It’s official! As of October 16, the Regents have approved the Camp Davis Renovation Project and demolition is underway!
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. Our Department meets these challenges by equipping students with fundamental science knowledge, practical skills, and hands-on experience. Field experience is at the heart of all of this. Camp Davis provides an unparalleled learning environment, for both beginning and experienced students, where they synthesize and apply their classroom training in complicated, real-world systems.
Constructed nearly a century ago, Camp Davis has inspired generations of UM students with immersive field science education in the spectacular Greater Yellowstone ecosystem near Jackson, Wyoming. Teams of experienced instructors use interdisciplinary systems approaches and problem-based learning to give students a transformative experience in real-world geology and environmental sciences.
After nearly 100 years of use, we are now transforming camp to support the next century of field-based experiential learning. Following cabin replacements in 2005 and 2019, we are embarking on the next phase of a renovation to replace the aging dining hall and create new teaching opportunities for 21st-century field learning.
This phase of Camp Davis revitalization will provide a new dining hall and a state-of-the-art lab classroom with wet lab space to support an enhanced environmental science curriculum. A large outdoor instructional and gathering space will connect these buildings with other classrooms and encourage social interactions. These upgrades improve access so that students from all backgrounds and experiences can engage in the learning opportunities available at Camp Davis.
At Camp Davis and beyond, your support is critical to keep UM at the forefront of field education to meet the growing challenges of our time. 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 for a better world. Please join us in supporting this goal! Thank you.