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Anna Vold

Echinacea Project 2017

I will be a senior at Minnewaska Area High School this next fall. Our district is fairly small and located between Glenwood and Starbuck.

Research Interest

I am interested in learning more about plants and prairies in general. I would also like to learn more about the types of plants I live around and ways to protect the prairies we have in Minnesota. So far, I am undecided on exactly what I would like to study in college, but I am heavily considering plant science or biology.

Statement

I live in Glenwood, Minnesota where my family owns and operates Dorrich Dairy. Growing up working on a farm I have a passion for the dairy industry and agriculture in general. I enjoy gardening in the summer and spending time with friends and family. Some of my other hobbies include baking, eating pie, tennis, traveling, and 4-H.

 

Wes Braker

I am currently studying Biology and Japanese at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. I am expecting to graduate in in June of 2018.

Research Interests

I am interested in learning about prairie fragmentation and using Echinacea to find out more about different prairie plant species in the same ecosystem. I’ve done guided research and group research in a college setting and I am excited to have new research experiences outside of a laboratory setting.

Statement

I went to high school in Northfield, MN, and (after graduating) I took a gap year in which I went to high school in Japan for a year on a Rotary Youth Exchange scholarship. After my gap year, I returned to Northfield to attend school at St. Olaf College. In my spare time I like to play tuba, canoe, cross-country ski, hike, and knit.

Ashley Barto

Echinacea Project 2017

Greetings! I am an environmental science major with a biology emphasis and an honors interdisciplinary studies minor at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas. I will graduate in 2019.

Research Interests

My love for plants stemmed from working in my family’s gardens as a kid. In high school, I had a great botany teacher, and ever since, I’ve been interested in plant science. Specifically, unusual plant reproduction, plant carbon sequestration potential, and weird flower morphology fascinates me. Recently, I have become interested in plant-pollinator ecology and biogeography, and I hope to study the efficiency of pollinators in fragmented habitats this summer.

Statement

I grew up 20 miles south of Fort Smith, Arkansas, and I enjoy living in the Natural State. In my free time, I like writing, baking, working in my small garden, painting, playing Scrabble, and hiking. I also enjoy spending time with my dog, family, and friends. I’m excited to spend my summer in Minnesota and be a part of Team Echinacea!

Me in the Jewel Moore Nature Reserve prairie on the UCA campus.

Hi I’m Ivy!

Hi there! My name is Ivy Klee. I live in Highland Park, IL and I will be a sophomore at the University of Michigan studying the Program in the Environment (PitE) this fall. This summer I will be working as a volunteer at the Plant Conservation Science  Center at the Chicago Botanic Gardens and today was my first day on the job. My day started out with a tour of the different areas of the lab and after that I helped to clean and count the Echinacea seeds. The cleaning process involved removing and separating achenes from the flower head while the counting process involved identifying the collected achenes from a scanned image. I enjoyed every minute of my time today in the lab, all the volunteers and people working here were so nice and very friendly. I am excited to come back tomorrow! IMG_0486

Scott Nordstrom

Echinacea Project 2016

Biology, Math, William and Mary 2015. Operations Research, William and Mary, 2016.

Research Interests

I am interested in studying how complex systems assemble and function. I’m especially interested in pollination ecology (properties of plant-pollinator networks) and spatial processes in ecology. My ideal job is to spend the summer months on the side of a mountain catching butterflies, then spending the rest of the year playing around with data on the computer. I’m new to the prairie ecosystem, so I’m excited to learn it inside and out and contribute to exciting research projects.

Statement

I am from Burke, Virginia, in the suburbs of D.C. I’ve done field work in Oregon, Idaho, Vermont and Maine before this summer. In my spare time I like to hike, run, cook, drink coffee, and listen to my local public radio station.

Me with my vegetable of choice.

Me with my vegetable of choice.

Alexander Hajek

Echinacea Project 2016

Hi everyone! I’m a biology major and a political science minor.  I attend the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, and I will be graduating from there in 2017.

Research Interests

My primary research interests pertain to conservation biology and environmental science as it applies to biology.  As a part of a Wooster education, students are required to complete an independent study project.  For my project, I have chosen to study the exposure and effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on the native solitary pollinators of Echinacea.  In future research and study, I really want to focus on how human activities have and currently are affecting fragile and scarce ecosystems like the prairies.

Statement

I am originally from Chagrin Falls (a small suburb southeast of Cleveland, Ohio).  In my spare time I enjoy hiking, rock climbing, fly fishing, and backpacking, and in recent years these activities have taken me all over the United States.  I truly love to travel, and I hope to do more in the future.  I also love to draw and paint, and I look forward to doing some while I am in Minnesota.

Alex Hajek

Lea Richardson

Echinacea Project 2016

B.S. Biology 2009 California State University Los Angeles

Masters in Education 2012 University of California Los Angeles

Research Interests

As part of Team Echinacea I am certainly interested in understanding more about how Echinacea populations respond to their heavily fragmented environment. I’m also interested in learning more about species interactions from a community level, how species influence each other, and how learning more about those interactions might contribute to restoration and conservation efforts.

Statement

I am from Los Angeles, but have been living in Spokane, WA for the last year. In addition to science I love cooking, taking barre classes, spending time with my dogs, creating random art projects (which may not be worth looking at given the fact I have no expertise at all), and teaching. I was on Team Echinacea last year as a high school teacher and I’m excited to be back this summer as I make the transition back into graduate school!

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Amy Waananen

Echinacea Project 2016

Biology, St. Olaf College 2015

Research Interests

I’m interested in when Echinacea plants flower and what that means for individuals’ opportunities to mate. Could it be that individuals are flowering in the right place but at the wrong time? We’ll be trying to find out! I’m also interested which plants are compatible with each other and will be doing a crossing experiment to assess the degree of compatibility in remnant populations.

Statement

I am from Maple Grove, Minnesota, a northwest burb of the Twin Cities. I like to run, garden, and bake. I’m happy to be returning to K-town this summer, and in particular I’m looking forward to swimming in Elk Lake and cooking with folks in Town Hall.

Here's me with a carrot!

Here’s me with a carrot!

Alyson Jacobs

Echinacea Project 2016

I am a Biology Major and Environmental Studies Minor at The College of Wooster and will be graduating in 2017.

Research Interests

I am very excited to join Team Echinacea this summer and learn more about The Echinacea Project. I will also be working on my Senior Independent Study this summer, looking at the effects of removing buckthorn, an invasive species, on a bog habitat.

Statement

I am originally from Manchester, Michigan, but I currently live in Flushing, Michigan. I play the flute in the Wooster Scot Marching Band and I am Vice-president of my sorority, Kappa Epsilon Zeta. In my free time I enjoy reading, hiking, and taking pictures of pretty flowers and cool fungi.

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Will Reed

Echinacea Project 2016

Ecology, Evolution and Behavior & Plant Biology, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities 2018

Research Interests

This will be my third summer with the Echinacea Project, in past years I have investigated methods for increasing pollen longevity and the heritability of flowering time and duration in Echinacea angustifolia. I am very interested in using quantitative genetic methods to investigate traits in long-lived perennials and learning how local adaptation affects prairie species and overall prairie health.  This summer I am looking forward to working with the demography and surveying aspects of the project.

Statement

I am from Alexandria, MN about 20 miles from the research site.  In my spare time I enjoy doing things outdoors; fly-fishing, biking, hiking and kayaking are a few of my favorites! I also enjoy taking photo’s of the plants that we encounter during our field work. I am very excited to be back with the project this summer and I can’t wait to get started

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