For the second consecutive spring, all UMBS courses took place remotely. Undergraduates from from and wide conducted research and learned about the ecological phenomena happening in their own backyards.
You may be wondering: how exactly does a field course work in a virtual format? Let’s ask the experts. Here’s what some spring UMBS students had to say about the experience:
I spent my mornings attending class virtually and afternoons out in the field. My research project was based on the Michigan native Trillium grandiflorum.
We did our final research project on cicada density! We counted cicada nymphs in 1x1 meter quadrants in different locations in/near Ann Arbor. Most of our time was taken up by digging, so most of the pictures are of us digging. This spring semester has been very hectic, but we've learned so much and gotten to try so many new things because of this class. We know so much more about cicadas and it's only been 5 weeks!
"Here is a photo of our research group from EEB 381 with Paul Moore. We are looking at garlic mustard and milkweed within the Ann Arbor dioxane plume.
I have appreciated the opportunity to connect virtually and engage with students across the States. I have learned a lot about ecology and life from my great professor Paul Moore and my TA Hannah! After a long year of being inside this class was a refreshing way to engage in my own outdoor space and perform some awesome research! I've been surprised by the amount of fun I am having in this class even through the remote format."
I really enjoyed how General Ecology was set up this year. Even though we were virtual, I was able to build a sense of community with my classmates. I enjoyed getting outside for assignments, and exploring the habitats around my home. The coursework encouraged me to explore places in my own backyard that I had never seen before!
"Our assignment tasked us with identifying and measuring the circumference at breast height of 20 trees in urban, suburban, or rural settings. Using our class data set and statistical tests run through RStudio, we could determine if the circumferences of tree families differed in urban, suburban, or rural settings. In general, we found that for a given tree family, trees tended to grow larger in park or rural locations compared to suburban or urban locations.
In this picture, I'm measuring the circumference of a Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) in my backyard. I was fortunate enough to have studied Forestry in 6th and 7th grade through Science Olympiad, where we learned how to identify nearly all native trees in Michigan. This was one of my favorite assignments in the course because it brought back memories of learning to identify trees! I ultimately identified 20 different trees for this assignment, and it was a blast to relearn some of the tree-identifying tricks that I had once forgotten!
I had a wonderful time this spring semester learning Ecology in a unique way through UMBS. I have to give a special shout out to my instructor Paul Moore and GSI Hannah DeHetre for their cheerfulness and support throughout!"
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A sincere thank you to the spring students who shared their reflections, and to the instructors and teaching assistants who made these nontraditional field courses a huge success.
Stay tuned as a new batch of undergraduates embark on a hybrid summer term, including a shortened in-person component at UMBS. More information here: https://lsa.umich.edu/umbs/students/courses.html
