Cassie is an envrionmental biology major currently enrolled in Dr. Faber’s ornothology class. Dr. Faber is a professor that is highly educated on birds, wildlife, and pollution ecology. Cassie admits, “There is no typical lab with Dr. Faber”. So far this semester the class has counted tundra swans with a spotting scope; visited the National Wildlife Refuge, state parks, and dredge islands to look at different species of waterfowl. Each lab day the class ventures within an hour radius of Winona, or Winona itself to observe waterfowl. Winona has a unique location that gives students and professors the advantage of traveling an hour in any direction and will find themselves in a completely different ecotype. The most memorable lab for Cassie occurred a few weeks ago where they attempted to drive a Henslow’s sparrow into a 20 ft net. This lab was not only exciting for Cassie and her peers, but also for Dr. Faber who has devoted 30 years of his career trying to rehabilitate an area for these sparrows and provide suitable habitat. This is the first sighting of this species in the area for years.

According to Cassie, the next big project for that class is a museum skin preservation of a bird of their finding. In other words, each student will be doing their own taxidermy, where they have to provide their own bird and stuff it! Cassie’s favorite element of this class is the “breathtaking views and exotic locations all over southeast minnesota and southwest wisconsin”. When asked how will this be useful in your future as an environmental biologist, Cassie responded with”even though I may not use this specifically in my career it is very rewarding to be able to identify different species of birds, because it will help me to treat and manage any ecosystem as a whole”.

Cassie’s anticipated graduation is May 2012 and plans to continue her education at Saint Mary’s by getting a Master’s Degree in Geographic Information Science.

Photo #1: In the first 5 minutes of lab we are all frantically trying to grab our waders and eat as much as we can or digest the food that we ate just minutes before class started. At the beginning of each lab Dr. Cochran usually gives a brief description of the location we are sampling and what exactly we are sampling that day.

Photo #2: Then everyone works together to load up the vans with equipment such as nets, buckets, paperwork, and any other specific equipment that will be needed for the class period.

Photo #3: Once we have arrived to our destination we gear up in our waders and take all of the equipment we will need out of the van.

Photo #4: Then we carry all of the equipment to the sampling site.

Photo #5: Here we sampled the stream discharge of total solids in Gilmore Creek.

Photo #6: More walking and carrying.

Photo#7: Dr. Cochran telling terribly punny jokes, mischievously placing burrs on students like usual, and giving more information on the sample site as well as asking thought provoking questions that help us analyze stream development and disturbance.

Photo#8: More sampling

Photo #9: Finally Dr. Cochran debriefing the lab, asking final questions, asking if we have questions, and giving instructions on the assignment that correlates with the lab.

Best Major Ever.

In freshwater ecology lab we classified macroinvertebrates, and it demanded a lot of time and close attention to detail, but it was fascinating to see the diversity of these organisms. For the class we have to key out several invertebrates down to genera as our final project, so for the next three lab periods I believe we will be keying out macroinvertebrates.

Two weeks ago I led a hike for Outdoor Leadership to a location deep in the bluffs of Winona to explore the sandstone caves, and on Friday Outdoor Leadership took a trip to southeast Minnesota to go birding with Father Beerman, who is an expert birder! We looked at swans, hooded mergansers, wood ducks, canvas backs, and a ton more.

My senior thesis has begun to be quiet the pain after two failed projects, and the current plan unfortunately is turning out to be a bit of a failure too. My advisor however is keeping me very optimistic and is encouraging me to take value in the process of the work that goes behind research rather than the results themselves. I have come to realize that after three years of college, I do not wish to continue onto higher education. I love learning and I love my classes, but I am ready for a new chapter in my life and if I am to go back to graduate school, then that will have to come at a later part in my life. This project has taught me that I was not made for research. My personality does not contain the skills or the will to develop the skills that are required for detailed research. Perhaps, theses skills will develop with more responsibility that I will gain from age, but right now I would like to enter the working field. I would really love to spend the next couple of months or maybe this next entire year working at a state park or becoming involved with outdoor education. I feel that I have strong skills in teaching, specifically in hands on education.

The services offered at Saint Mary’s are pretty incredible. I have set up meetings with the guidance councilors to discuss my personality and what types of jobs are best suited for me. I have worked with career services, which have helped me create resumes, cover letters, and seek informational interviews. Saint Mary’s has a lot to offer, students just have to be willing to put in the time and dig a little deeper.

Well, that was a bit of a tangent. Anyway, I went fishing in Lake Winona for my thesis and caught 10 bluegills in an hour! My friend and I went to the Great Hunan, which has incredible service and fantastic Asian cuisine. All and all, a great weekend. Today, a hike up to the cave in the bluffs. Seems like it will be a pretty amazing week already.

The following two images were taken of me and my thesis partner Linda Tierney , another biology student and close friend, along with my Advisor, Professor Lallaman, and a great friend, Gary Borash former student and head of Outdoor Leadership:

We also did some backpack electroshocking on the river to collect various species of freshwater fish. Mark Ross caught the second mudpuppy ever collected in a Saint Mary’s lab–which was pretty exciting. In addition, we caught hogsuckers, banded and rainbow darters, green sunfish, small mouth bass, and a stonecat or two. Saint Mary’s environmental biology labs have given me the best memories of my life. Here, your classmates become part of your family, I love that. Below is a photo of me and a quillback taken first semester of my junior year in my Fisheries Biology class. We caught it using an electric boat shocker.