Environmental Science major working as Natural Resource Intern at Gorman Nature Center

This summer we are featuring stories from our students involved in science internships.  Today we hear from Environmental Science/Biology major Tyler Theaker, our second student working at the Gorman Nature Center this summer.

I am the current summer Natural Resource Intern at Gorman Nature Center in Mansfield,

Ohio. My position mostly involves exotic/invasive species control, assisting in surveying and monitoring biotic inventories of park properties, assisting with preventative maintenance of power equipment and other heavy machinery, as well as Trail maintenance. The exotic/invasive species that I have and will be managing include garlic mustard, reed canary grass, multiflora rose, glossy buckthorn, honeysuckle, and Autumn-Olive. Eventually I will be assisting in the application of herbicides on such invasive plants. We do this to help restore parts of the park to their natural state. I have been surveying the activity of cavity nesting birds that inhabit the Park’s bluebird houses such as Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, Carolina Chickadees, House Wrens, and the invasive House Sparrow. We take note on which species inhabits which bird house, whether or not the bird was present, and if there is a nest present the number of eggs as well. If there happens to be a nest of an invasive species such as the House sparrow, I have to take care of it. For preventative maintenance of equipment I take good care of and clean the equipment to last longer. When I maintain the trails I usually assist in cutting trees that may have fallen over the trails, mow and weed whack around the property, hedge trim over hanging tree limbs, lay out gravel in ruts, and pick up trash/litter to keep the property looking nice for the general public. Occasionally, when I am not working outside I interact with the public: answering phone calls, directing visitors, and interpreting nature center information; assist with and conduct natural history programs; and work with and care for educational and display animals. This internship has been a great experience thus far, and I encourage future biology or environmental majors to apply for this internship!

Ashland Toxicology major interns at Gorman Nature Center

Over the summer we plan to share stories about our many science students working in science-related internships this summer.  First is a report from Danielle Bates, a Biology and Toxicology double major.  The Gorman Nature Center, where she works this summer, has hired AU science students for the past few summers, and the Center's Volunteer Director, Amanda Kriner ('13), is one of our alumna.

I am the current summer education intern at Gorman Nature Center in Mansfield, OH. A

large part of my position is educating the public on the wildlife and habitat in the area. We have numerous programs for kids and adults alike. During the month of May we have several school field trips visiting the Nature Center and we set up different stations that allow the kids to learn and do different activities. These activities include using aquatic nets at the pond and fossil hunting in the stream. Part of my internship is also caring for the animals we have at the Nature Center, including snakes, turtles, frogs, and salamanders (tiger salamander in photo)! I check their behavior every day and ensure that they have clean tanks and water. I will be working on a project while I am here, hopefully documenting smooth greensnakes on the property! They are endangered in Ohio and we have documented the first one in Richland county. While my internship is technically "indoor", I am outside quite a bit. It is truly a blast working here! Every day is different. This internship is a great opportunity for any college student majoring in a field of science or education!

Ashland Science students heading to summer internships

We are starting to get news from our students about the exciting internships they will take part in this summer.  These opportunities range from internships in animal rehabilitation at the Possumwood Acres Wildlife Sanctuary in North Carolina, to more local internships in toxicology at the Lubrizol Corporation, in entomology at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, and with the Gorman Nature Center.

A student will also be heading to Central Michigan University to take part in a National Science Foundation funded research internship in Great Lakes ecosystem ecology while two others will be staying right here in the Kettering Science Center working on research using the zebrafish to study lens cataracts and blindness.

Stay tuned for more student internships news, and reports back from students at the end of the summer.

Ashland Biology major receives grant from Ohio Biological Survey

Olivia in the field

Graduating biology major Olivia Widenmeyer has been doing field research at Ashland University's Black Fork Wetlands preserve to investigate populations of two rare bird species.  The Sora and Virginia Rails are considered species of concern by the Ohio Division of Wildlife.  Olivia and her faculty research mentor, Professor Merrill Tawse, have identified both birds at our wetlands preserve.  These birds are secretive and difficult to study, but Olivia has been able to detect the call of both species and has captured individual Virginia Rails.  By attaching radio transmitters to the birds she is able to determine how they use their habitat.  Olivia recently received a $500 grant from the Ohio Biological Survey to purchase additional transmitters for this project.

