by Gail Kuhnlein, communications specialist, University of Michigan, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology As in past years, members of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology volunteered their time and talents to the third Feria de Ciencias, a science fair held completely in Spanish for bilingual school children. The Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics…
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Applying ecology in a southern Florida community, part two
by Alexis K. Heinz, 2017 ecology & evolutionary biology, woody plants graduate student instructor; 2019 master of science, conservation ecology & master of landscape architecture Without enough time or resources to conduct rigorous data collection in addition to the lack of collaboration from the management in providing information about the land management practices, I am working…
Applying ecology in a southern Florida community, part one
by Alexis K. Heinz, 2017 ecology & evolutionary biology, woody plants graduate student instructor; 2019 master of science, conservation ecology & master of landscape architecture The ocean is almost eight miles to the west. To explain the broader context, I have been contributing voluntary time, research, and recommendations to a community in southern Florida. According to the…
Guest post: 8 lessons for teaching over Zoom
From Dynamic Ecology by Morgan Tingley, associate professor in ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA It has been a long ten weeks. As SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, was spreading rampantly across the United States in late March, most colleges and universities were returning from spring break, looking forward to finishing the academic year and…
Academic parenting during a pandemic
Recently, Meghan Duffy had a call while chasing her preschooler — who had just learned how to ride a pedal bike — around the block. (Insert your own life lesson about us both learning how to balance here.) From Dynamic Ecology by Dana Turjeman, Sondra Turjeman, and Meghan Duffy This began as a subsection of…
Going back to (a new) normal: reflections from three academics as universities and society begin to re-open
From Dynamic Ecology by Dana Turjeman, Sondra Turjeman, and Meghan Duffy This blog is directly connected to a post two of us (Dana and Meghan) published on March 15, right as things in the US were beginning to shut down due to COVID-19. In many places, discussions on re-opening the economy are at full speed…
What happens near and on a Hibiscus
WHAT HAPPENS NEAR AND ON A HIBISCUS by Alexis Heinz Former Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Woody Plants, Graduate Student Instructor Conservation ecology and landscape architecture graduate Southwest Florida, June 2020 observations This week in Southwest Florida, the number of coronavirus cases per day increased to about 9000. The previous…
Vandermeer and Perfecto Labs hold annual educational day with local schoolchildren in Mexico
SEAS Professor Ivette Perfecto (with arms raised) and EEB Professor John Vandermeer play an ecological game with the children during Ecodia. Image credit this page: Jonno Morris EcoDía is an educational outreach event developed each year since 2017 for the primary school students at the Finca Irlanda school (the coffee farm where the labs of…
Guest post: Suggestions from a wellness counselor on coronavirus and managing mental health
From Dynamic Ecology and Meg Duffy Kate Hagadone is the Wellness Counselor at Michigan Medical School’s Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (OGPS). She sent the information in this post to an OGPS listserv at the end of last week. I thought the information would be of interest to lots more folks, so, with her…
Teeth!
by Alexis Heinz former Ecology and Evolutionary Biology woody plants Graduate Student Instructor and conservation ecology and landscape architecture graduate Specifically relevant to this article: laboratory manager at Cornell University for 7 years, including chemistry experiments; learner of organic and inorganic chemistry about 15 years ago, i.e. I am NOT an expert on this…
A communication about science communication
by Alexis Heinz, former EEB woody plants GSI, conservation ecology and landscape architecture graduate After graduating, I worked on two projects with the University of Michigan. One to conduct field research as an extension of a graduate team Masters project. One to learn about shoreline restoration at the alumni camp. Communicating…
Open discussion thread: field-based courses in the time of coronavirus
From Dynamic Ecology by Meghan Duffy, a University of Michigan ecologist and professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology In the past, if we used the word “remote” when talking about field-based courses, we would have been referring to going to a far-off location. Now, during the pandemic, talking about teaching field-based courses…
Guest post: a personal account of why science needs inclusion
From Dynamic Ecology by Lynette Strickland, Ph.D. alumnus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, soon-to-be postdoc, Texas A&M Corpus Christie A diversity of metallic beetles This is a guest post by Lynette Strickland, who just defended her PhD at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She will be moving to Texas A&M Corpus Christie to do…
An ecologist’s retelling of a “May Watts” experience of Southern Florida
by Alexis Heinz, former EEB woody plants GSI, conservation ecology and landscape architecture graduate First draft is written in the style of May Watts. Second draft, presented here, is written as an ecologist retelling a “May Watts” experience of Southern Florida. Multiple locations in southern Florida are named preserves to encourage the…
News and notes from your librarian: beats, birds, and blades edition
by Scott Martin, Biological Sciences Librarian, University of Michigan Library Some of Scott’s toys (guitars and wooden swords in a standing rack). Hey all! It appears as though Sharon the shark still isn’t answering their email, so in lieu of a more entertaining elasmobranch’s-eye view of current goings-on, I’m back with another personal update and…