Education

The Gordon Natural Area  serves as an education resource for learning about the natural environment.  Various ongoing research and instructional activities are conducted in the GNA in order to provide students (and other visitors who are interested in ecology) a living example of how dynamic environmental systems function.

Because the GNA possess so many different types of natural land types (including: old growth forest, high/low density wooded, wetlands, edge, and stream buffer areas), as well as all of the species that are associated with these different areas, the GNA is a dynamic, living classroom for those interested in different aspects of the natural world.

Faculty Research and Classes

Below, some of the faculty members that utilize the GNA present overviews of their teaching.

Current Faculty

Dr. Jessica Schedlbauer

Teaching Activities in the GNA

In my biology elective course, Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology (BIO 315), students make use of the GNA in several different labs.  Early in the semester, students set up a seven-week leaf decomposition experiment to examine how different abiotic conditions in the GNA affect rates of decomposition.  Students return to the GNA to collect data that allows them to determine how topography affects forest aboveground biomass and carbon storage.  Later in the semester, students measure both soil carbon storage and soil respiration rates in different areas of the GNA.  The class uses these data to assess the influence of different types of plant cover and associated microclimates on both parameters.  Throughout the semester, students gain invaluable hands-on experience with the tools of ecological analysis in the GNA, and they have the opportunity to apply theories and concepts learned in class to datasets they've collected themselves.  The application of knowledge within the context of a forest ecosystem that the students know well is incredibly helpful in bringing abstract concepts discussed in class into the real world.

Additionally, I have visited the GNA with my general education course, Humans and the Environment (SCB 102), to look at how many of the topics we explore in class play out in our own backyard.  We discuss issues including biodiversity, food web dynamics, and non-native plants while looking at examples in the GNA.  On these visits, students are often able to make connections to other forest ecosystems they've spent time in, and they are able to see concrete examples of human influence on natural ecosystems.

Find out more about Dr. Schedlbauer.

Students in Ecosystem Ecology assessing the GNA's aboveground biomass

 

Dr. Greg Turner

Teaching Activities in the GNA

I use the Gordon Natural Area as a natural setting for teaching ecology and education course content and methods in classes I teach at WCU. For my Plant Communities (BIO 475) course, I introduce undergraduate and graduate students to various forest communities (ash, beech, and oak dominated) found at the preserve to learn tree identification and sampling methods, and to collect data on forest structure for analysis and interpretation skills development needed for research and ecology-related careers. In addition, students are able to learn about the natural history of many plant species, which is increasingly lacking in many ecological education contexts. In my Mycology course (BIO 454) I have students apply content and concepts learned in the class to the field. Students identify decomposer and mycorrhizal fungal sporocarps and habitats conducive to their growth. And in my Science Methods in the Secondary School course (SCB 350), I have students develop lesson plans and activities used for teaching middle and high school students in conjunction with natural history tutorials conducted at the preserve. Feedback from students regarding their learning experiences at the Gordon has been consistently positive, with most citing the acquisition of experimental design and field sampling skills useful in future career and research endeavors being the most notable benefits. I can think of no place better to teach ecology and science pedagogy as the Gordon Natural Area.

Find out more about Dr. Turner.

Former Faculty

Dr. Mary Buckelew                                          

What is the connection between the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth and the Gordon Natural Area (GNA) at West Chester University?  The GNA Steward Dr. Nur Ritter knows the answer.  Schedule a tour of the GNA with Dr. Ritter and you and your students will have the opportunity to pursue a variety of topics such as William Wordsworth’s connection to an invasive species in the GNA. 

For several years now, the Gordon Natural Area has served as a place for research, rejuvenation, and as a muse for students in my undergraduate and graduate English Language Arts methods courses and my general education courses (Writing 120, Literature 165, and Writing 200/204 Research Writing). Whether inspiring  students to write poetry  or motivating students to research issues of sustainability and  local ecosystems, without fail our field trips to the GNA give students the experiential opportunities to think and create beyond the confines of the classroom walls, extending and deepening learning outcomes.

On a recent spring tour of the GNA, Dr. Ritter pointed out the cheerful yellow, buttercup type flower the Lesser Celandine to my Literature 165 students. Not only did Dr. Ritter share the history of the invasive flower as it related to the GNA but he read William Wordsworth’s poem “The Lesser Celandine” to my students.  The poem and the Lesser Celandine’s place in the Gordon Natural Area provoked questions regarding culture and context, environmental issues, and the experience provided inspiration for writing topics which were carefully considered in subsequent classroom discussions.

On another field trip to the GNA, one of my Writing 120 students Byron Burger observed a hawk flying overhead. Enthralled by the entire experience, Byron penned the poems included here.  

Consider opening your literal or virtual classroom door to all the Gordon Natural Area has to offer.

Students from Dr. Buckelew's LIT 165 course at the end of their visit to the GNA.

Poems by Byron Burger (Spring 2016)

How about a Haiku?

Two Rams saved Gordon
Seventeen threatened species
One-Hundred Acres

Sustain Gordon

S   is for the serenity while taking a stroll down the nature trails.
U  is for understanding the importance of the native species.
S   is for the stream that flows around the Gordon Nature Center.
T   is for taking time away from technology to see the earth around you.
A   is for planting more American Chestnut trees.
I    is for investing some of your time on Arbor day to help the Gordon Nature Center.
N  is for Nur and Kendra. The guides for the Gordon Nature Center.

G  is for the great big tulip tree
O  is for observing the red tailed hawk.
R  is for running through the nature trails.
D  is for the five-hundred deer that roam through the area.
O  is for the oodles of wildlife and plant species.
N is for the nursery inside the Gordon Nature Center

Walking the Trails

When walking though Gordon there’s a lot to see

Let’s talk about their collection of trees

The trio of Black Gum, Walnut, and Oak

Near the stadium, with athletes sweat soaked

Silent Giants, known for their bark not bite

See them from dawn until the dusk of night

 

Birds all around me, performing their song

While I explored these trails, all day long

As I was walking, there was a flash of Red

I spotted a hawk, much farther ahead

When watching this raptor, in graceful flight

I saw a true hunter, full of delight

After swooping down, on top of its prey

I saw mother nature at work, nothing more to say

Dr. Harry Tiebout

I use the GNA extensively in my teaching, especially for my field ecology courses (General Ecology and Vertebrate Ecology).  Shown in the photo are students in Vertebrate Ecology measuring and weighing salamanders in the GNA. They will also process soil samples from the locations where salamander were present and absent, in order to determine preferences for substrate moisture. This study has been conducted every year since 1994, making it one of the longest-running studies in the GNA forested areas.

Some of Dr. Tiebout's Vertebrate Ecology students at the GNA

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