Planning For Environmental Field Station Moves Forward

The dream of creating an Environmental Field Station is closer to reality after a year of planning by representatives from the Cincinnati Nature Center (CNC) and faculty from the biological sciences department. The partnership was made possible by a generous planning grant from Martha Tuttle, a founding member of CNC, who is a generous donor to the biology department and the daughter of Harris Benedict, former head of the department of botany.

Because of its location as an urban research university, UC faces challenges connecting the education of students and the research efforts of faculty to the natural environment so that research can be conducted in living, functioning ecosystems. But CNC, ranked as one of the “top ten” nature centers in the nation, owns over 1,600 acres of irreplaceable natural and agricultural land in its Rowe Woods and Long Branch Farm and Trails sites. Its non-profit mission is “to inspire passion for nature and promote environmentally responsible choices through experience and education.” Programs by outstanding environmental educators already reach 12,000 local school students each year through its hands-on lessons about ecology.

In some respects, it was only a matter of time before UC and CNC joined forces. Biological sciences faculty like professors George Uetz and Guy Cameron have been conducting research at CNC for years, and when the center purchased the former Wildwood Camp and Conference Center property adjacent to Rowe Woods, the idea for a field station/ center for environmental research and education was born. William Hopple III, director of CNC and a McMicken alumnus, has been deeply involved in the planning process.

Uetz, associate dean for research, notes, “This is a great opportunity to link the mission of CNC and the educational and research missions of the university. We have faculty in biology, environmental studies, geology, and geography who will be able to teach courses and conduct research at this unique site, and this will strengthen our programs, our community outreach, and serve the goals of UC|21.”

CNC Director Bill Hopple, a McMicken alumnus, sees a chance to encourage even more responsible stewardship of the land if the college's unique faculty research strengths can be brought together with a multi-disciplinary approach in a field station for research and education: “This is an incredible opportunity for the Nature Center to enhance the delivery of our mission and raise our profile in the community. We are very excited.”

Recently UC and CNC signed a letter of intent to engage in formal exploration of the planning process, and a team of consultants composed of field station directors from other universities visited the area to provide advice on the feasibility, promises, and challenges of planning and founding a field station. Their response was highly positive, based on assessment of the groundwork already done and on UC's institutional support.

Head of the biological sciences department, Guy Cameron, looks forward to the day when the field station finally becomes reality: “This field station represents a unique opportunity for the department, college, and university to expand research and educational initiatives and, in the process, to involve students and new partners.”