When you think back to your first job, do your memories include kayaking with manatees or concerns about running into alligators? For Patrice Doherty, née Forrester, that was all part of her work as the teenage host of the New Hampshire PBS educational series NATUREWORKS.
“It’s definitely a time capsule. If you could only see my reaction when I watched some of the shows recently,” Patrice laughed. “The glasses and the braces and the wild, curly, frizzy hair. I was rocking all of that with my hiking boots.”
The Adventure Begins
The series, which was released in 2000, “was designed to be a comprehensive natural science series for students in grades three through eight,” said New Hampshire PBS Education Manager Susan Adams, who worked as a writer and education supervisor for the series and still maintains the website that was originally created as a companion to the series.
Patrice hosted alongside Dave Erler of the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center. Erler was the show’s senior naturalist, and the 15-year-old Doherty served as the show’s junior naturalist. “We wanted a young presence that would appeal to students,” said Adams.
Patrice grew up playing in the woods with her siblings, and after seeing a school production of Godspell, she fell in love with theatre. Still, when her junior high school drama teacher submitted her name to audition for NATUREWORKS, she was surprised to actually be called in. She was a quiet and shy teenager who had never been in front of a camera before.
“I remember thinking, ‘well, I’m always watching nature shows on PBS,” said Patrice. “I’m just gonna act like what I see when I watch TV.’” To her surprise, the tactic worked. “When they told me that I got it, I was really sure that I had misunderstood them!” Patrice fondly remembers a fun and supportive crew. In particular, the show’s photographer, Bryan Foley, was always trying to make her laugh. “If I was scared, he was the person that just made me calm down somehow.”
Once, after a filming session in a lake, Patrice recalls, “my wader boots had just sunk and suctioned into the mud to the point where I couldn’t get out.” From the boat where he was filming, Foley managed to lift Patrice out of the lake.
Learning On the Job
Like all good adventures, filming the series took her out of her comfort zone, and maintaining her composure on camera was easier some days than others. “I got to hold a turtle for the first time during one of our segments, and this thing wanted nothing to do with me,” she said. Learning to keep her cool and perform, even when things don’t go according to plan, is a skill she thinks has served her well in adulthood.
It’s not the only thing that’s stuck with her, either. “I’ve had people tell me, ever since NATUREWORKS, that I have this ability to spot an animal that no one else is seeing,” she noted. “And I know a beaver has nose plugs, so water doesn’t get up its nose, because I read it out loud for a voiceover.”
Patrice wasn’t the only student to learn from NATUREWORKS. The series would go on to be shown in classrooms across the country and win several awards. In particular, the NATUREWORKS website continues to grow and flourish, receiving thousands of visits each month, primarily from students and educators doing research, but also from curious nature lovers looking for in-depth information presented in simple language. For the first time in 26 years, the site recently underwent a major redesign to make it more user friendly and accessible. You can look up your favorite nature topic at natureworks.nhpbs.org.
Back to Where She Started
As for Patrice, she still calls New Hampshire home and still loves the outdoors. If she’s catching up with friends, she prefers to do it on a hike. She also loves a good bike ride and is an avid kayaker. She’ll be discussing NATUREWORKS and her love of the outdoors on an upcoming story for WINDOWS TO THE WILD. “It’s just nice to be able to kind of balance and ground yourself from everything else going on.”
Beyond a passion for nature, looking back on her time at NATUREWORKS has fostered a new appreciation for the shy girl who tackled some big adventures. “I’m pretty proud of myself.”