Instructors have developed new lesson plans and lab assignments that focus on the sites. The faculty and doctoral students overseeing the project will investigate what principles of succession apply to these sites and how factors such as climate change and deer grazing affect them. The data collected by the undergraduates will contribute to this long-term goal. Ecologists are most often asked to predict the future for a particular piece of land. We usually end up just talking about it in lectures.
Undergrads also get the chance to conduct short-term research testing their own hypotheses.
So far, they've analyzed how earthworms navigate in barren versus weedy plots. And they have looked at shade's effect on seedling success. Others are helping to develop ecology labs for lower-division courses. Already, more than 2,000 students have taken part in activities at the sites.