Student Projects

Scotch Pine in the Pine Plantation of the South Hill Natural Area marked by blue and white striped tape. [Photo Courtesy of Jennifer Chen]

Lauren Spitz ’07 researched the environmental effects of an old trash dump on South Hill.  This trash was dumped on South Hill at least 45 years ago and consists of mostly rusty metal, broken glass, ceramics, and wood. She did a complete under- and overstory vegetation survey of the trash dumps along with control sites to check for differences in soil, species richness and density, and plant regeneration. 

Juliana Quant ’07 in conjunction with biology professor John Hopple researched maple syrup production and how feasible it would be on South Hill.  She surveyed the number of trees that can be used for syrup production in the area and tapped several maples.  She was also involved in boiling, filtering and canning the syrup.

Elizabeth Gwinn ’08, James Walker ’08, and Jennifer Chen ’08 worked in conjunction with biology professor Jason Hamilton in surveying a particular rare plant species found on South Hill.  They documented the number of Carex glaucodea or Glaucous sedge present on the trails, transplanted them to the sides of the trails and then seeded the trails with native non-invasive grass seeds.  Follow up on the effect these actions had on these sedges is yet to be determined.

Gwinn, Walker, and Chen also flagged Scotch Pine [Pinus sylvestris] and Red Pine [Pinus resinosa] in the Pine Plantation.  This survey was conducted to determine whether the invasive Scotch Pine was taking over the surrounding areas.  In addition, they created an invasive species field guide geared towards invasives present on South Hill.  This field guide is used by students out in the field to identify and remove [when possible] these species when encountered.

Deer exclosures were erected under the leadership of John Confer [biology] with the assistance of the Physical Plant as a way to monitor the impact of white tailed deer on forest regeneration on the tree species composition of South Hill.  This was funded by an EPA P3 grant.