IIC Graduate Spotlight: Sarah Weber
Institute for Integrative Conservation
Connecting academic innovation to conservation solutions
The Institute for Integrative Conservation (IIC) are excited to?support these graduates?as they take the next steps in their academic and professional careers. Today we celebrate graduating senior Sarah Weber. As part of the Conservation Research Program at the Institute for Integrative Conservation,?research shows the effects of traffic noise on bluebird reproductive habits in Williamsburg, specifically focusing on the sound pitches that birds are sensitive to, to better understand how their hearing differs from humans. Ultimately, her research with help develop a new algorithm to explore sound, based on how birds perceive it in their environment. An interview with Sarah reveals how?IIC?research?and engagement has?heightened her?William & Mary experiences.
Interview with Sarah Weber
Why are you interested in conservation??Through my biology courses, I've become really passionate about sustainable solutions to conservation issues.?
Why do you think it is important that we take an integrative approach to conservation, and what can the conservation field (broadly defined) learn from your discipline, sector, or major??By integrating various disciplines, we can create sustainable solutions through learning about the intersections between disciplines and conservation. In psychology, for example, we are learning about what motivates people to participate in conservation efforts.??
How did your involvement with the IIC enhance your W&M experience, and what advice do you have for W&M students interested in taking an integrative approach to conservation??I got to meet a lot of really passionate people and get connected with faculty that have similar interests. I recommend students should talk to different people. You learn so much by working with other people and asking them about their work.?
Learn more?about how the IIC is bringing together W&M students from diverse departments and schools to conduct applied conservation research projects with IIC conservation partners.
It was such a pleasure to work with Sarah on her Honors project--our first ever Honors student in Integrative Conservation. Sarah synthesized and analyzed all the available published information about how birds hear their world. For us to develop conservation solutions that work for people and for wildlife, we have to learn how to see/hear the world from the perspective of the wildlife as well as through human senses. Sarah is now working on publishing this really valuable work.