Dr. Amy Dykstra

Dr. Dykstra is a native of western Nebraska, she earned a B.A. in Biology from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, a B.S. in Secondary Science Education and an M.S. in Botany from the University of Wyoming, and a Ph.D. in Plant Biological Sciences from the University of Minnesota. She taught high school science for 13 years, including 11 years at the Alliance Academy in Quito, Ecuador, before taking her first faculty position in higher education. She has been teaching at Bethel University since 2011. Dr. Dykstra’s research interests include the ecology, conservation, and population genetics of native plants. She has been studying Echinacea angustifolia, narrow-leaved purple coneflower, since 2007, in collaborator with the Echinacea Project. On Bethel’s campus, Dr. Dykstra is involved with a multi-year project studying of the effectiveness of goat grazing to control native buckthorn.