Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve

Come study ecology at the University of Minnesota's Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, located only 35 miles north of the Twin Cities campus. Cedar Creek is one of the most famous and influential ecological research sites on Earth. It contains an exceptional diversity of plants and animals, partly because it is at the meeting point of the northern boreal forest, the eastern deciduous forest, and the western grasslands and savannas. Here you will visit current experiments, including studies that test how biodiversity loss affects ecosystems and whether climate change will speed up  or slow down, work with data from ongoing studies, and collaborate with other students to develop your own field ecology group project. Learn more about EEB 3407/5407 for spring 2023. 

Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve solicits applications for our Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Summer Fellowships in winter each year. These fellowships provide partial support for graduate students or postdoctoral researchers who would like to mentor undergraduate / post-bac student researchers working on independent summer research projects, and who are conducting research at or related to Cedar Creek. The independent summer projects mentored by Fellows are primarily focused on ecological questions and involve a mix of fieldwork and data analysis. Funding is available for up to six summer fellowships supported at 10 hours per week, from early June through mid August. Applications are strongly encouraged from graduate students or postdoc researchers who will contribute to Cedar Creek's ongoing efforts to increase the diversity of our research community, create a welcoming and inclusive climate, and contribute to the station’s other DEIJ efforts.

Together, the team of Fellows is responsible for:

• mentoring 20-25 undergraduate / post-bac interns working on independent research projects throughout the summer;
• organizing a research symposium and field tours in mid June in which faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students present results from their ongoing studies at Cedar Creek;
• organizing a weekly lunchtime seminar series featuring research, career paths, and DEIJ topics;
• offering after-work workshops that provide formal research training on topics including proposal writing, literature review, data analysis, and presentation of research results;
• planning and executing opportunities for community-building among interns and others at Cedar Creek; and
• organizing a research symposium in mid August in which intern researchers present the findings of their independent projects.

We anticipate that the majority of these activities and interactions will take place in-person at Cedar Creek, although Fellows will need to be flexible and adjust as necessary given pandemic restrictions.

Questions? Reach out to Cedar Creek DEIJ Fellow Mariana Cárdenas (carde196@umn.edu) or Associate Director Caitlin Potter (caitlin@umn.edu).

We welcome groups from colleges across the Midwest to come visit our research experiments and learn about ecology here at its birthplace! Our field tours are particularly valuable for courses focusing on grasslands, conservation, field biology, and general ecology. Contact Kara Baldwin (baldwink@umn.edu or 612-301-2602) to arrange a visit that meets your needs, group size and curricular focus.

Field tours and presentations range in price from $100 - $300 depending on length and program details. Self-guided tours are also available for frequent visitors and carry a $100 site use fee.