Lauren E. Oakes

Lauren E. Oakes is a conservation scientist and science writer, covering climate change and forest-related issues. She has held various appointments at Stanford University over many years, as a researcher, a lecturer, and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Earth System Science. Her first book, In Search of the Canary Tree (Basic Books, 2018) received great reviews from the Los Angeles Times, NPR, and more. It was selected as one of Science Friday's Best Science Books of 2018, won second place for the 2019 Rachel Carson Book Award, and was a finalist for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Communication Award. Oakes has written for media and literary outlets such as the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, Scientific American, and Lit Hub. She received a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to support reporting for Treekeepers (Basic Books, 2024). She lives in Bozeman, Montana.