“Summer’s heat and winter’s cold... the seasons pass, the years will roll.” We’re deep in the thick of cold, gray days in Ohio. But life continues on Waterman Lab through classes, conferences, and collaboration. Extension professionals boost their knowledge. Operations staff prep for spring planting. Crews continue the steady pace of construction on the Multispecies Animal Learning Center, taking shape in pillars of steel and concrete walls. A warm day here, a frigid day there. Buds lie in wait for the big show. And Waterman will burst with green growth once more.
One week at Waterman just dropped their winter activity photos and you don't want to miss all the action at the 261-acre living laboratory for innovation and engagement. Check out the action >>
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Go with the flow. Braden Werner balances a gravelometer on his arm and uses a clinometer to measure the slope of the stream. Fourth year students in Professor Zach Steffensmeier’s Stream Ecology ENR 5280 class navigated the snowy woodlot at Waterman to study an ephemeral stream; based on rain and other factors, this stream is generally shallow or nonexistent in winter and easy to study. Students in the School of Environment and Natural Resources followed the curve of the stream and measured out 30-meter areas, similar in length to a large school bus. Each group mapped out the stream’s physical features like slope, floodplains, bends, pools, and substrates that support life. These factors help researchers understand habitat quality and what wildlife could be supported in the environment.