Ecological Society of America

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"DU SEEDS" » Oswego, New York

Please welcome one of the newest members of the SEEDS Family: SUNY Oswego! We would like to lend support to the mission of SEEDS by attracting a diverse group of students to the proposed Oswego chapter. We aim to provide an educational setting outside of formal lectures and laboratory practice which we feel is currently lacking on our campus. Classrooms provide the formal education imperative to the individual wishing to become a professional within any field but our club will allow individuals to put those concepts learned in class to work in a way that will increase their overall understanding of those principles. With this academic group we want to give all students the opportunity to gain hands on experience in the field of Ecology and the associated fields of Evolutionary Biology and Conservation and provide opportunities for career development. In addition, the club is committed to the general education of the campus community, and the general community, in ecological matters in an attempt to equip people with the ability to make sound ecological decisions and incorporate ecologically sound practices into their daily lives. Our activities will revolve around ecological education and public awareness of ecological concepts and concerns.

Plans for 2010-2011

A few of our proposed activities include:

• Educational programs at local elementary/middle/high schools
• Ecological field work at our campus’s Rice Creek Field Station (RCFS) – for example trail restoration, initiation of long term ecological research projects at RCFS
• Emphasize the ecological importance of the Great Lakes, especially, Lake Ontario, and related watershed issues. Develop ideas to promote the importance of the ecology of watersheds. (see below)
• Educational trips to relevant locations in our vicinity – for example Sterling Nature Center, Salmon River Fish Hatchery, local wetlands, Adirondacks, the Ithaca gorges, Rochester and Syracuse zoos, et cetera
• Opportunities to work with the Nature Conservancy of New York as well as the central New York Land Trust on local conservation priorities
• Spreading awareness of local ecological issues – for example water issues, sturgeon conservation outreach, Lake Ontario shoreline stewardship “adopt a beach” , storm drain stencils to alert people that what goes down the storm drain affects the biota of Lake Ontario
• Attending regional conferences to learn about contemporary research, network and present research from Oswego students (Rochester Academy of Sciences, Northeastern Natural History Conference, Sigma Xi Undergraduate and Graduate Poster Conference).
• Creating a fund for supporting student travel/presentations at conferences
• Increase visibility of ecology and conservation on campus by sponsoring guest speakers for campus seminar series
  
  

Faculty Advisors

• Eric Hellquist