About Melissa Barton

Photo of Melissa

I am a freelance journalist and editor, specializing in science, health, and travel writing. I live in the geologically fascinating Rocky Mountain state of Colorado, where I graduated from quirky liberal arts school Colorado College with a Bachelor of Arts in Geology (with additional coursework in biology, chemistry, and journalism). I love science and the outdoors, along with writing about exciting scientific developments and interesting people in a clear, accessible manner.

I have been published in Geotimes, Student Health 101, Transitions Abroad, Colorado Springs News & Views, and other magazines. I'm also a regular contributor to the Colorado College Alumni Bulletin, and have written interpretive materials for the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) which are viewed by thousands of visitors annually. At present, I maintain the Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds, Inc. website and edit the quarterly newsletter. I also offer photography and scientific proofreading and editing services (yes, I double-check Latin names).

As an undergraduate, I studied in St. Petersburg, Russia and the Caribbean. My recent (somewhat geologically focused) trips include a sailing tour of Caribbean reefs and volcanoes aboard the Sailing School Vessel Corwith Cramer and two weeks solo backpacking in southern Iceland, including Reykjavík, Vestmannaeyjar, Skaftafell National Park, and Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon. My long-term goal for domestic travel is to visit every unit administered by the National Park Service (there are 390 as of January 2007, so I only have about 340 to go...). I have worked for the NPS for three summers now and I remain deeply interested in conservation and natural resource management and museum education.

I am also a graduate student in Museum and Field Studies at the University of Colorado--Boulder. Educational writing, including exhibit labels, museum catalogs and exhibit books, site bulletins, and educational websites, remains a strong interest for me, and I hope to improve my skills in that realm as well as other aspects of museum work, such as collections management, scientific research, and graphic design.