Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Environmental scientist joins advisory board

Back to Leopold Letter Fall 2008

The newest member of the Leopold Center Advisory Board would like to see more projects that create and preserve wildlife habitat in Iowa. It's easy to see why, considering the background of Keith Summerville, assistant professor of Environmental Science and Policy at Drake University.

Summerville teaches courses in conservation biology, entomology, restoration ecology, sustainable development and zoology as well as a beginning course, Foundations of Environmentalism.

"One of my lifetime research goals is to bridge ecological theory and practice to educate scientists and non-scientists alike about the processes that regulate species diversity in our environment," Summerville says. "My philosophy is that ultimately our success in conservation will hinge on our understanding of the roles that natural processes play in influencing species biodiversity and distribution in ecological systems."

Summerville brings a background in landscape and community ecology to the Leopold Center Advisory Board.

"I would like to see Iowa agriculture and the Leopold Center become active partners in habitat preservation," he said. "I think the Leopold Center can be a strong advisor and facilitator of both agriculture and habitat management."

A native of Richfield, Ohio, he has an undergraduate degree in environmental science from Westminster College in Pennsylvania. He earned a master's degree in engineering and a Ph.D. in zoology from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Since joining the Drake faculty in 2002, he has tackled a number of research projects on Iowa ecosystems. He's studied the prairie moths that pollinate environmentally-threatened western fringed prairie orchid in central Iowa, and reptiles in Polk County's Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt and the Sandhill Prairie. He also received a USDA Managed Ecosystems Program grant to research restoration of prairie insect biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.

In 2005, he joined the Iowa Audubon Society board of directors and has developed plans for its Iowa Important Bird Areas. He also advises the Chichaqua Greenbelt advisory committee as they critique and revise a 10-year master plan for prairie and wetland restorations.

He is a member of the Des Moines Urban Conservation Advisory Board and Polk County Conservation Advisory Board.

 

Back to Leopold Letter Fall 2008