New College’s Emily Saarinen is Saving Florida Butterflies

Sarasota Magazine, February, 2016
…Dr. Emily Saarinen joined New College in late 2014 to teach biology and environmental studies, and to continue her research into using genetics to save certain Florida butterfly species from extinction. A New College grad herself (Class of ’99), with a Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Florida, she says, “Butterflies are the canary in a coal mine. When they aren’t doing well, it’s a heads-up that other parts of the environment are suffering.” She and her husband, Justin, also a New College research scientist, have two young children and a chocolate Lab, Aldo, named, of course, after the great environmentalist Aldo Leopold.