Knowledge of ancient ecosystems and modern ecological communities can allows us to better understand the earth system. Past environmental conditions and habitats reveal things about the current life of the area and how the planet changes over time. Although this post is about ecological processes, the geologic formations reveal a lot about this topic. When…
Tag: Wyoming Spring Creek Field Studies
Wyoming Spring Creek: Piecing Together the Past
Ecology is first and foremost a science based upon observation. Environments biotic and abiotic factors are copiously described in detail, organismal behavioral relationships are watched and recorded, surveys are designed to count biodiversity and abundance, and individuals are analyzed and marked to gather data on community health and watch populations into the future. All of…
Spring Creek Week 3: How Rocks Tell A Story of the Past, Present, & Future
The Earth has been around for roughly 4.5 billion years, but humans have only existed for 300,000 of those years (0.007% of the planet’s history.) Our time here is so minuscule in the grand scheme of things, yet our species has developed enough to spend our current time diving into the rich history of things…
Wyoming Spring Creek: Patterns Etched in Stone … and Bone
On the windblown and weathered surface of the Spring Creek Preserve, belemnites and vertebrae from dinosaurs litter the ground. It is easy to focus on the sheer wonder of finding a fossil, then another, then a cluster, transporting you back to the times of the Jurassic or the ancient seas that once covered Wyoming. To…
Wyoming Spring Creek: Ancient and Modern Earth
Wyoming is full of remarkable landscapes: sweeping prairies, colorful badlands, and towering granite peaks, all teeming with diverse plants and wildlife. These ecological communities are an important resource for our studies here, but they sometimes distract us from the vast expanse of ancient ecosystems that are right at our feet. Here you can see layers…
Wyoming Spring Creek – Earth’s Intersectionality
4.5 billion years. No one can truly comprehend how large that number is, let alone imagine something taking that long. However, that is earth. Just 4.5 billion years of heat and gas that somehow churned out us. There is so much ambiguity shrouding what we are and how we came to live in this modern…
Cultural Experiences in the Laramie Valley
There is a great diversity of culture in the Laramie Valley. Our first major cultural experience was a fourth of July celebration in the town of Rock River. The town is very small, with a population of about 250 people, but it seemed that most of them attended the celebration. It was a simple setup,…
Wyoming Spring Creek: Immersed in the Laramie River Valley
The last two weeks in Laramie, WY has been very eventful and eye-opening. I can confidently say I have not been in an area similar to here. Although I have been out west, this environment reminds me of cowboy movies and the small population creates a certain atmosphere in the towns. For one, many of…
Interacting with Laramie Locals
After spending two weeks in Wyoming, I feel as though I have gotten a decent taste of its’ residents’ hospitality and have started acclimating to the barrenness of the landscape. Everyone has been very helpful and excited to share their knowledge about their home, whether that be directions, dining recommendations, or things to do. Our…
Wyoming Spring Creek: Unity in Division
1735 miles away from home, 5-4 hours by airplane or 1 day 49 minutes by car per google maps nearest estimation. It certainly seems that I have traveled to a distant land. Gone are the tall buildings and bustling streets, the green forested hills of eastern Pennsylvania have shrunk and stretched into the flat prairie…