This eight day session atOkaw Bluffs at Lake Shelbyville is an intensiveintroduction to terrestrial and aquatic life of central Illinois. Students will collect and examinespecimens, become familiar with basic field techniques, learn to recognizespecific plants, animals, and microscopic organisms, and investigate theirhabitats. Descriptive and simplestatistical observations will be required. Freshwater and forest habitats foundin Illinois will be emphasized, but rainforest and desert systems are includedbriefly to focus on plant and animal relationships. Familiarity with the physical environment and commonorganisms should increase as specific identification methods areintroduced. This course involvesyou with the process of biology.Your field investigations are the most important activities in thiscourse. Plant collections, insectcollections, a research problem, and specific journal entries will be required.
Studentswho are in the School of Education, and have had 2 other science courses, maytake Field Ecology as BI 320, Field Ecology for Teachers. In addition to the other assignments,BI 320 students will write up their research projects as a scientific paper,and will prepare a Unit Plan to teach ecology for the grade level they arepreparing to teach, using concepts learned in Field Ecology.