Students4Science
Our Team
Get to Know the Faces behind Students4Science
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Makena Matula
Founder, lover of invertebrates, collector of bones, plant enthusiast and iNat superfan
Makena has always had a passion for the natural world around her. She dissected her first animal at age 3, a turkey killed and partially consumed by a bobcat. She is an avid plant collector and breeder, often bringing suitcases of plants back from her travels. In the Summer of 2021, Makena participated in a biodiversity survey in Fiji organized by the University of the South Pacific and the Gleneig Trust. There she documented numbers of swallowtail butterflies and conducted carbon surveys both on land and in the ocean (She is a research certified SCUBA diver). This ignited her passion for field research and prompted her to start Science4Students.
Ellis Matula
Website Manager and Tech Guru
Ellis has two main loves in this world, science and music. On most days you can find him playing music (he plays six instruments) or filling his brain with random science trivia. While his interests veer more toward to outer space than to our planet, he is thrilled to be supporting Science4Students by managing its website and providing iNat support for volunteers.