Profile

• Telephone

  314-669-1489

  
  
• Time Zone

  Central

  
  
• Gender

  Female

  
  
• Organization

  Botanical Society of America

  
  
• Employment Status

  Non/Not-for-Profit

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online
  Other (partner, advisor, curriculum developer)

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  Representation of botany in K-12 education, representation of Earth science in K-12 education, urban ecology, soil ecology,

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  When and why did you decide to go into a science career?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 1 here (300 words):

  I knew I loved being outside in nature from a fairly young age. Initially, I thought I would go into Wildlife Conservation, but when I got to college I realized how fascinating plants were. I switched to a Biology/Secondary Education comprehensive program at my college and have been working to get plants into students' hands ever since.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  Do you have advice for students about preparing for a science career?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 2 here (300 words):

  I know as a student I felt like everyone around me knew so much more than I did, and that maybe I shouldn't go into science because I wasn't the smartest person in the room. Try not to give into those feelings. Scientists are needed, and while there is a lot to learn you don't need to be a genius to do it well. You just have to be curious and willing to work!

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  Can you share a funny/interesting lab or field story?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 3 here (300 words):

  When I was nine or ten, we learned the parts of a flower in school. I came home and was helping out with some weeding when I looked inside my mother's daffodils and realized that the parts we'd talked about in class were actually inside them! I took out an anther and experimentally pollinated all of the daffodil blossoms just to see what would happen. A few days later they all dropped their petals and the ovaries started to swell up into big fat seed pods! I was shocked that my pollination actually caused the flowers to do this!

  
  
• In addition to English, I am comfortable communicating with students in the following languages:

  None of the Above

  
  
• Capacity: How many teams at a time are you comfortable working with?

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

Jedck Jennifer A. B. Hartley Nov 22, 2023

It was nice to get to work with you!  I like the way you phrased your conclusion as an 'overdose'.  Just as with medicine, the right amount of something can be beneficial to a system, but there's a limit.  

You did…

more

It was nice to get to work with you!  I like the way you phrased your conclusion as an 'overdose'.  Just as with medicine, the right amount of something can be beneficial to a system, but there's a limit.  

You did a great job, and I enjoyed being a part of it!

Jedck Jennifer A. B. Hartley Nov 16, 2023

Sounds like a good setup.  (Make sure to put this in the 'Research Question', 'Predictions', and 'Experiment Design' box at the top of the page.)

What did you see in your initial experiment that makes you think…

more

Sounds like a good setup.  (Make sure to put this in the 'Research Question', 'Predictions', and 'Experiment Design' box at the top of the page.)

What did you see in your initial experiment that makes you think that breathing longer into the cup will result in more disks floating?  (This would be my prediction too, but I'm curious to hear your logic.)

 

Jedck Jennifer A. B. Hartley Nov 15, 2023

HI all!  Sorry for the confusion; Wanderson had to step away, so I've been asked to mentor you in his place.  I know he's sorry to miss the chance to get to know you, but I'm glad I was lucky enough to get to be here instead.

… more

HI all!  Sorry for the confusion; Wanderson had to step away, so I've been asked to mentor you in his place.  I know he's sorry to miss the chance to get to know you, but I'm glad I was lucky enough to get to be here instead.

I'm Jennifer Hartley (feel free to call me Jennifer), and I work for the Botanical Society of America as a program supervisor.  I'm also a graduate student through Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, though I am in St. Louis. (The degree I'm pursuing involves working with the Missouri Botanical Garden and the St. Louis Zoo.). I have been a middle and high school biology and Earth science teacher in the past and plants are my first love, but currently my research is on soil ecology and how it is impacted by decisions we make.

Ethan, I am partial to purple and blue flowers too.  I'm also a big fan of video games and board games.  We're kind of a Nintendo household, so lately there has been a lot of Super Smash Bros and Tears of the Kingdom going on here.

It sounds like you've already done some leaf disk experiments.  How did those go?  Did you see what you expected to see?  

Also, have you decided on research questions yet?