 Olivia's research so far has suggested that Rails avoid parts of the wetlands containing the invasive Reed Canary Grass.  If true, spread of the grass could further limit the habitat used by these birds.  Ashland University is a member institution of the Ohio Biological Survey and we are excited about receiving their support for this important research.

Presenting at our annual URCA research symposium

Olivia will be applying to Physician Assistant programs later this year.  She was co-president of our American Medical Student Association chapter and President of our Tri-Beta biology honors group.

Ashland professor and alumni take part in outdoor education workshop

Professor Tawse in the field with
workshop participants

Project WILD is a national environmental education organization that trains educators and teaches the public about wildlife and the environment.  AU Biology alumna Amanda Kriner recently facilitated a Project WILD workshop on insects with Jamey Emmert from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.  Amanda is a graduate of our Environmental Science Program and the volunteer coordinator for the Richland County Park District, which manages the Gorman Nature Center in Mansfield, Ohio.

Biology professor Merrill Tawse, who teaches the Entomology course at Ashland University, led the training at the workshop.  Attendees included another Environmental Science alumna, Karie Wheaton (Charlton) '11, who works as a Naturalist for the Geauga County Park District.

AU Environmental Science graduates
Amanda Kriner and Karie Wheaton

Ashland Biology in Costa Rica

Boat trip for snorkeling on the Pacific coast

Ashland University has hosted a foreign languages summer program in Costa Rica for many years.  But this summer was the first time that we have offered a natural science course as part of the AU in Costa Rica program.

Students in Biology Professor Merrill Tawse's BIO 202: Organisms, Adaptation, and Diversity course spent this summer at the biologically rich campus setting of Conversa Language Center, a Spanish language school situated in a lush mountain setting overlooking the Santa Ana Valley.  Students did weekend field work in the tropical cloud forest of Monteverde and the marine park in Manuel Antonio while learning Spanish.  For additional cultural experiences, students live with families and participate in excursions.

Professor Tawse reports that

This is the first time that the Ashland University Biology/Toxicology Department has led

Hiking in the rain forest with Professor Tawse

students into this part of the world where they were surrounded by some of Earth's most biologically diverse ecosystems. Students were in awe as they observed first-hand the richness of plant and animal species surrounding them as they were snorkeling in coral reefs, hiking through mountain cloud forests, and when comparing upland and lowland tropical forests of Costa Rica. Student lab experiences included measuring and comparing the biological diversity in select habitats, night hikes, mist netting of birds and bats, encountering lizards and snakes along the park and preserve trails and visiting a local animal refuge center. For many, being able to watch a sea turtle foraging in a coastal reef, discovering Howler and White-faced Monkeys moving through the canopy above them, and observing sloths sleeping in the trees will become some of the lifetime memories of their Ashland University experience.

Here are some more pictures from this summer's trip:

Snorkeling with sea turtles

Setting up a mist net to collect birds

A rufous capped warbler

Ashland Biology lab sends student researchers to zoology internships across the country

Students Cortney Kourie (left) and
Samantha Carson (right) with faculty
research mentor Dr. Dolly Crawford

Four undergraduate research students working this past year with Dr. Dolly Crawford on laboratory and field research projects are off on a number of exciting summer internships.  We already reported on this blog about Ethan Patterson's internship at the Alaska Sealife Center.  Another student, Cortney Kourie, is currently in Key Largo, Florida working as an intern at Dolphins Plus, a marine mammal conservation and public education institute.  Samantha Carson is involved in public education and animal care at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, and recent graduate Bethany Linert is interning at the Gorman Nature Center in Mansfield Ohio, where another AU science graduate, Amanda Kriner, works as the Director of Volunteer Resources.

