A field-based research experience can be a game-changer for students, especially at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve. Known for some of the longest-running and most influential ecological experiments in the world and an incredible cross-section of biomes, it provides unique opportunities to explore research questions alongside a community of scientists exploring big questions in ecology.
Earlier this fall, four students from the University of Minnesota Morris had the chance to do just that. Undergraduate students in Miriam Gieske’s upper-division ecology course at the University of Minnesota Morris made the 2.5-hour trip to East Bethel to spend several days working alongside Gieske, Sasha Wright, an associate professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, and postdoc Natalia Mossman Koch. The students collected data within the Forest and Biodiversity (FAB) II experiment.
Gieske, an alum of the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Graduate Program, modified her upper-division ecology course to focus on Cedar Creek’s unique biomes. While Gieske is an expert in soil microbes, she pivoted to lichen because it is an accessible, fascinating entry point for student research. The differences the group observed in lichen diversity were striking. The area surrounding the Morris campus supports mostly the kind that look like little gray and yellow patches clinging to tree trunks. Cedar Creek is home to many more types of lichen.
The collaboration came about after Wright reached out to Gieske with an eye to broadening participation in the field of ecology and improving access to research experiences. Nearly a third of students enrolled at UMN Morris are Native American. "I care a lot about increasing diversity in ecology,” says Wright. “So I think a lot about who is here and other UMN campuses that we could serve better and support in research trajectories.”
She connected with Gieske, and they developed a plan to bring students to Cedar Creek free of charge with support from a grant provided by the Reserve and by UMN Morris for an immersive field experience. Students also visited the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus in St. Paul to meet with faculty and attend a SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science) meeting. For Wright, building those connections was the most important result.
Gieske hopes to integrate the experience more fully into her course going forward and bring more students next time around.
"I'm grateful to everyone who helped make this trip a reality,” says Gieske. “The students really enjoyed the experience, and I think it helped them see ecology as a path that's open to them. I definitely hope to bring more students in the future — I want as many as possible to have this opportunity!" –Stephanie Xenos