EARTH is doubling down on our commitment to reach those not often exposed to the geosciences, deploying department resources and person-power to get young people directly engaged in learning

Earth Camp, now in its 11th year, has introduced more than 200 high school students to geoscience. What started as a one-time, week-long trip has evolved into a three-year program, with many high school students attending for the summers following their sophomore through senior years. A few have come full circle and worked with the program as EARTH undergraduates. Each summer, Earth Camp students, recruited from U-M’s college prep program, Wolverine Pathways, spend a week exploring nature and learning about Earth and environmental science. Their first trip is Sleeping Bear Dunes, and the second is Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The third, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, “just blows them away,” said outgoing outreach coordinator Jenna Munson, who started the program in 2013. Munson is in the process of shifting her full-time effort to lecturing, and incoming outreach coordinator Nicole Rappuhn will take on Earth Camp instruction starting in summer 2025.

Munson is pleased with how the program has grown. “There’s definitely word-of-mouth now with the Wolverine Pathways students,” she said. “It’s so wonderful tohave ninth graders who heard about Earth Camp even earlier saying, ‘Oh my gosh, I heard we get to go to Wyoming!’”

Early on, that excitement to explore is what Munson realized the program was fostering, as much as an interest in the science. Earth Camp also builds students’ confidence so “they come to U-M ready to ask questions and go to office hours, knowing that the professors just want to see them succeed,” Munson said. “It takes away that intimidation factor.”

Earth Campers’ opportunity to stay at Camp Davis and experience a field station first-hand helps demystify an intimidating experience before students embark on undergrad, leveraging their enthusiasm. The experience, Munson said, was excellent. “They’re an amazing group, always up for trying things—even if it means a steep hike in 80 degrees,” she said. Improvements to Camp Davis facilities will benefit Earth Camp students, too, with new labs and more space for dinnertime discussions.

A newer effort, which just finished its third year, is Associate Professor Selena Smith’s Earth-RISE program to get local high school students from historically disadvantaged groups research experiencein labs. That’s crucial for getting students familiar with science, building confidence, and gaining experience for applying to college, Smith said.

“I got my start in research in high school, and that was a really important experience,” Smith said. “My university experience would have been very different if I hadn’t had that experience, and that confidence, to then keep doing research as an undergrad—especially as a first-gen student.”

She’s recruited cohorts of three, four, and five students, respectively, each year from Earth Camp and Wolverine Pathways. The students spend six weeks in EARTH labs, taking on approachable lab projects. They also meet with different researchers, receive mentorship on attending college, and get trained in science communication through the U-M Museum of Natural History.

The three-year program was funded by an NSF grant, so Smith is looking for new ways to keep the program running.

“We’ve made some good strides around opportunities not only for high schoolers but for undergrads too,” Smith said. “We have a lot of grad students and faculty who are cognizant of the need to create and maintain these efforts, and so far, we’ve been successful.”

Pathways to research have included undergraduates, too. As the number of EARTH majors has increased, so too has the demand for undergraduate research opportunities. While the overall number of faculty and labs in the department hasn’t grown, we’ve dramatically increased the number of undergrads engaging directly with research. Our faculty and technical staff continue to find innovative methods for doing more with our existing resources, inspired by the opportunity to develop fledgling scientists.

This fall, Associate Professor Sierra Petersen will lead a course that centers on lab-based research. It will build off her experience with cohorts of undergraduate researchers in her own lab, as well asthe wider Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. The cohort model generated a positive dynamic in the lab, and she hopes to replicate thatin the course.

“We had to come up with a way to provide more undergrad research experiences,” Petersen said. “It’s a transformation in the department to meet a need.”

Petersen will host 15 students for the semester; each will have their own project. They’ll then be able to present their work at the annual Michigan Geophysical Union meeting or new department symposium, which we launched in spring 2024. Freshmen to seniors presented their work in a supportive environment, making it feel more accessible and less intimidating to students with a limited background in formal academic presentations.

“It’s all about building connections for students and seeing where they fit into research at EARTH,” said Research Laboratory Specialist Sara Rivera, who organized the symposium. “It’s about breaking down barriers to entry and making it as easy as possible for students to get experience presenting.”

“And,” she added, “it’s just a great way to celebrate all your hard work at the end of the year.”