Photo: Lou Weber in the USF prairie by Steve Vorderman
Louise (Lou) Weber, Ph.D.
Louise (Lou) Weber, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology and Environmental Science
Division Director of Sciences
Program Director of Biology
Understanding Nature: Ecology for a New Generation,
was released on May 16, 2023 by CRC Press, Routledge,
Taylor and Francis. It may be ordered by clicking on the
image to the right.
Understanding Nature is an unconventional ecology textbook with a number of firsts. It is the first ecology textbook in the world to be first-authored by a woman. It is the first to be built on the theme of ecopsychology and ecotherapy. It is the first to include a section on Traditional Ecological Knowledge. It is the first to include chapters on wildlife management. The vast majority of the graphics were completed by USF students and myself to keep the price of the book sustainable. It is written with an approachable style for those outside of academia. It is small for a textbook (10" x 7" and 353 pages). It does all this and meets the standards of the 4DEE recommendations for an ecology textbook by the Ecological Society of America.
Besides covering the four main types of ecology others sections include conservation biology, restoration ecology, neobiogeography, post-modern evolution, and others.
I'm so honored to be featured in Mallory McDuff's new book as I represent Indiana. Mallory asked if she could include me after hearing the story of how I transformed my ecology course at USF to better reach pre-med students. I struck gold with the health pre-professionals when I began addressing nature’s ability to heal self while healing Earth. Love Your Mother will be published on April 11 by Broadleaf Books and available for order by clicking on the image to the left.