Wesleyan, naturally

NATURE CLUB

In hopes of getting others interested in exploring the natural world around them through hikes, lake clean-ups, academic excursions, birding, and more, a group of Wesleyan students created the Nature Club in 2020.

Jordan Looney ’21, a senior psychology major and Nature Club president, credits Wesleyan for sparking her interest in the outdoors and her desire to start the club.

“I was never a big nature person before enrolling at Wesleyan,” said Looney. “I started getting more connected with nature because of the College’s outdoor spaces. I grew to love the arboretum and exploring around the lake. My friend and I would go on hikes out there all of the time.”

The Nature Club’s mission is to get students outside. Looney feels that the club can be a perfect way to get students outdoors and having fun, especially while social distancing guidelines are in place.

“All students have the chance to experience and enjoy Wesleyan’s natural surroundings,” said Looney. “Everyone should go outside and enjoy it. I don’t know of many colleges that have an arboretum, a pergola, or a lake. I think it’s really cool that we have so much to offer.”

Looney graduated in May and she knows that the future of the club is in good hands.

“It’s really refreshing to see club members’ excitement,” said Looney. “I was happy to hand everything off because they want to do great; they will do great.”

BIRD’S NEST

Early in the spring semester, Jim Ferrari, Wesleyan’s department chair for biology and arboretum director, and students in his conservation biology lab class built nest boxes (nest tubes) in hopes of attracting Rough-winged Swallows to nest. A summer bird, these swallows arrive as early as mid-March but typically come to the area in May and June to nest and raise their young.

In previous years, Ferrari noticed that swallows would fly around campus showing interest in using it as a place to lay eggs, but would leave without nesting. Because they typically nest in tunnels or tree cavities highly coveted by many other species, he surmised they left due to limited nest site locations. This gave rise to his idea of creating boxes to help the swallows while providing a fun educational project for his students.

“I thought it could be a great teaching opportunity for my conservation biology students,” said Ferrari. “It was a different type of lab that was similar to a woodshop where we’d build something and [if the birds nest] give students an opportunity to monitor them, band them, and hopefully recapture the birds in a future year.”

Ferrari designed the boxes and cut all the lumber pieces himself, but left everything else to his students. “It was all very hands-on working with tools,” said Ferrari. “The students had to drill the holes, put the hinges on, mount the plastic tube, and assemble the boxes themselves. For a lot of them, it was the first time that they had used a drill or tried to make something out of wood.”

The students assembled ten boxes, each having three feet of PVC pipe simulating a tunnel with a wooden box at one end. Inside each box is an endoscope (a thick wire with a video camera at the end) that sends the image via Bluetooth back to the classroom. When completed, they were suspended over the roof of Munroe Science Center with the hope that swallows see the openings and might decide to lay their eggs there. The class plans to leave the boxes in place for a few months to monitor activity in the nests.

Ferrari believes that the project was beneficial for his class. “I think they enjoyed it. It was a pretty different project than what we’d usually do. A lot of people in our department build their own apparatuses. I felt it was important to show the students some basic skills working with wood, screwdrivers, and tools, allowing them to develop those skills, and most importantly, demonstrating they are capable and giving them the confidence to bring to fruition their own ideas. The project turned out to be very satisfying.”

BIRDS ON CAMPUS

Not all college memories come from sitting in a classroom or attending an event. For many Wesleyan students, one of the most lasting impressions of their College experience is time spent in the arboretum. From its beautiful trees, to its hiking trails, creeks, and wildlife, the arboretum is a standout feature of our campus. One of the main attractions is the vast array of birds that call it home.

“I took a class with Dr. Ferrari (Wesleyan’s department chair for biology and arboretum director) last year and it introduced me to the birds we have in our own backyard,” said Jordan Looney ’21, a senior psychology major and nature club president.

Wesleyan is a sanctuary to more than 150 species of resident and migratory birds. Students have the unique opportunity to see firsthand the multitude of birds and how they are beneficial to not only the campus but to the community.

“We’d walk around the lake with Dr. Ferrari and count the different species and every once in a while we’d see a really rare one,” said Looney. “The last time I went we saw a huge Red-shouldered Hawk. It was cool to see it in person. I never realized how many different types of birds we have right here on campus.”

Accredited by the Morton Registry of Arboreta in 2013, the arboretum comprises 100 acres of mixed pine and hardwood forest and lies within the boundaries of campus. More than 100 species of trees, shrubs, and woody vines provide habitat for a diverse assortment of salamanders, snakes, lizards, mammals, and birds. The five-acre Foster Lake, three streams, and seasonal rain pools are home to nine species of turtles, fourteen species of frogs, and both native and game fish. The Dice Anderson Cabin, built in 1938, restored in 1990, and renovated in 2011, and the Ellen Ann Edenfield Pavilion, built in 2011, serve as rustic focal points for classes, meetings, and special events. More than three miles of trails interlace the forest and provide year-round opportunities for strolling, hiking, and crosscountry running.

The area is a remarkable resource not only for recreation and reflection, but also for use as an outdoor learning laboratory that promotes a nature-smart curriculum for Wesleyan faculty and students, as well as for local teachers and school children, youth organizations, researchers, and residents.

SUSTAINING OUR NATURAL HISTORY

Established 100 years apart, Wesleyan College and Ocmulgee Mounds National Park (the Mounds) have more in common than just the city in which they reside. Both Macon treasures are lucky to have passionate Wesleyan women who care about the environment.

Wesleyan alumnae Christina Valdes ‘19 and Zoe Nuhfer ‘19 are biological science technicians at the Mounds and both earned their degrees in environmental studies and sustainability.

Elizabeth Mackler ‘21, an intern at the national park and also an environmental studies and sustainability major, has been learning a lot from her Wesleyan sisters.

Together, they are working on an important habitat restoration project at the Mounds that involves clearing a section of invasive species to do a habitat restoration project. They will be planting rivercane, a native bamboo species ecologically important for wetlands that has cultural significance for the indigenous peoples that once occupied the land.

“Christina and Zoe have given me so much advice, but the most notable would be to a self-advocate. Tell your supervisor about the wins, not just the problems or questions,” said Elizabeth.

Elizabeth’s plans after graduation are to become an interpretive park ranger. “This job’s key function is to create original content to raise awareness and understanding about the respective park’s historical, cultural, or environmental information and significance which is something I value a lot.”

The goal of the environmental studies and sustainability curriculum at Wesleyan is to prepare students for careers in a diverse spectrum of environmental employment positions ranging from research scientist to writer to educator to political lobbyist while developing a conscientious concern for the world in which we live.