Jean Epiphan

Jean Epiphan is an extension agent in Morris County focusing on environmental sustainability in ornamental horticulture. She is also a Coordinator for Region 1 (Northern NJ) for the Rutgers Environmental Steward program. Her background is in forestry, ecology, and landscape restoration as well as garden design, landscape management, tree care, and land stewardship. Jean provides a connecting bridge between horticulture and natural resources as she promotes nature-based techniques to improve ecological functioning, to solve landscape maintenance problems and to improve plant and tree health sustainability.

Jean's current research and program emphases include:

1. Landscape impacts of Beech Leaf Disease (and other tree diseases) and novel, nature-based reforestation practices to sustain ecological services
2. Plant identification, the first step in plant care
3. Facilitating local progeny sourcing of plant material for commercial nursery trade
4. Alternatives to leaf collection and the benefits of leaving the leaves
5. Sustainable ways to design and manage landscapes

Jean holds a Master of Science degree in Ecology from Rutgers University, a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the University of Vermont with a concentration in Geomorphology and a minor in Studio Art. Jean is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist and a New Jersey Licensed Tree Expert. She has earned Rutgers University Extension certifications in Wetland Delineation, Ecological Restoration, and Wetland Construction.

Prior to this position, Jean worked at Rutgers as a Forest & Plant Ecologist & Research Project Coordinator. She worked with CUES to perform county wide assessments of Middlesex County and Mercer County Parks, as well as Twin Lights State Historic Site. She has also performed extensive forest research in Morristown National Historical Park and coastal plant research post Hurricane Sandy in Jamaica Bay, NY. She also served as an advising ecologist and arborist for landscape architecture projects including Laurel Hill Park in Secaucus, Storm King Arts Center, the Buffalo Riverline, Freshkills South Park , Staten Island NY, and St. Mary's Park and Orchard beach park both in Bronx, NY. Jean also was a part-time lecturer for Wetland Ecology specializing in field botanical identification and wetland delineation instruction.

After 20 years of emersion in local ecosystems, she has acquired an intimate knowledge of native plant communities and vital ecological processes as well as the multi-faced challenges to environmental sustainability in human-dominated landscapes. Her interests involve promoting locally native flora, ferns, and trees in suburban and urban design for habitat restoration, natural heritage reforestation, and long-term environmental sustainability.