Hello! I'm Elise Wahl, the writer, designer, and illustrator behind Timberdoodle Studio. I have worked with hundreds of clients across the country, ranging from small municipalities to federal land management agencies.
About
If you were to draw my career path on a map of the USA, it would look like a toddler had scribbled on it. After receiving a BFA in Art & Technology, I started my career in interpretation working for the National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Alaska. In graduate school at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, I worked on the Schmeeckle Reserve Interpretive Consulting team while completing a Master of Science. In North Carolina, I helped spearhead the award-winning Kids in Parks (KIP) program, a growing network of interpretive trails that help kids connect with nature. There were also career stops in Nevada, Ohio and Washington, D.C. Yup, scribbles.
No matter where I've been in life, my goal is to help inspire others to love and defend the natural world. My career has taken me to all corners of the country but I’m now happily settled in the Pacific Northwest where I run Timberdoodle Studio and enjoy the mossy forests, salty breezes and open farmland.
Recent Partners & Clients
• Tongass National Forest
• National Association for Interpretation
• Custer State Park
• Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance
• Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge
• Environmental Educators of North Carolina
• Willapa National Wildlife Refuge
• Oregon State Parks
• Lewis & Clark National Historical Park
• Tillamook Estuaries Partnership
• Idaho State Parks
• Chugach National Forest
• Seedskadee and Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge Complex
• Tillamook Chamber of Commerce
• The North Carolina Arboretum
• Blandy Experimental Farm | State Arboretum of Virginia
• Robinson Nature Center
• Lawson Center Boating Museum
• Friends of Wagner Creek
• Friends of Netarts Bay Watershed, Estuary, Beach & Sea (WEBS)
• Orange County, California
• Discovery Southeast
• National Association for Interpretation
• Custer State Park
• Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance
• Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge
• Environmental Educators of North Carolina
• Willapa National Wildlife Refuge
• Oregon State Parks
• Lewis & Clark National Historical Park
• Tillamook Estuaries Partnership
• Idaho State Parks
• Chugach National Forest
• Seedskadee and Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge Complex
• Tillamook Chamber of Commerce
• The North Carolina Arboretum
• Blandy Experimental Farm | State Arboretum of Virginia
• Robinson Nature Center
• Lawson Center Boating Museum
• Friends of Wagner Creek
• Friends of Netarts Bay Watershed, Estuary, Beach & Sea (WEBS)
• Orange County, California
• Discovery Southeast
Interviews
About Timberdoodles
American woodcock
Scolopax minor
Scolopax minor
Timberdoodle is a nickname for the American woodcock (Scolopax minor), a bird that doesn’t fit many norms in the bird world. Unlike other sandpipers, this shorebird is found in fields and forests. Plus, this quirky bird has many adaptions that make it a unique hunter and mate.
Males have an elaborate mating display in the spring and summer. During the night males will launch 100-300 feet in the air with twittering and bubbling sounds. Almost like an amusement park ride, they’ll dive straight back down in a twisting motion. Lady timberdoodles, how does this “sky dance” NOT get your attention?