Discover the UC Center for Field Studies

DISCOVER THE UC CENTER FOR FIELD STUDIES

DISC OVE R THE UC C E NTE R FOR FIE L D ST UD I ES

“Today’s students are demanding more opportunities for environmental education.

In Arts & Sciences we bring a variety of disciplinary perspectives to bear on the human impacts of environmental change. The field station is a critical component of our work, allowing students and faculty to work side by side in nature to explore and understand the changes happening in our region—our home—and inform solutions that will preserve resources for future generations.”

Ken Petren, PhD Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

DISCOVER THE UC CENTER FOR FIELD STUDIES In the heart of the 4,438 acre Miami Whitewater Forest and in partnership with Great Parks of Hamilton County, students and faculty at the UC Center for Field Studies (UCCFS) conduct interdisciplinary research exploring the causes and impacts of climate change, effective land management practices and water quality monitoring.

Through these hands-on opportunities to tackle real-world challenges and issues, our students and faculty leaders are poised to make breakthrough

discoveries and become leaders in conservation and sustainability.

In addition to serving our campus community, the work is also rooted in outreach. Scholars and scientists seek out Center for Field Studies for its expansive research opportunities, and the center especially benefits our region’s teachers, with educational training courses and initiatives for K-12 students.

DISC OVE R THE UC C E NTE R FOR FIE L D ST UD I ES

RESEARCH AND DISCOVERY

REAL-WORLD IMPACT

In a field near the UC Center for Field Studies main headquarters, biologist Patrick Guerra and undergraduate student Jered Nathan are on the hunt for monarch butterflies, in a quest to understand the keys to their epic, multigenerational annual migration from southern Canada to the mountains of central Mexico.

At the C.V. Theis Groundwater Observatory, another partnership with Great Parks of Hamilton County in Miami Whitewater Forest, geologist David Nash is monitoring realtime data of the interaction between the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer, the sole source of drinking water for 2.3 million residents of Southwest Ohio, and the Great Miami River and its adjacent tributaries. To ensure the health of this critical water supply, experts in groundwater hydrology from the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Applied Science will use this data to understand the impacts of increasing urbanization and industrialization—and to mitigate their effects.

Nearby, biologist Josh Benoit and UC undergraduates Alicia Fieler, Benjamin Davies and Madisen Kimbrel drag flags made of fleece over bushes and meadows full of summer wildflowers to collect ticks for Benoit’s research lab.

They are working to understand what makes these diseasespreading parasites able to withstand not just cold Midwest winters, but many pesticides used to control them.

In a natural area adjacent to the Shaker Trace Trail, biologist Theresa Culley collects samples of the Bradford Pear, a nonnative tree introduced to Ohio by landscapers and nurseries that now threatens to systematically crowd out native oak, ash and elm trees. Culley’s work—and that of her colleagues at UC and across Ohio—has resulted in a ban on the sale of the Bradford Pear, as well as 38 other invasive species.

“They’re really beautiful to look at, but they’re also a really big problem for our environment.”

THERESA CULLEY Shortly after Bradford Pears hit the market, demand was high for the springtime trees. When consumers found that the trees split easily, newer and stronger versions of Bradfords were developed.

The trees were considered nonthreatening until Culley and her team found that these newer versions were cross-pollinating and multiplying quickly, overtaking fields

as well as other plant species. And with hard-to-remove roots, simply removing the Bradfords was not an option.

Because of Culley’s discoveries at the Center for Field Studies, the state of Ohio has placed the Bradford Pear on its invasive species list. Her work will preserve other plants and trees throughout the state’s wild spaces, forests and parks.

DISC OVE R THE UC C E NTE R FOR FIE L D ST UD I ES

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS UC’s 10-year partnership with the Great Parks of Hamilton County at the UC Center for Field Studies has transformed learning and research on the site of the historic White Water Shaker Village South Family, filling a critical need for hands-on engagement with nature to further our understanding of the interaction between humans and our environment.

From geological and biological discoveries to anthropological and environmental studies,

this historic place has found new life as a multidisciplinary hub for UC students and faculty, local teachers and K-12 students, and researchers, scientists and scholars from across the globe.

Led by biologist David Lentz, the Center for Field Studies has achieved a number of milestones in its first 10 years.

