Members in Action: Emanuela Weidlich, Student and Emerging Professional Director

Emanuela W. A. Weidlich is the newly elected Student and Emerging Professional Director to the SER Board of Directors. Emanuela is Brazilian and works as a lecturer and researcher at Leuphana University in Germany. In the photo above, Emanuela is collecting samples for a restoration experiment in coastal vegetation in southern Brazil. 

How long have you been a member of SER? What’s your best experience with SER so far?

I have been a SER member since 2014. I enjoy being part of the society as I like to be connected with scientists and practitioners working within the field of ecological restoration, and I am especially thrilled to meet them in person at SER conferences. I believe one of my best experiences with SER was at SER2015, where I presented my first oral talk and made numerous connections with scientists and researchers, all of whom I am still connected with. Another special moment was hosting the SER2017 in Brazil in 2017, because it allowed many Brazilians to join. 

Why did you join SER?

I joined SER because I wanted to connect with and be part of a global ecological restoration community, and because I felt it would be a way to contribute and make a meaningful positive impact in the world. 

What do you hope to accomplish during your term of office?

I hope to strengthen the connection between early career and senior scientists. In addition, I would like to demonstrate to mentors how they can help support early career professionals and emphasize that senior practitioners can have a lasting impact on the career trajectory for those restorationists just starting their careers. 

Collecting soil cores to obtain fine roots in an experiment that tests the effects of different invasive species control methods and the use of nurse plants on restoration of coastal vegetation in southern Brazil. 

What is your current occupation?

I am a lecturer and researcher at Leuphana University in Germany, but I am still collaborating with scientists in Brazil working with Atlantic Forest restoration. I am also co-chair of the IUCN Restoration Ecology thematic group, and I also act as associate editor for the Journal of Applied Ecology and the Restoration Ecology journal. 

What do you find most rewarding about working for your organization?

I am learning a lot while teaching and doing science, and I do enjoy these exchanges. 

What projects are you working on right now?

Currently, I am conducting research on: 

• Controlling invasive species in restoration and creating communities more resistant to invasion.
• Community assembly and priority effects in European and Brazilian Biomes.
• People’s perceptions about the importance of conservation of Brazilian coastal zone vegetation. 
• Different stakeholders’ perceptions on species diversity in tree plantations.

Emanuela harvesting samples for a grassland experiment in Germany that investigates how weather conditions during plant establishment modulate the creation and trajectory of priority effects in dry acidic grasslands.

How does your work support the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration?

My work supports the global contribution as one of the decade principles, as my research brings information from the global South. By working with controlling invasive species, which is one of the main threats to biodiversity, I tackle the direct and indirect causes of ecosystem degradation. 

What does ecological restoration mean to you?

Ecological restoration is my work, my passion, my way to make this world a better place for us and for future generations. 

Teaching an Ecology field course to Bachelor students at Leuphana University.

Why would you encourage others, particularly young people, to get involved in this field?

One of the most rewarding aspects of this field is seeing how we can positively affect people and nature and witnessing the positive changes first-hand - this is an experience that I encourage all young professionals to have. 

What’s one thing - either industry-related or not - you learned in the last month?

I learned some new species from Europe to teach a practical course at the university I work in Germany (and I did enjoy it). 

What’s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?

Even though I do like to connect with people, I do not have any social media profiles.