Resources & Opportunities
Go outside and apply classroom knowledge.
LeSuer Nature Preserve
Just a 1.2-mile walk from campus, the 16-acre preserve contains five acres of restored prairie, upland and riparian woodlands, and a wooded stream. Join our restoration efforts to bring this area back to pre-settlement conditions by planting native trees and shrubs, annually burning the prairie and controlling invasive plants.
Bees, berries and blossoms
Find a new way to feed humanity. Check out our Educational Garden & Farm. At he Educational Garden, which is next to campus, you can plant, weed and harvest vegetables; tend the bee hives and collect honey. Or take a five-minute bike ride to the six-acre Educational Farm to tend the berry patches and fruit trees, coordinate U-picks open to the general public, and offer produce at the local farmers market.
Postage-stamp prairie
Six miles north of Monmouth, the Spring Grove one-acre prairie illustrates the challenges of managing native remnants that are surrounded by industrial agriculture. Help maintain the prairie through annual burns and periodic invasive plant removal. Compare diversity of plants and animals to other native prairies or to agricultural sites.
Hamilton Pond
This one-acre pond, a short walk from April Zorn Memorial Stadium, is home to a healthy population of red-eared sliders, turtles, as well as countless aquatic organisms, such as hydra, zooplankton, larval dragonflies, flatworms and other invertebrates. Walk here to relax and listen to the birds after a stressful day in the lab, or set up an experiment to answer a question that has always intrigued you.