About the Owner, Jeff De Pew

Jeff De Pew earned his Bachelor of Science in horticulture and environmental science from University of Missouri-Columbia in 1979, a teaching certificate in biology and history as well as a Masters in Education and Phd. from Washington University. He has taught high school biology, ecology, field ecology and guided experiential field trips for 30 years in private and public schools, the Missouri Botanical Garden, Teton Science School, Arrowhead Foundation and Webster University.

Jeff has taught Plant Biology, Environmental Science, Missouri Environmental Issues, Freshman Seminar and various ecology and environment courses at Webster University for 12 years. He has published a book, a field journal, Stream Ecology, a journal for action, through the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Jeff has had the privilege to be part of public and private ecological research on a number of endangered species throughout North America: Grey Whale migration in Baja California, Red Wolf reintroduction in North Carolina, Coral Reef degradation in Jamaica, Black-Footed ferret preservation in Wyoming, restoration of Leatherback Sea Turtle populations in Puerto Rico, and bat species declines in California, Arizona, Tennessee and Missouri.

Jeff is certified in Wilderness First Aid, Wilderness EMT and as a Sea Kayak Guide in British Columbia, Canada. He has taken students on educational/environmental field trips throughout the Caribbean and North America - kayaking, mountaineering, snorkeling, horsepacking, canoeing and hiking.

He owns and operates Earth Designs, an Environmental Gallery and Store in Webster Groves, Missouri.

Jeff’s Suggested Readings:

• Collapse, Jared Diamond
• The Future of Life, E.O. Wilson
• Biophilia, E.O. Wilson
• The Biophilia Hypothesis, edited by Stephen R. Kellert
• The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan
• The Omnivore's Dilemma, M. Pollan
• Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge, Terence McKenna
• Intelligence in Nature, Jeremy Narby
• The Forgotten Pollinators, Stephen L. Buchmann and Gary Nabhan
• No Turning Back: The Life and Death of Animal Species, Richard Ellis
• Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age, Bill McKibben