In August of last year, the ENVS family welcomed its newest faculty member, Dr. Justine Weber. A wetland ecology specialist, Justine earned her Ph.D. from SUNY-ESF and came to IC after stints teaching at Colgate University and Utica College, though she began her career as a high school science teacher in Pennsylvania. She was drawn to wetland ecology as the result of an experience as an educator at the Milbrook Marsh in State College, PA. The diversity of wetland environments offered so many possibilities for research and for thinking about how ecosytems function. Justine’s research into peatlands in grad school led to a love of northern wetlands, like the ones in Quebec, and interdunal marshes along the Great Lakes.
As a result of experiences in graduate school, Justine developed an abiding interest in community ecology, which is how populations of organisms interact with one another and their environment. “It is important that you know the system before you solve the problem,” she notes. Her research into endangered plant species was guided by this principle and a commitment to doing work that could have an impact beyond the ivory tower.
In addition to an impressive research profile, Justine is an experienced teacher across many institutions and levels of education. Having begun her career in science as a high school teacher, she says she loves the questions students ask, “ones that keep us on our toes.” In her first year at IC Justine taught a variety of classes, among them The Environmental Crisis, Critical Skills, and Wetland Ecology, and began developing her research lab team. When reflecting on what she enjoyed most about her first year at IC, Justine says without hesitation: “the people” and that it was great to be part of a faculty committed to problem-solving, especially at this moment in history.
When she’s not busy as a wetland ecologist, Justine loves being outside, activities varying by season: birding and hiking, kayaking in the summer. She’s also an avid cook, making things as often as possible from produce she grows herself.
