{"id":4159,"date":"2025-05-27T09:33:54","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T13:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/?page_id=4159"},"modified":"2025-05-28T13:34:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T17:34:51","slug":"fresh-air-fresh-perspective","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/the-trinity-reporter-spring-2025\/features\/fresh-air-fresh-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresh air, fresh perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Eliana Rosen \u201927
\nPhotos by Nick Caito and Helder Mira
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As the vast, open sky stretches above them, two Trinity students watch birds fly by quietly while leaves crunch beneath their feet. They have just arrived at the Trinity College Field Station, about a 40-minute drive northeast of campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so peaceful out here,\u201d says Alex Willard \u201927.<\/p>\n

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Alexander Willard \u201927 and Maliah Ryan \u201925 conduct an experiment at the Trinity College Field Station as Principal Lecturer and Laboratory Coordinator in the Environmental Science Program Jonathan Gourley and Sienna Stephens \u201926 look on.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Adds Hannah Flis \u201927, \u201cWe always take a moment and appreciate the beauty around us, just standing in silence.\u201d<\/p>\n

As environmental science majors, the students come to the 60-acre field station to gain a deeper understanding of nature that can\u2019t be replicated in the classroom or in a laboratory. Trinity students, faculty, and staff use the field station for research, teaching, and recreation through fieldwork, class outings, and club activities.<\/p>\n

Willard says that exploring the field station property provides a unique perspective and a peaceful atmosphere. \u201cBecause Trinity is in the city, sometimes it can feel far away from nature,\u201d he says. \u201cAt the field station, you immediately feel transported and farther away than you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

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NATURAL OPPORTUNITIES<\/h4>\n

Located in Ashford, Connecticut\u2014in a region of the state known as the Quiet Corner\u2014the field station comprises two pieces of land owned by the College: the 48-acre Fiano parcel and the 10-acre Bourne parcel. The two parcels abut the Church Farm property, owned by Eastern Connecticut State University, and the Joshua\u2019s Trust parcel.<\/p>\n

Jonathan R. Gourley, principal lecturer and laboratory coordinator in the Environmental Science Program, has taught earth science and environmental science at Trinity for 18 years and says the field station is a valuable, hands-on resource. Students in his introductory classes conduct research by making observations and doing experiments in the Mount Hope River that flows next to the Bourne parcel and on the field station property.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents compare the rivers by studying the aquatic insects, as they are great indicators of water quality. If you have healthy bugs, you have a healthy food chain, healthy fish, and an overall clean river,\u201d Gourley says. \u201cMount Hope is an idyllic Connecticut stream with fish and living organisms. Trout Brook [in Hartford] has fish as well, but it\u2019s a far more stressed environment; there are no trout there anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Oliver Gabrielson \u201928<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition, the field station land is home to a pond with a large beaver dam and a wide variety of plants, trees, and animals. Gourley and his students mapped out these parcels and installed boundary markers and other signage.<\/p>\n

SEVERAL SUBJECTS<\/h4>\n

The field station also offers opportunities for those pursuing academic areas outside of environmental science, including biology, neuroscience, and psychology. Susan A. Masino, Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of Applied Science, encourages her students to explore the field station to study the connections between brain health and nature and to encounter those connections firsthand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe experiential learning at the field station is something that cannot be done in the classroom, laboratory, or on the main campus. And it feels extra special because it is part of the College,\u201d says Masino. \u201cIt is important for everyone to learn about our land and water. And having land to connect to is vitally important for our collective health. Students are excited to come back and visit over time and are happy just to know it is there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gourley notes that student interest in the field station has led to the development of independent studies, including those by Flis and Willard. They are particularly interested in conducting tree-ring research, known as dendrochronology, to date abandoned chicken coop foundations on the property.<\/p>\n

At the field station, says Flis, \u201cthe environment has grown up around them. We want to use tree-ring cores to date the structures and, using that information, determine when the structures were abandoned.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hannah Flis \u201927<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Flis and Willard hope to pursue this research as their integrating experience\u2014a requirement of the environmental science major\u2014applying the lessons they\u2019ve learned to their future endeavors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came into college knowing I wanted to major in environmental science but not really knowing what I would want to do with it,\u201d Flis says. \u201cAfter exploring this space and working out in nature, I know I want to continue to do research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willard hopes to pursue a career in conservation. \u201cGrowing up in a city, it was hard to find natural places for me to explore. These places got harder and harder to find, and the ones that I did have were more polluted and less of a free space. As I got older, the abundant populations of my favorite animals were significantly diminished,\u201d says Willard.<\/p>\n

Students Harper Siemens \u201926 and Scarlett Jago \u201927 say that the research they conducted in the field station\u2019s river gave them a better grasp of concepts learned in their \u201cIntroduction to Earth Science\u201d classroom on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cStepping into the waders and going into the river, you just feel completely immersed in science,\u201d says Jago. In one exercise for the course, students measure discharge\u2014or flow\u2014of the river using simple tools. Jago says, \u201cWe then compared our data with the real-time U.S. Geological Survey discharge of the Mount Hope River and used the historical flow data to make a graph on the recurrence intervals of a 100-year flood for this section of the river.\u201d<\/p>\n

IN THE OUTDOORS<\/h4>\n

The field station\u2014which also is used as a destination for the Quest Leadership Program, Trinity\u2019s outdoor orientation program for incoming students\u2014can be a place to reflect and to ease stress. \u201cAfter a tough week of class and volleyball, I remember going out to the field station during peak foliage season and just walking into the river. I was very sore, and the coolness of the river relieved my stress,\u201d Jago says. \u201cFor a moment, I was just standing there, being outside and enjoying the fresh air, and I knew that I wanted to be an environmental science major.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIntroduction to Earth Science\u201d students<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Siemens adds, \u201cSometimes students might dread going to class or have a lot on their mind, but here it makes learning more immersive and fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gourley says he believes that expanding access to and use of the field station could help all students see intellectual concepts in action and develop skills to support any academic or career path they choose.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond helping students conduct labs and teaching, I have been slowly trying to raise awareness of the property\u2014to our deans, to our faculty, to our students\u2014to encourage other possible projects,\u201d Gourley says. \u201cThe field station is an important piece of the Trinity community that should be recognized and celebrated.\u201d<\/p>\n

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