91¶ÌÊÓƵ

Along with 91¶ÌÊÓƵ earth and environmental sciences students conducting field work across the world, mentioned in our Lasting Impressions feature story, students throughout the College of Science are getting outdoors and studying the environment first-hand. Here are some examples of how faculty in other areas are introducing students to nature.

Heather Root, assistant professor of botany, has camped with students in her Advanced Field Botany class at Dugout Ranch near Monticello, Utah annually for the past three years. Last fall, the class stayed for five days to study land management and collect data to address how climate change and cattle grazing cause changes in desert vegetation.

Desert woodrats, known for caching behaviors, will collect anything from food to jingle bells. Last April, Michele Skopec, professor of zoology, brought three students to Lytle Ranch in southwestern Utah to study the critters and their hoarding. Next, she’s planning a trip to study another pack rat species, Stephen’s woodrats, in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Students joined John Mull, professor of zoology, for a nine-day trip to the central Oregon coast, Mount St. Helens and stops along the way to learn the natural history of plant and animal species, challenges faced by natural resource managers, and the ecology of disturbance — think volcanic eruptions, invasive plants and climate change.