Finding Their Passion in Native Plants

Environmental science majors Douglas McClure, class of 2025 from Springfield, Ohio, and Delaney Watts, class of 2027, from Centerville, Ohio, are taking advantage of a hands-on, collaborative research opportunity with Tim Swartz, assistant professor of biology, this summer at Wittenberg's Conrad Balliet Family Nature Preserve. Located only 10 miles from campus near Clifton, Ohio, the unique location allows the trio to study how non-native plants fit into the local ecosystems.

"Autumn olive and Amur honeysuckle have been part of our landscapes in Ohio for decades, but we don't know much about the role they play in providing habitat and food resources for native species," Swartz said. "We did surveys of native bird populations, collected insect samples, and used clay model 'caterpillar' prey to quantify bird foraging activity in these shrubs. Not only is it great to spend a summer outside in Wittenberg's nature preserve ('cb's place'), but our research together is also generating useful scientific knowledge about our environment, and the students are honing their research skills in a real-world setting. This kind of student-faculty research collaboration is truly what makes Wittenberg such a great place to teach and learn."

For McClure, the summer research opportunity solidified his interest in majoring in environmental science.

"Through this summer research, I have learned that choosing environmental science truly was the right choice, especially after drifting from major to major until finally now finding my place," he said. "I chose this research because I wanted to get more experience in the environmental science field along with wanting to do something over the summer that interested me, rather than a standard part-time job doing something I find uninteresting.

"The best part of doing summer research has been the overall experience, from learning many of the aspects of field work in terms of environmental science to working alongside my coworkers who help keep the day-to-day work enjoyable," McClure added.

Watts also loved her experience and enjoyed her co-workers.

"I've learned that I really enjoy going out into the field and doing work," Watts said. "My favorite thing is having fun with my co-workers! Also, I enjoy looking through the bugs we collect. I chose this research because Dr. Swartz was one of my professors and had mentioned it; and it sounded like something I would enjoy."

To see more student-faculty summer research being conducted at Wittenberg, visit here.