Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015 // The Statement
8B
V I S U A L S T A T E M E N T :
T A L L E R T H A N T H E T R E E S
LSA alum Jayna Sames measures the diameter at breast height of a big-toothed aspen tree,
gathering data for a research project in Forest Ecosystems.
LSA senior Shaquan Smith examines extract from a plant pitcher while standing on a bog mat during
a lab in General Ecology.
Photo Story by
Rita Morris
T
hough I only lived at the University of Michigan’s Biological Station for a brief
period of time, I feel an internal shift in character; calmer, an increase of solidity,
a more thorough understanding in who I am and where I fit in the great, complex
scheme of life.
“I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees,” Henry David Thoreau
wrote after living two years immersed in undisturbed natural surroundings. I felt this
way too, after living in a metal shack-like cabin in the far northern part of Michigan’s
Lower Peninsula for only two months.
At this place also deemed “Bug Camp” by its residents, students join faculty and
researchers from all over the U.S. (and beyond) who hold expertise in a wide array of
scientific knowledge and experience. What makes the Biological Station so unique is not
only this aspect, but also that everyone — professors, students, faculty, other researchers —
live in camp together and are easily accessible to help in scientific or life endeavors, and are
also around to just hang out. Meals are taken together by the whole camp in the dining hall
and are great opportunities to meet other people. At one such meal I found myself sitting
with Chuck Davis, professor and curator of plants at Harvard University and one of the
well-loved botany professors at the Biological Station. Our conversation led into some of
his research involving plant parasites and the different types of strategies plant species use.
Though I do not want to become a plant parasite specialist, the way Chuck discussed his
research made me want to know more. His enthusiasm and obvious love of the discipline
kept me asking questions about this subject I really had known nothing about.
I was enrolled in the Forest Ecosystems and General Ecology classes at the Biological
Station. Each class structure generally started out with an hour lecture in the morning
followed by a day in the field relating to the previous lecture. We traveled to the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan multiple times as well as closer areas, all varying in ecosystem type
and intended lesson. We would usually collect data to analyze later and write about or
present later the findings as homework. This method of teaching was extremely effective
for me. Now, when I walk through a forest or a bog or on a dune, I see in a larger and more
complex way.
During downtime many of us would find something to stay occupied. We would kayak
or canoe, swim in Lake Douglas, go ride the “slime slide,” play basketball, read, lounge in
a hammock, bike or walk the trails through the woods. Though it seemed like there’s not
much to do at first glance at this rustic camp, the possibilities are actually endless.
Both of my group research projects collaborated outside of class with research scientists
at the Biological Station and we did a lot of work, but found significant and interesting
results in both of our projects. We understand much more thoroughly the subjects of
our research, and even better, our research will contribute to the projects others are
and have been working on for years, which will be part of published studies in academic
journals. To be credited in an academic journal as an undergraduate student is a no small
accomplishment.
Overall, being in this pristine place has made a lasting effect on me that will not fade
with time. It’s a slow change from the first day. It’s a change you don’t notice until you leave
and come back to your former life. On the door of my friend’s cabin behind the hammocks
it reads “Welcome to the Trap.” The University of Michigan Biological Station is a trap, a
magnificent trap, one that I look forward into falling in all over again.
“I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.” — Henry David Thoreau
A quiet sunset over the shorelines of Lake Superior, Pictured Rocks, Mich.
Nitrogen extracts from various soil samples in the chemistry laboratory. This
was one of the many experiments conducted at the Biological Station.