The wind whipped across the high alpine ridge as Fort Lewis College students strapped on snowshoes and stepped into the quiet white landscape near the University of Colorado-Boulder’s Mountain Research Station, about 24 miles northwest of Boulder.
They weren’t just there for the views.
Madi Evans and five other Fort Lewis College students traveled to the CU-Boulder Mountain Research Station this Spring as part of a fully-funded SEEDS chapter field trip.
Guided by scientists from the University of Colorado-Boulder’s Mountain Research Station, students followed animal tracks and watched birds while learning from real researchers in the field of ecology. The experience gave students a chance to explore nature, meet professionals and connect with peers from another college.
“It’s about observing, connecting, learning from the landscape – and from each other,” said Evans, a 21-year-old senior majoring in environmental biology who serves as president of the Fort Lewis College SEEDS Campus Ecology club. “It was a chance to get out of the classroom and experience science in real life.”
SEEDS stands for Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability. It’s a national program through the Ecological Society of America. The program helps students – especially those from underrepresented backgrounds – get involved in ecology and gain leadership experience. 麻豆免费高清无砖码区is one of the few schools in the region with a SEEDS chapter.
Julie Korb, professor of biology at Fort Lewis College, started the club over 20 years ago.
“With our student body, including many Indigenous students, Fort Lewis is a perfect fit for SEEDS,” he said. “The program gives students real-world experience. They meet scientists, go on trips and grow as leaders.”
The Fort Lewis College and CU-Boulder SEEDs chapters worked together to apply for a grant to cover the cost of the trip. They made a budget and planned activities that would support students from both campuses. Evans, who helped write the grant, said organizing the trip was a new challenge for him.
“I’ve been on the receiving end of trips like this, but this time I was planning it for others,” she said. “It helped me grow as a leader and think about how to make science more accessible.”
Located at 9,500 feet in the Colorado Rockies, the CU-Boulder Mountain Research Station was founded in 1908. It’s one of the oldest high-altitude research stations in the country. Scientists at the station study how climate change and other impacts affect plants, animals and forests in the alpine tundra.
The trip focused on hands-on learning. On the first full day, students went snowshoeing to a research site that studies pollinators. They met with researchers like Nancy Emery, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at CU, who showed them how science can also be expressed through art. Evans said the group learned how data doesn’t always have to be shown in graphs – it can also be shown in patterns, drawings and creative forms.
Later, students met Derek Sweeney, an assistant teaching professor in ecology and evolutionary biology at CU. Sweeney helped them read animal tracks in the snow, such as learning how to differentiate between snowshoe hare and squirrel prints. Sweeney explained how the paths animals take can tell stories about where they are going and what they are doing.
Evans said another highlight was meeting an ornithologist who studies chickadees. Students learned how the small birds use memory to find food and how scientists design puzzles to study that behavior. They even got to see the feeders and tools used in the research.
On the drive back to Durango, the group made a surprise stop in Alamosa to visit a wildlife refuge. There, they saw the sandhill crane migration – thousands of birds flying overhead in a yearly journey that stretches across North America.
“That’s what ecology is about,” Evans said. “It’s not always perfectly planned. Some of the best learning happens when you notice what’s around you.”
For many students, the trip helped change how they see science.
“Some of our members were nervous going in,” Evans said. “They didn’t know if they’d fit in or have the right knowledge. But they left feeling confident. They realized they belonged in the science community and had something valuable to share.”
Korb agreed. “The best learning happens outside. Students use what they've learned in class, talk to each other and make sense of it in the real world. That’s the kind of learning that sticks.”
Evans said meeting scientists at the station was one of the most meaningful parts of the trip.
“Some went straight from college to grad school, others explored different jobs before finding their way,” he said. “That was really important for students to hear – the path into science doesn’t have to be one way.”
Trips like this, Evans added, show that science is more than research – it’s about people, community and making knowledge available to everyone.
“We want science to feel open and welcoming,” he said. “And this trip helped students see that they have a place in it.”