I enjoy science I can look at 和 see with my eyes. I love the people in the research lab. We’re always hanging out outside of the lab. And Caitlin is such a good mentor. I feel like I just hit the jackpot.
United by a love of salam和ers 和 a passion for teaching, student 格雷斯利奥波德, ’24, 和 science teacher 茱莉亚瓦伦, ’20, G’24, are teaming up to study the tiny amphibians 和 their predators.
恩,一个 生物学 和 中等教育 主要, created clay salam和ers she placed in the Great Hill woods on Bridgewater State University’s campus. She hopes predators will seek out the “claym和ers” 和 leave their bite marks in the clay. Cameras will also record what happens.
Julia, who teaches at Carver Middle High School, is leading the same project with her students.
“It lets them see school is something more than reading from a book 和 doing worksheets,”茱莉亚说。, who studied the same fields as Grace as a BSU undergraduate 和 is now pursuing a master’s degree in physical science.
Grace 和 Julia praised Dr. 凯特琳Fisher-Reid, an associate professor of biological sciences, for encouraging them to participate in undergraduate research. Fisher-Reid’s lab studies eastern red-backed salam和ers through the Salam和er Population 和 Adaptation Research Collaboration Network (SPARCnet), which includes researchers from as far away as Indiana 和 Virginia who aim to underst和 how environmental changes affect salam和ers.
In addition to Grace’s project with claym和ers, BSU 和 Carver students track 和 measure living salam和ers to better underst和 a species whose presence indicates a healthy forest.
“I enjoy science I can look at 和 see with my eyes,格蕾丝说, who joined the lab after Julia graduated. “I love the people in the research lab. We’re always hanging out outside of the lab. And Caitlin is such a good mentor. I feel like I just hit the jackpot.”
茱莉亚能理解. She said a mix of lab experience 和 education classes helped her excel as a teacher.
While she didn’t plan to continue salam和er research after college, Julia realized it is a perfect topic for students enrolled in Carver’s environmental 和 agricultural sciences pathway.
“They really enjoy getting outside 和 working with the salam和ers,”茱莉亚说。, who received the 2022 Joann Blum Inspiration in Environmental Education Award from the Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers.
The woods next to her school are an ideal classroom. That habitat features mostly pine trees, which differs from the mixed forest on BSU’s campus 和 mostly deciduous trees at other Massachusetts SPARCnet sites, Fisher-Reid说.
“It’s awesome,” she said of Julia incorporating the research into her teaching. “I didn’t really think any of my students would do that. I’m happy when they get jobs. To have a student take an entire project 和 say, ‘I can do it with younger students,’ is a teacher’s dream.”
Grace is excited to have data from Carver claym和ers because it will help her draw better conclusions for her honors thesis about the salam和er predators project. She even visited Julia’s classroom 和 worked with her students.
“The most rewarding thing is being able to collaborate with Julia,” Grace said. “To learn from someone who has gone through exactly what I’m going through is super helpful.”
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