MUNCIE, Ind. -- Nearly 400 acres of Ball State University property has become part of the new Field Station and Environmental Education Center.

The field station will include five areas near campus:

• Christy Woods, on the west side of campus
• Cooper Field Areas, on Bethel Avenue across from Westminster Village retirement community
• Ginn Woods, in northern Delaware County
• Hults Environmental Learning Center, near Albany
• Donald E. Miller Field Area, in Muncie north of White River Boulevard.

Field stations are designated areas for scientific investigation of the environment in an outdoor laboratory facility.

The field station will allow study of ecological processes and responses on a wide range of scales from molecules to ecosystems found in those areas.

“The goal is to develop a field station to enhance science education and teacher training, as well as provide an outdoor lab situation for Ball State students, community groups and schools,” said Kemuel Badger, biology professor and field station director.

The departments of biology, natural resources and environmental management began developing this project three years ago when Ball State expanded its properties.

Study of the environment is interdisciplinary by nature and the Ball State Field Station and Environmental Education Center will stress the interdisciplinary approach to education, research and problem solving, he said.

“Field studies have taken place at Ball State for a long time,” said Badger, ”But now we’ve begun to work together to make these properties a more valuable educational resource.”

Many field stations across the United States are associated with universities, but many are quite a distance from the area where people live and work, he said.

“We think it’s important to understand the environment where we live because we are integral components of these ecosystems,” said Badger.

Ball State has also identified the need to develop teachers for kindergarten through grade 12 in Indiana who are environmentally literate.

Since teacher training is one of main goals for the field station, Ball State has become a member of the U.S. Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program.

The GLOBE program at www.globe.gov offers all members the opportunity to share data they’ve collected from their home sites using the Internet with students and educators around the world.

“The GLOBE program was chosen as our first major educational program because of its proven record of success and the need for GLOBE-trained teachers in Indiana. This offers students an opportunity to develop science and education skills using environmental data from all over the world,” said Badger.

 

By Jennifer Seal, Graduate Assistant

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Kemuel Badger by e-mail at kbadger@bsu.edu or by phone at (765) 285-8828.)