2011 Farmhouse renovated into administrative and classroom space, becomes a host site for EPA’s volunteer water monitoring program

2008 First courses offered

2012 NSF grant received to support sustainable facility improvements

2017 C.V. Theis Groundwater Observatory opens in partnership with Great Parks of Hamilton County and with funding from partners including Duke Energy Foundation, Terracon, The Kleingers Group, Scherzinger Drilling Company and others

2013 The John C. Court Archaeological Research Facility is completed and opened for research and classes

2014 Duke Energy Foundation grant to establish the Summer Teacher Training Program for regional K-12 teachers

DISC OVE R THE UC C E NTE R FOR FIE L D ST UD I ES

“The teacher training program lit a fire in me that I didn’t know existed about outdoor education and its importance in every child’s life.”

DEANN O’TOOLE 2016 OHIO OUTSTANDING EARTH SCIENCE TEACHER As a fourth-grade science teacher

and innovative ways. She takes her

at Pattison Elementary in Milford,

science students outside throughout

DeAnn O’Toole was working

the year to learn concepts only the

toward her master’s in Curriculum

great outdoors can provide, and

and Instruction at UC.

she leads an archaeological dig with Pattison’s 100 fourth-graders to

When her adviser emailed her

complement their studies of Ohio’s

about the STEM Teacher Training

early peoples.

program—sponsored by the Duke Energy Foundation and offered

In applying all that she learned in

exclusively at the Center for Field

the summer of 2014 to her own

Studies—DeAnn immediately

classroom, DeAnn was honored with

enrolled and was accepted into its

the 2016 Ohio Outstanding Earth

first cohort in summer 2014.

Science Teacher Award. Not only did the program offered at the Center for

DeAnn credits the classes she took as

Field Studies change her approach to

part of the program with her ability

teaching—it also changed her life.

to teach science standards in new

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE As we celebrate our first 10 years in 2018, we look forward to achieving our next set of milestones and expanding our reach in the region and beyond.

With basic administrative, classroom and research space already developed on site, the most critical missing component is a facility where students, visiting researchers, and community groups can stay on the property while taking advantage of the natural beauty and educational opportunities we can offer.

Our goals for these offerings include: •

Expansion of the annual 8-week Summer Teacher Training Program, funded by the Duke Energy Foundation, to serve an increased number of public school STEM teachers from across Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana.

•

A full slate of credit-bearing short summer courses for UC undergraduate students.

•

A robust schedule of public seminars and hands-on learning opportunities for adults and K-12 students in the region.

DISC OVE R THE UC C E NTE R FOR FIE L D ST UD I ES

AN HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY Designated on the National Register of Historic Places, White Water Shaker Village South Family has relied on private philanthropy to retain its historical significance.

In order to meet the demand for hands-on environmental learning and research, and having already preserved one irreplaceable structure on site, the university’s vision now is to breathe new life into the White Water Shaker Village Center Family Trustees’ Office.

At 6,500 square feet and four stories, the building is imbued with many architecturally significant features that have weathered the test of time. Our plan for renovation is truly a unique marriage of historic preservation and modern purpose.

With your help, we can continue to preserve White Water Shaker Village’s past while envisioning its bright future as the home to the UC Center for Field Studies.

Incorporating geothermal heating and solar power generation, the restored facility will include library and seminar spaces to support delivery of educational programs, and kitchen, dining, lounge, bathroom and sleeping quarters designed for the comfort of up to 25 guests. The university will pursue LEED certification for the project.

MAKE AN IMPACT The caring generosity of friends like you will maintain the historical integrity of the Trustees’ Office while also expanding the impact of the UC Center for Field Studies. To realize our full educational vision for this center, the university must identify and raise a minimum of $1 million in private support. Matching opportunities in the form of state and federal historic tax credits and foundation grants are possible, elevating the impact and reach of private funds.

Naming opportunities for the facility as a whole, as well as for spaces within, will be available.

DISC OVE R THE UC C E NTE R FOR FIE L D ST UD I ES

READY TO LEARN MORE? CONTACT: Ken Petren, PhD Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Professor, Biological Sciences Ken.Petren@uc.edu (513) 556-5858 Shelly Deavy, CFRE Senior Director of Development College of Arts and Sciences Shelly.Deavy@uc.edu (513) 556-5806

THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOUNDATION PO Box 19970 Cincinnati, OH 45219-0970 (513) 556-6781 | (888) 556-8889 uc.edu/foundation