Rocks, Rivers, and Ancient Life

Students will learn about the local rocks in Cottonwood Canyon and the volcanic activity that originally formed them. Through direct observation, they will learn about the ways that water shapes the earth and creates different physical environments that are inhabited by living organisms of today. They will also work with fossilized organisms, the evidence of past life present in rocks, and gain an understanding of how they are formed and preserved.

Instructor: Joe Corsini is a professor of Biology at Eastern Oregon University. He has a Ph.D in Microbiology with an emphasis in Virology and has taught biology at all levels for nearly 20 years. His current research projects include a study of the diatoms at Hot Lake in Union County and DNA studies of relationships between Western Painted Turtle populations.

Writing in the Wilderness

The writing project will introduce students to the wilderness, ecosystems, history, and culture and region of the John Day River through acts of reading, writing, photography and discussion. Daily activities will include learning how to create a visual narrative through a variety of field research methods, such as developing photography techniques, conducting observations and journaling, testing narrative-building skills, and learning group project design as we study and write about this landscape. By the conclusion of this project students will present their findings and work in a cumulative visual narrative that is planned, developed and shared as a group. Students are encouraged to bring a camera (film or digital) if they have one; although this is not required to be a participant in this project. All other materials will be provided.

Instructor: James Stolen is currently a Senior Instructor II of English and Writing at Eastern Oregon University. He received a BA from Carleton College and MFA at Virginia Tech. He is an avid explorer and hiker, and centers much of his fiction, essays and poetry on the landscape of the American West.

Nature’s Navigation

Students will learn how the invertebrate nervous system combines multiple sensory cues, including Earth’s magnetic fields, into a complex hierarchy of signals that can direct and guide navigational tasks. Fieldwork will include collecting samples and examining invertebrate behavior under a microscope.

Instructor Shaun Cain is a Professor of Biology at the College of STM & Health Science. Dr. Shaun Cain is a neuroethologist with a focus on invertebrates. His research investigates the nervous control of behavior using behavioral, electrophysiological, and neuroanatomical techniques. His research projects provide opportunities for undergraduate research for students seeking degrees in biology, biochemistry, and psychology.

Fisheries and Riparian Habitat

Students will learn the changing dynamics along the John Day River with some historical, cultural, and present-day challenges. Which some of the impacts are from climate change, development, agriculture, and invasive species. The field project will include the sampling of macroinvertebrates along a reach on the John Day River and how to identify them to order or families. Students will learn to process a small study of biodiversity integrity and how they are impacted with changing watershed dynamics. This will also be integrated into identification for fishing techniques as a fly fisher.

Instructor: Christine Longjohn is a Navajo Riparian Ecologist, who is working for The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs as a Fisheries Biologist. I am from Utah and have had the opportunity to work in the Pacific Northwest with the Tribes and The Forest Service. I have been a part of restoration projects in the John Day Basin and currently working on Salmon monitoring programs in the Hood River Basin. I am an avid Fly Fisher with a passion for our watershed health.