Beth Howard, Ph.D Student & Younger Lagoon Reserve Manager

Beth Howard is both a PhD student in the Conservation Action Lab, and the Manager of Younger Lagoon Reserve, a 72-acre reserve that is part of the University of California's Natural Reserve System.

Beth’s passion for the outdoors grew from a childhood spent catching frogs and turtles in the woods, springs, and cypress swamps of Florida.

Beth received her bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental studies from UC Santa Cruz in 2001.  After graduating from UCSC, she worked on sustainable agriculture projects in California and Vermont, and later on plant ecology research projects, primarily in California.  Prior to her appointment as the Manager of Younger Lagoon Reserve, Beth worked as the Steward of UCSC’s Campus Natural Reserve, and as a researcher on UCSC’s Forest Ecology Research Plot, where she conducted long term monitoring of a coastal forest.

At Younger Lagoon Reserve she is responsible for facilitating research, teaching and public education at the reserve.  Additionally, she coordinates biological and environmental monitoring, is responsible for compliance and annual reporting, and administers the reserve’s native habitat restoration program.

For her PhD project, Beth is studying the long-term success of native habitat restoration projects on the Central Coast.