Island Ecology Program

Through the departments of Forestry and Geology, Biology, and Psychology, Sewanee offers a five week interdisciplinary study in ecology on St. Catherine's Island, Georgia. Students study the interdependence of oceanography, botany, geology, and wildlife ecology in one ecosystem, that of an undeveloped barrier island. The course offers students a valuable experience in field research and ecological studies. As they work on the island, students are able to understand the impact of humans on the environment within the context of scientific principles. St. Catherine's Island has been held undeveloped for research and conservation since 1958, and is also home of an endangered species breeding program sponsored by the New York Zoological Society.

Internship Program

A number of students pursue summer internships to further define career goals in environmental studies, forestry, and geology. Students have found summer internships in national parks, environmental consulting companies, forest industry, city governments, the Jones Ecological Center, and on the University Domain, to name just a few taken over the years. Many of our majors have also won TONYA internships from Sewanee to pursue interests that relate to public policy and to our departmental disciplines.

Research Facilities and Support

Sources of departmental support for undergraduate and faculty research: Internal endowment funds, the Sewanee Utility District, St. Catherine's Island Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the Petroleum Research Fund.

Computer facilities for the Department and the University as a whole:

The University of the South maintains a local area network of eight computer labs (one in the Department of Forestry and Geology) containing Intel-based (PC) machines, Macintoshes, laser printers and/or UNIX workstations. All labs are connected to the network. All faculty have at least one desktop computer (Macintosh or PC) connected to the network and most students have computers (Macintoshes or PCs) in their rooms connected to the network. All students, faculty, and staff have e-mail access.

Laboratory facilities within the Department:

Laboratory facilities include a Siemens D5000 X-ray diffractometer; Leitz petrographic microscopes; Olympus binocular microscopes; Nikon research microscope with photomicrographic and video attachments; PetroScope; FluidInc fluid inclusion heating/freezing stage; emission spectrograph; 18" and 10" rock saws; seismograph station; soil moisture pressure release equipment; hydrology data loggers, water level recorders, and current meters; GIS computers, plotters, digitizers, and GPS units; Number 2 International centrifuge; LI-COR portable infrared gas analyzer; LI-COR portable leaf area meter; AccuPar light sensor; time-domain reflectometer; forced-air and static-air drying ovens, Wild theodolite; weather station; and 450 sq.ft. greenhouse. An SEM facility with EDAX is available in the biology department. Chromatographs (liquid and gas) and spectrometers/spectrophotometers (including FTIR, NMR, AA, and infrared) are available in the chemistry department.

Library facilities for the Department and University:

Library resources for the University, including the Department of Forestry and Geology, are housed in the Jesse Ball duPont Library, whose large holdings (nearly a half-million volumes) allow it often to loan more volumes on interlibrary loan that it borrows. The duPont Library also has a cooperative relationship with Vanderbilt University allowing students access to Vanderbilt stacks. Wireless internet is accessible throughout the library.

Access to Specific Geologic and/or Forest Features:

The University of the South campus is a 10,000 acre forested domain (largely upland oak-hickory, mixed mesophytic cove, and coniferous plantation forest) atop excellent exposures of Pennsylvanian and Mississippian strata of the Appalachian Plateau province. Other Appalachian physiographic provinces, such as the Valley and Ridge, Blue Ridge, and Piedmont, are within several hour's drive of campus and are often utilized for field study. These include a wide variety of forests and geological features, notably southern bottomland, Appalachian oak, spruce-fir, and Piedmont pine forests, as well as widespread exposures of sedimentary, igneous, and/or metamorphic terrains.

Consortia Participation by the Department and University:

The University is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South, a 14-member consortium of outstanding liberal arts colleges and universities dedicated to program excellence, continuation of the liberal arts tradition, and student growth and development. The Department of Forestry and Geology is also a member of the Appalachian Colleges Association and the Council on Undergraduate Research.