Lessons from the Canyon: One Alumnus’s Journey Into Climate Journalism
When Ben Weissenbach ‘09 graduated from The John Thomas Dye School, he couldn't have imagined that his childhood fascination with the wild canyon below campus would lead him to Alaska's Arctic wilderness, tracking the world's fastest-migrating forest and documenting climate change on the front lines. His recently published book, North to the Future, chronicles what happens when a Los Angeles digital native—someone who came of age with smartphones and social media—is thrust into some of Earth's most remote terrain.
From JTD's Canyon to Alaska's Wilderness
"I'll always remember the thrill of walking into Mr. Bartel's science class," Weissenbach recalls. "That little wild escape right below campus loomed large in my imagination." Those early explorations in JTD's canyon, searching for amphibians and native plants, stirred something that would manifest years later in unexpected ways.
After JTD, Weissenbach attended Harvard-Westlake and Princeton University, where a chance encounter with Thoreau's Walden in his high school English class changed everything. "I felt like I'd stumbled across the Bible," he says. This discovery led him to write to Princeton professor John McPhee, secure a grant, and, at age 20, embark on his first three-month expedition to Alaska.
Following the Forest North
Since 2018, Weissenbach has spent approximately a year in Alaska across multiple expeditions, including an epic 11-week, 700-mile trek across the Brooks Range. Working alongside ecologist Roman Dial, he helped document how the boreal forest—which stores more carbon than all other forests combined—is responding to climate change.
"We found forests migrating north at three to four kilometers per decade in some places," Weissenbach explains. This groundbreaking research, published in Nature and Science, provided crucial data about how ecosystems are adapting to unprecedented warming.
The fieldwork wasn't without its challenges. The team slept with their food in grizzly country, carrying shotguns for protection, and were even stalked by a ravenous bear for 27 hours on one occasion. During a separate solo stint, Weissenbach faced minus-49-degree temperatures while caretaking a remote homestead alone for 11 days when the scientist he was supposed to shadow unexpectedly left for Chile. As a vegetarian on the 11-week expedition, he subsisted on textured vegetable protein and powdered mashed potatoes for weeks on end. As you might imagine, his parents were THRILLED.
Retraining Our Attention
Weissenbach's book wrestles with a central tension: how does a generation raised on smartphones learn to read the natural world? "Being away from the incessant buzzing and dinging of contemporary digital life for long periods changes you," he reflects. "Your mind relaxes in certain ways and sharpens in others."
This shift in attention has transformed his daily life in Los Angeles. He meditates each morning, spends time outdoors every day—running, hiking or surfing—and has become deeply curious about Southern California's own natural history. "I realized that everywhere, including urban Los Angeles, is pretty wild. You just have to learn how to tune into it."
The Writing Life
The path from field notes to a finished book required its own kind of endurance. After agents told him his initial manuscript wasn't ready—it lacked his personal journey—Weissenbach faced a complete rewrite. For six months, he struggled to learn how to write about himself rather than just profiling the scientists he followed. "Nothing I wrote was usable," he recalls. Beyond adding his personal narrative, the revision process required years of painstaking fact-checking and refinement. "John McPhee taught me how meticulous you have to be to maximize the material and get all the facts right," he says.
As an environmental journalist, his days now oscillate between extremes: from navigating Arctic storms 80 miles from the nearest road to sitting in a room for 10 hours wrestling with sentences. Both require what he identifies as his key traits: curiosity, a willingness to make fun of himself, and a perfectionism that, by his own cheerful admission, borders on obsession.
Looking Back at JTD
Weissenbach credits JTD with nurturing the curiosity and love of learning that define his career today. Beyond Mr. Bartel's influential science classes, he remembers the supportive community that encouraged exploration. "It was an ideal green space in the midst of a pretty urban city," he reflects. Several of his closest friendships, formed at JTD, endure today.
His advice to current students? Embrace the opportunities for direct experience that JTD offers, whether in the canyon, the classroom, or the broader community. "Growing up with that sort of wild valley right next to the playing field left a lasting impression. I feel so lucky to have had that little escape."
Ben Weissenbach's book, "North to the Future, is available now.
"I'll always remember the thrill of walking into Mr. Bartel's science class," Weissenbach recalls. "That little wild escape right below campus loomed large in my imagination." Those early explorations in JTD's canyon, searching for amphibians and native plants, stirred something that would manifest years later in unexpected ways.
After JTD, Weissenbach attended Harvard-Westlake and Princeton University, where a chance encounter with Thoreau's Walden in his high school English class changed everything. "I felt like I'd stumbled across the Bible," he says. This discovery led him to write to Princeton professor John McPhee, secure a grant, and, at age 20, embark on his first three-month expedition to Alaska.
Following the Forest North
Since 2018, Weissenbach has spent approximately a year in Alaska across multiple expeditions, including an epic 11-week, 700-mile trek across the Brooks Range. Working alongside ecologist Roman Dial, he helped document how the boreal forest—which stores more carbon than all other forests combined—is responding to climate change.
"We found forests migrating north at three to four kilometers per decade in some places," Weissenbach explains. This groundbreaking research, published in Nature and Science, provided crucial data about how ecosystems are adapting to unprecedented warming.
The fieldwork wasn't without its challenges. The team slept with their food in grizzly country, carrying shotguns for protection, and were even stalked by a ravenous bear for 27 hours on one occasion. During a separate solo stint, Weissenbach faced minus-49-degree temperatures while caretaking a remote homestead alone for 11 days when the scientist he was supposed to shadow unexpectedly left for Chile. As a vegetarian on the 11-week expedition, he subsisted on textured vegetable protein and powdered mashed potatoes for weeks on end. As you might imagine, his parents were THRILLED.
Retraining Our Attention
Weissenbach's book wrestles with a central tension: how does a generation raised on smartphones learn to read the natural world? "Being away from the incessant buzzing and dinging of contemporary digital life for long periods changes you," he reflects. "Your mind relaxes in certain ways and sharpens in others."
This shift in attention has transformed his daily life in Los Angeles. He meditates each morning, spends time outdoors every day—running, hiking or surfing—and has become deeply curious about Southern California's own natural history. "I realized that everywhere, including urban Los Angeles, is pretty wild. You just have to learn how to tune into it."
The Writing Life
The path from field notes to a finished book required its own kind of endurance. After agents told him his initial manuscript wasn't ready—it lacked his personal journey—Weissenbach faced a complete rewrite. For six months, he struggled to learn how to write about himself rather than just profiling the scientists he followed. "Nothing I wrote was usable," he recalls. Beyond adding his personal narrative, the revision process required years of painstaking fact-checking and refinement. "John McPhee taught me how meticulous you have to be to maximize the material and get all the facts right," he says.
As an environmental journalist, his days now oscillate between extremes: from navigating Arctic storms 80 miles from the nearest road to sitting in a room for 10 hours wrestling with sentences. Both require what he identifies as his key traits: curiosity, a willingness to make fun of himself, and a perfectionism that, by his own cheerful admission, borders on obsession.
Looking Back at JTD
Weissenbach credits JTD with nurturing the curiosity and love of learning that define his career today. Beyond Mr. Bartel's influential science classes, he remembers the supportive community that encouraged exploration. "It was an ideal green space in the midst of a pretty urban city," he reflects. Several of his closest friendships, formed at JTD, endure today.
His advice to current students? Embrace the opportunities for direct experience that JTD offers, whether in the canyon, the classroom, or the broader community. "Growing up with that sort of wild valley right next to the playing field left a lasting impression. I feel so lucky to have had that little escape."
Ben Weissenbach's book, "North to the Future, is available now.
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