Any student can learn about birds from a good birding book with color photos. But a group of University of Minnesota Twin Cities students recently got to learn about birds by capturing some with mist nets, taking saliva samples, and testing the samples for amylase, an enzyme used by birds and humans alike to digest starches.
This exercise was part of the ornithology module taught during the recent, three-day “Find Your Field” weekend at the College of Biological Sciences’ Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories. Set in Northern Minnesota’s spectacular lake and forest country, the weekend activities taught students how to capture, identify, and gather data on a wide range of organisms as practicing biologists do.
“Field experiences bring science to life for students, reminding them that even the most seemingly esoteric biology is rooted in the nature that surrounds us,” says Keith Barker, a professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior and teacher of the ornithology module. Barker and five other instructors led nearly 40 students, including many with no hands-on experience in field biology, through the free series of experiences.
Subjects ranged from limnology—the study of fresh water—to mammalogy and learning about the various forms a career in field biology could take. The workshop was open to students regardless of major, drawing participants from 15 majors across three colleges, from biology to American Indian Studies.
Hands-on learning
A sophomore studying Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Gail Wery couldn’t help raving about learning new techniques in the fisheries module, especially “the seine netting in the fisheries course.”
Above: Students sort through invertebrates they have collected
Another student comment shows why the workshop was named Find Your Field: “Participating in fieldwork, seeing what it is really like, helped solidify [my] future career aspirations.”
Beyond books and brooks
But what the students learned went beyond what their individual experiences could teach. They also discovered just how collaborative field biology—and by extension, all of science—really is.
That shouldn’t be surprising, given that the workshop took shape through the joint efforts of its staff and leaders of four student groups: the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Club; the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Club; the Insect Club; and the Marine Biology Club. Henry Rosato, president of the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Club, took special note of the workshop’s synergistic character.
“You could see how people were starting to build this kind of community,” he says. “I hope they can take that sense of belonging back with them to the Twin Cities.”
Explore 2026 field biology courses at Itasca
This story is adapted from a College of Biological Sciences post
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