Field Ecology is the study of the relationship between living things and their environment. A key idea in field ecology is adaptation: the features of a living thing’s body, physiology, or behavior that make it a better or worse match for the environment in which it lives. Scientists who study field ecology look for all the different factors that could affect living things, from natural cycles and relationships with other creatures to the changes caused by human influence.
Students at The College School take Field Ecology in their eighth grade year. In the course, each student is assigned a specific scientific job (Botanist, Chemist, Zoologist, etc.). Students learn their jobs in the field, doing site studies throughout the St. Louis area. They then put their learning into practice during a nine-day trip to the southeastern United States, conducting research following the path of watersheds from the peaks of the Appalachian mountains through stream and lake environments, down to the estuary and coastal environments of the Atlantic seaboard.
After the trip, students evaluate their data and determine how best to share their work with the larger world. The photos, scientific drawings, and data herein were collected by the students and represent their interpretations of their findings.
The Field Ecology experience is a highlight of The College School program. The leadership training and outdoor skills taught throughout the years at The College School are what make the rigorous academic work on the Field Ecology trip possible, as students work together as a scientific team in challenging environments to learn concepts and life lessons they could experience nowhere else.