This week, Harvard Forest welcomed its 32nd cohort of undergraduate research interns who will spend 11 weeks investigating forest ecology, biogeochemistry, and land-use change. Part of the Forest’s Summer Research Program in Ecology, students engage in an immersive, hands-on research experience that has been transformative for hundreds of students having participated in the residential program for over three decades.
Projects this year will span topics from Indigenous land relations and biodiversity to climate change impacts on soil, trees, and carbon cycling. Interns will dig into research that examines salamander responses to soil warming, forest fragmentation’s effects on carbon flux, the ecological legacy of disturbances such as hurricanes and invasive pests, and more.
Inspiring the Next Generation of Climate Leaders
Recognizing the deep disciplinary expertise of the Harvard Forest community, this year’s mentors hail from Harvard University, Stanford University, UMass Amherst, Dartmouth College, UMass Lowell, Washington & Lee University, the University of Florida, the University of Minnesota, and CUNY Hunter College, in addition to leadership from the Indigenous tribe of the region, the Nipmuc. Interns come from institutions including Harvard University, Calvin University, Howard University, Georgia State University, Washington & Lee University, Oakland University, Lafayette College, the University of Richmond, Smith College, McGill University, Washington College, the University of Michigan, the University of Maine, the University of Puerto Rico, the University of Hawaii, and Stevenson University.
Several projects advance multi-year research inquiries that leverage Harvard Forest’s unique infrastructural capacity and build upon the scientific expertise of diverse research collaborators across various institutions. Each student-mentor team contributes to vital long-term ecological research while gaining hands-on experience in the field and lab.
Interested in following along with what our interns are up to? Join us on Instagram to learn more!
