Throughout the fall of 2019, Honors Biology students from Glenn Evans’s class at Mt Ararat High School made weekly visits to the Preserve to conduct research on a range of topics. Working in small groups, they chose research questions and collected scientific data.

In November and December, students analyzed their data and organized their findings into posters that will be presented at CREA’s first monthly program of 2020 at the Topsham Public Library, January 28th. These reports will become part of CREA’s database of biological and environmental information for the Preserve.  Please come and learn what these young scientists have discovered!

2019 Student Research Projects

Fishless Pond Survey – ecological parameters and biotic survey 

Cathance River Water Level and Water Quality Monitoring

Cathance River Invertebrate Sampling

Dragonflies/Damselflies – impact of abiotic factors

Mammal Study – utilizing wildlife cameras

Ecological Survey of Heath – study represents one of the few of its type ever conducted anywhere on an acidic sphagnum/peat ecosystem

Fish Survey of Cathance River – trapping and seining 

Each group of students is paired with a Mentor that is a local specialist in each field of study. We are incredibly grateful to the organizations that provided staff to serve as mentors – The Nature Conservancy, Stantec, Battelle – and to all the talented individuals who gave their time and enthusiasm to make these projects possible.

Many thanks to our 2019 Mentors
David Reed, invertebrates, retired professor
Molly Payne-Wynne, fisheries specialist, The Nature Conservancy
Steve Pelletier, wildlife biologist, Stantec
Scott Libby, oceanographer, Battelle
David Courtemanch, freshwater science specialist, The Nature Conservancy
Fred Cichocki, evolutionary biology and ecology, Chewonki
Liz Hertz, wetlands, retired policymaker
Kelly Waddle, mammal studies, Stantec
Glenn Evans, science teacher, Mt. Ararat

This program is open to the public, registration is not required to attend.