Teaching and Research

Paul Schaeffer (Biology)

March 1, 2023Closeup image of a bay-breasted warbler. A small bird with a white belly, black and white features, and a reddish color on top of its head.

We are studying small mammal adaptations to winter cold, as well as the importance of native habitats for stopovers of migrating songbirds.

Biology (Hank Stevens)

March 1, 2023

A group of three Miami students walking across a wooden bridge in the woods.

In Ecology of North America (BIO 176), we explore natural landscapes. One of the best ways to do this is to get outside, and use our senses of smell, sight, sound, and touch.

Read more about Hank Stevens' class

Botanical Society

Feb. 3, 2023

Students with shovels in the Miami natural areas

In the spirit of protecting and enriching the Natural Areas, the Miami University Botanical Society (MUBS) is helping to mitigate the spread of Amur honeysuckle. 

Read more about MUBS

Outdoor Pursuit Center

Jan. 23, 2023

A person walking away from the camera in a forest full of tall trees.

The Outdoor Pursuit Center uses the Miami Natural Areas for both teaching and teambuilding. 

Read more about the Outdoor Pursuit Center

Jason Rech (Geology)

Dec. 20, 2022

Students wearing life jackets and wading through a river, taking various measurements

The focus of my lab group's research in southwest Ohio is on understanding what streams were like prior to European settlement.

Read more about Jason Rech's research

Robbyn Abbitt (Geography)

Dec. 20, 2022

Two students in the woods, looking at phones

Miami's Geographic Information System (GIS) program is rooted in application.

Read more about Robbyn Abbitt's work with GIS

Abby Hay (Biology)

Dec. 13, 2022

Abby Hay with three other students, laughing in a natural area of Miami University.

My project focuses on the individual and interactive effects of white-tailed deer and invasive plants on tree regeneration: both natural regeneration and artificial regeneration of planted seedlings.

Read more about Abby Hay's research

First bobcat photographed in Natural Areas

Nov. 22, 2022

Bobcat walking on a fallen tree in the woods.

A trail camera placed and monitored by Miami University students captured a video of a bobcat, the first known photograph of this elusive and solitary animal taken in Miami's Natural Areas.

Read more about the sighting

Myaamia Center

July 26, 2017

Each spring, students and staff from the Myaamia Center and students and staff from the Western Program tap ten sugar maple trees in Peabody Woods.

Read more about maple sugaring 

David Gorchov (Biology)

June 29, 2017

Collage of 2 photos: Figure 1–A deer exclosure in the woods. Figure 2–Amur honeysuckle that has been eaten by deer. Effects of an invasive shrub, Lonicera maackii, and a generalist herbivore, white-tailed deer, on forest floor plant community composition.

Read more about David Gorchov's work

David Russell (Biology)

July 21, 2014

Bald eagle soaring through the air

For our bird research, we band birds, assign them numbers, capture lots of data about them; we monitor them year after year for how many return and what birds use the areas.

Read more about Dr. David E. Russell's resarch