We plan to follow up with some pictures and descriptions from these students about their experiences later this summer.

Ashland Biology major heading to Alaska for wildlife internship

Rising senior Ethan Patterson will be spending his summer in Seward, Alaska caring for and educating the public about animals at the Alaska Sealife Center.  Ethan previously worked as an intern at the Ohio Bird Sanctuary, and says about his upcoming experience:

I will be working at the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward, Alaska as the Interpretive Avian Husbandry Fellow. My duties will include interacting with the public while giving tours, both general and behind the scenes, as well as giving educational talks on the resident animals at the center. I will also be working directly with the avian collection at the center, feeding and general care. Some of the more interesting species that I'll be working with include horned and tufted puffins, spectacled and Steller's eider ducks, red-legged kittwakes rhinoceros auklets, and black oystercatchers. I'm fairly certain that I will also have opportunities to interact with the marine mammal and aquarium collections on site and participate in the wildlife response and rehabilitation aspect at some point as well.

Advice about working at a zoo from a recent Ashland biology graduate

A number of our current students and recent graduates have been getting experience as interpreters and in animal care at local zoos and wildlife centers.  Mallory Balmert (Biology '15) sent in this guest post about her experiences over the past few years at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and her current internship at the Toledo Zoo.  Mallory gives great advice for students wanting to work in zoos and writes about her current work with polar bears, wolves and seals.

I’m in the exercise yard with Foster, 

a parma wallaby. These are the smallest, 

most nocturnal species of wallaby.

    This summer, and for the past two summers before that, I was a pirate…well, sometimes. I worked as a seasonal on show staff in the education department at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and we had a pirate-themed show these past few summers. That sounds complicated, but basically, show staff is responsible for taking care of all of the animals in the education department, putting on live animal shows three times a day in two different areas during the summers, doing travelling shows and outreach programs in the off-season (not Memorial Day-Labor Day in the northern zoo world) and training all of the animals for those shows/programs. My official job title was Education Assistant, then it changed to Zoo Interpreter, which neither of those titles gives an accurate description of the actual job, which I’m sure sounds pretty busy right about now. Hands down, I loved my job even though it was hectic a lot of the time. It was great experience learning the principles of animal training through operant conditioning, acquiring public speaking skills, and also learning the basics of animal care and handling. One of the most surprising things was seeing the progression and my comfort-level increase when speaking in front of crowds. I went from being very anxious when giving presentations to being able to speak in front of 200 random zoo guests for 25 minutes while handling live animals throughout the program and (in a different show) putting on a pretty mean pirate voice, if I do say so myself. Talk about improvement. I find myself now actively trying to refrain from talking to guests and offering fun facts when I’m just visiting the zoo (not as an employee).
     I got to work with a lot of amazing animals including (but not limited to) two fennec fox brothers, a 14 foot long Burmese python, a super smart white-necked raven, several feisty parrots, a grumpy but still sweet hooded vulture, and a very loveable white stork. Overall, we had about 65 different species in the education collection spanning three different areas at the zoo including birds, mammals, amphibians, invertebrates, and reptiles. So you must be thinking now: how did you ever stumble upon a job like this? Well, my sophomore year at AU over fall break, I decided to do a program at CMZ called Keeper for a Day as a birthday present. It is in the education department and you get to shadow a member of show staff for the day, help prep diets, help clean, and make enrichment for the animals. Not to mention all the behind-the-scenes tours since none of the education collection is on exhibit currently. During my day doing this program, I started telling the keeper, Katie, that I wanted to be a keeper, and she told me that they had seasonal positions open, she gave me her email and told me to send her my resume so she could forward it to her boss. Who knew that my birthday present would lead to my first job? The next spring I was coming in for an interview, and the following May I started on show staff and Katie was now my coworker. So fast forward three years to where I’ve been a pirate more times than I can count, been through numerous crazy situations during shows when something unexpected happens and you have to correct on-the-fly, helped train some really awesome behaviors for shows, and made so many great friends at CMZ, and now I am currently starting an internship at the Toledo Zoo. One of the things about this field is that you need lots of experience in lots of different institutions, so here I am, currently in the middle of my second week as in intern in the Arctic Encounter® area of the Toledo Zoo working on polar bear enrichment for our three bears, collecting data on the social interactions of our four grey wolves, and doing seal training for the six seals (2 harbor seals and 4 greys) that call Toledo Zoo home. I can say it’s very different in many aspects from my show staff experience, but I’ve learned a ton already and I really am enjoying the internship so far. There are many opportunities out there that will provide diverse experiences in this field, and I am looking forward to gaining those experiences and seeing what the zoo world can offer, because so far, it’s been a blast.

