Elise Gornish: From Fashion to Arctic Ecology and Environmental Impact

This profile is part of a series highlighting University of Arizona researchers featured in Sandstorm, a themed football game celebrating the ways the Sonoran Desert shapes our university and gives us a competitive advantage. From ecological restoration to groundbreaking research, these experts are using the unique conditions of the university’s environment to tackle challenges and create solutions with impact far beyond Arizona.

Elise Gornish, who once navigated the fashion industry, now leads the Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill at the University of Arizona. As a professor and extension specialist in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, her journey from fashion to ecology is as remarkable as the landscapes she studies.

Initially starting in a job that left her unfulfilled, Gornish reflected on her passions, leading her to discover a career in ecology. Her decision was solidified after enrolling in a biology class at Hunter College of New York, where her interest in learning flourished for the first time.

Gornish’s newfound passion took her to the Canadian Arctic, where she assisted a researcher in fieldwork that involved polar bears. “We carried pump action shotguns, because, you know, polar bears are land sharks,” Gornish recounts. Her experiences with wildlife, including witnessing pods of whales and arctic foxes, were transformative.

Her Arctic adventures shifted her focus from dangerous fauna to ecological challenges. Notably, she observed how the burgeoning snow goose population, driven by agricultural practices, was damaging local plant life. Her role involved monitoring these geese, a task that included banding them from helicopters. “The helicopter goes low – it doesn’t land,” she explains. The work was intense and unpredictable, yet it paved her path towards a career in plant ecology.

Now at the University of Arizona, Gornish champions the institution’s land-grant mission. She advocates for environmental awareness and encourages small, impactful actions. “If you want to spend a little money, you can get a rainwater barrel,” she suggests. “If you don’t want to spend money, you can volunteer one day a year – pick up trash, help with a buffelgrass pull. Or plant native plants on your porch. Or vote on where we put our money and decision-making.”

Gornish emphasizes the symbiotic relationship between humans and their environment. “If you like drinking water, if you like having wildfires that stop, if you like eating foods that bees pollinate, if you like the fact that your house is not surrounded by flowing mud – if you like any of those things, you should care about your environment.”

Learn more at arizona.edu/sandstorm.