2014 Field Experiences

During the summer, seven University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Department of Geography students participated in fieldwork internships around Southeastern Wisconsin.

Nichalas Goetsch and Jeffrey Lobb worked with Jerry Ziegler, who manages seven nature preserves in Southeastern Wisconsin for The Nature Conservancy. The students completed a wide array of tasks, including pulling garlic mustard, restoring three-quarters of a mile of trail, and removing a beaver dam.  Nichalas and Jeffrey also assisted Dr. Tim Gerber and his students from University of Wisconsin-La Crosse who have diligently worked on hand removal of Eurasian water-milfoil in Lulu Lake for the past five years.

Schlitz Audubon Land Manager, Marc White had a great time working with interns Ethan Hintz, Derek Miller and Katie O'Dell Roeder.  The students used smart phone apps, Dropbox, Google Earth and ArcGIS to map small isolated infestations of garlic mustard and dame’s rocket.  The mapping was performed as a part of an early detection and rapid response protocol for the control of these invasive species.  Ethan, Derek and Katie worked as a team to import project data into a geographic database and produce a map showing the size and location of isolated infestations of the plant populations.

 

Other students placed with mentors this past summer include Jodie Saltzman and Ryan McQuilkin. 

 

      

Schlitz Audubon interns Ethan Hintz (black T-shirt), Derek Miller (blue shirt) and Katie O'Dell Roeder at work on their project