Me, as a pirate, with our barn owl Tawny

Summer research and classes on Lake Erie

There is a fantastic summer research opportunity right in our backyard at Ohio State's Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island in Put-In-Bay, Lake Erie.  Ashland students have taken advantage of both research opportunities and field courses at the oldest freshwater biological field station in the United States.  Applications for summer research internships are due February 21st.  Application for field courses are not until March, but courses can fill up so apply early.  The application deadline for tuition scholarships is March 7th.  Courses this summer include Ecology, Evolution, Field Zoology, Ichthyology, Aquatic Ecosystems, and Current Topics in Environment and Engineering.  Many of these courses will transfer back as credit towards your Ashland major in Biology.

Two biology majors took the Stone Laboratory Field Zoology course this past summer.  Caitlin Duncan (pictured above to the left) wrote:

I had a fantastic experience at Stone Lab! I took a 5 week field zoology class. Every student had to keep a field journal and put together a collection of 100 specimens, which were gathered during various field trips to Green Island, North Bass Island, Middle Bass Island, South Bass Island, and Kelley's Island. Collecting, displaying, and identifying the organisms was the most fun part of the course for me! I even won the 2013 "Mad Collector" award for collecting 150 unique specimens! My class also learned how to electroshock, which was a great experience.

 Life Science Education/Biology major Emily Lundquist (pictured above to the right) wrote that:

Overall, it was one of the most amazing experiences I've had in my life because it was great to be out in nature every day and I met so many new people and enjoyed spending time on an island. I learned so much that I feel will help me later in life with teaching.

The images show a class group shot on the docks at Stone Laboratory and one of the field collections developed in the class.

Ashland biology major interns at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

Mallory with a burmese python

Junior biology major Mallory Balmert spent her summer teaching the public about exotic animals at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.  Mallory's paid internship with the education department at the zoo gave her valuable experience in public science outreach and an inside track towards her goal to work in zoo science.  In addition to handling animals and presenting daily to zoo visitors Mallory had the opportunity to see animal care behind the scenes and work with zoo staff.  Mallory told us that:

"Working at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo this summer as a Seasonal Education Assistant was such a rewarding experience, not only because I got to learn so much about animal care, but also because I got to teach and encourage others to get involved with wildlife."

Showing off a kookaburra

Fall is a great time to begin investigating internship opportunities for next summer.  Many internships in the sciences are paid.  Keep checking back to this blog and our Facebook page for updates on internship opportunities.  You can get some general tips on finding summer internships here.

Six-month internship opportunity at Ohio Bird Sanctuary

a barn owl (Tyto alba) at OBS (photo: mbenfield.blogspot.com)

The Ohio Bird Sanctuary in Richland Co. has posted a 6-month paided-internship opportunity for a student pursuing a degree in environmental education, biology, or related discipline.  Work would be primarily on weekends.  The general purpose of the internship is "to provide a hands-on learning opportunity and field-related work experience...[including] interpretive programs...care to injured and displaced wildlife, and...an independent project."

A flyer with more details is posted on the 3rd-floor, Kettering.  Interested students may also contact Patty Saunders or Merrill Tawse for a copy of the flyer with additional details.  Contact the Ohio Bird Sanctuary for an application (419-884-HAWK or ohiobirdsanctuary@gmail.com).