled Scablands of Eastern Washington to alpine tundra in the Sub-Antarctic Province of Chile. My scientific research has been published in The Bryologist, Mycotaxon, Evansia and other journals (see my CV for links to articles). I am the co-author of Delmarva Lichens (Lendemer & Noell 2018, Torrey Botanical Society) and the chapter “Radical Lichenology” in the book Radical Mycology (McCoy 2016, Chthaeus Press). I have given lectures, talks, and educational courses about lichens for the Bureau of Land Management, National Park System, Radical Mycology, and various universities, native plant associations, and naturalist groups. Click here to learn more about my lichen research.

My art and writing have been published by the Dark Mountain Project, the Journal of Medicinal Plant Conservation, Firefly Gathering and other venues. I am a recipient of the United Plant Savers’ Deep Ecology Artists Fellowship. To see my art, check out my portfolio.  To read my articles, check out the publication links in my CV.

To be both a practicing scientist and artist is a daunting task, one that I fail at regularly. But often, symbioses don’t always happen willingly — at least not for all lichens. But challenges are opportunities, and lichens show us what is possible in the dimension beyond the divides, something emergent, greater than the sum of its parts, something whole. Medicine for our times.