Earth and environmental sciences lie at the core of tremendous societal challenges, including climate change, natural hazards, environmental quality, and the sustainable development and stewardship of Earth’s resources.
At UM EARTH, we meet these challenges by equipping students with fundamental science knowledge, practical skills, and hands-on experience through class-based field trips. Field experience is at the heart of Earth and environmental sciences, where students learn to synthesize their classroom training in complicated, real-world systems. While we do this through classes, international and domestic trips, and promote student-run trips, the residential learning experiences at Camp Davis are unparalleled. Here, students engage in life-changing opportunities to explore the natural complexities of our planet, learn to collect and analyze real-world data, and build lifelong cohorts and colleagues.
It’s hard to believe that the 100th anniversary of Camp Davis will arrive in 2029. It’s amazing to reflect on what has changed – new faculty and student cabins, high-speed internet access, and the kitchen now orders remarkably less salt pork than it did in the 1940s – and what has stayed the same – some of our classroom buildings and dining hall, the awe inspired clear view of the Tetons, and camaraderie around the fire pit in the evenings.
It is amazing to think about what we have accomplished at Camp Davis – the most diverse offering of Earth and environmental science courses at any field station in the United States, encompassing introductory-level courses, upper-level courses for non-majors, and major-level capstone courses. All of these courses are led by Michigan faculty and lecturers. The diversity of field courses we offer at Camp Davis, and the engagement of our faculty in Camp Davis instruction, encapsulate our mission at Camp Davis to be the Leaders and Best.
But big milestones also offer an opportunity to consider change. Few Camp Davis faculty remember the last frosty summer morning at Camp; dealing with wildfire smoke has become routine; and water quality and scarcity are front and center among concerns around Jackson. Over the past few years, the Department has been considering how to address the challenges of century-old infrastructure at Camp Davis while also providing the resources and facilities to offer world-class experiential education in Earth and environmental sciences that address some of society’s most pressing challenges. This summer, we launched a multi-year project to re-envision the core of the Camp Davis campus for another century of field instruction. The project encompasses a new dining hall and a new classroom building with wet lab space for environmental and climate science instruction, which will transform our field curriculum in geochemistry, hydrology, and ecosystem science. These buildings will be connected by a large outdoor instructional and gathering space that links to our existing classroom buildings.
Through these modernization projects, we will enhance accessibility and inclusivity so that students from all backgrounds and experiences can engage in the learning opportunities available at Camp Davis. We aim to expand the pool of future scientists and citizens of the world who will advance fundamental understanding of how our planet works and contribute to equitable and sustainable solutions to scientific and societal challenges.