Life at Northern Kentucky University的日誌

If you haven't visited NKU's Research & Education Field Station (REFS) yet -- or even if you have -- it's a great time to get "out there" (it's only 5-10 minutes from the main campus) and take advantage of one of our "Talk & Walk" guided hikes.

The 4th Summer 2024 REFS Talk & Walk is on Wednesday, July 24, from 7-9 pm, and will be presented by Dr. Steve Yanoviak (University of Louisville). The topic is ants. These under-appreciated, social insects are diverse, have interesting behaviors, and as the primary dispersers of several kinds of wildflower seeds (among other things) are critical to our local ecosystems. Come learn more about these fascinating little insects!

If you're interested in joining us, there's still time to sign up.

For the latest information and updates or to register, visit NKU's official REFS website: https://www.nku.edu/academics/artsci/about/centers/refs/register.html

Parking is available in front of the Field Station:
NKU Research and Education Field Station (NKU REFS)
99 Harrison Ct, Melbourne, KY 41059

And the fine print...
Class size: Limit of 20 people
Fee: Donating $10 to NKU REFS is encouraged
Please register via the REFS website at least 6 hours before the event.

Appropriate clothing/gear: The wetlands is an open field with chest-high vegetation in most areas, some of which is spiny. The trails are mowed or bare earth, but are often muddy. Mosquitoes, ticks, and poison ivy are all common residents of the area. The river bank also hosts stinging nettle. While we aim to keep the Talk & Walk hikes not-too-strenuous, proper clothing will allow for more flexibility and comfort while exploring the area. Wear clothing durable in the face of mud and bug spray. Long pants will provide protection from aggressive plants and can be tucked into socks to discourage ticks. Waterproof boots are suggested if you can't stand muddy socks, otherwise, a comfortable pair of sneakers with good treads and a spare pair of dry socks should do.

If you haven't visited NKU's Research & Education Field Station (REFS) yet -- or even if you have -- it's a great time to get "out there" (it's only 5-10 minutes from the main campus) and take advantage of one of our "Talk & Walk" guided hikes.

Our third Summer 2024 REFS Talk & Walk is on Wednesday, July 10, from 7-9 pm, and will be presented by NKU's own Dr. Yingying Xie. The topic is connections between woody plants and amphibians in vernal pools (of which there are many at REFS).

If you're interested in joining us, there's still time to sign up.

For the latest information and updates or to register, visit NKU's official REFS website: https://www.nku.edu/academics/artsci/about/centers/refs/register.html

Parking is available in front of the Field Station:
NKU Research and Education Field Station (NKU REFS)
99 Harrison Ct, Melbourne, KY 41059

And the fine print...
Class size: Limit of 20 people
Fee: Donating $10 to NKU REFS is encouraged
Please register via the REFS website at least 6 hours before the event.

Appropriate clothing/gear: The wetlands is an open field with chest-high vegetation in most areas, some of which is spiny. The trails are mowed or bare earth, but are often muddy. Mosquitoes, ticks, and poison ivy are all common residents of the area. The river bank also hosts stinging nettle. While we aim to keep the Talk & Walk hikes not-too-strenuous, proper clothing will allow for more flexibility and comfort while exploring the area. Wear clothing durable in the face of mud and bug spray. Long pants will provide protection from aggressive plants and can be tucked into socks to discourage ticks. Waterproof boots are suggested if you can't stand muddy socks, otherwise, a comfortable pair of sneakers with good treads and a spare pair of dry socks should do.

Lichens will be the topic of our second Summer 2024 REFS Talk & Walk, which is this evening (Wednesday, June 19) from 7-9 pm. Kendall McDonald, a Kentucky Nature Preserves botanist, will introduce these cool, mutualistic organisms, and then we'll venture into the Great Outdoors to see them "in person".

If you're interested in joining us, there's still time to sign up and NKU's Research & Education Field Station (REFS) is only a few minutes from the main campus.

For the latest information and updates or to register, visit NKU's official REFS website: https://www.nku.edu/academics/artsci/about/centers/refs/register.html

Parking is available in front of the Field Station:
NKU Research and Education Field Station (NKU REFS)
99 Harrison Ct, Melbourne, KY 41059

And the fine print...
Class size: Limit of 20 people
Fee: Donating $10 to NKU REFS is encouraged
Please register via the REFS website at least 6 hours before the event.

Appropriate clothing/gear: The wetlands is an open field with chest-high vegetation in most areas, some of which is spiny. The trails are mowed or bare earth, but are often muddy. Mosquitoes, ticks, and poison ivy are all common residents of the area. The river bank also hosts stinging nettle. While we aim to keep the Talk & Walk hikes not-too-strenuous, proper clothing will allow for more flexibility and comfort while exploring the area. Wear clothing durable in the face of mud and bug spray. Long pants will provide protection from aggressive plants and can be tucked into socks to discourage ticks. Waterproof boots are suggested if you can't stand muddy socks, otherwise, a comfortable pair of sneakers with good treads and a spare pair of dry socks should do.

If you haven't visited NKU's Research & Education Field Station (REFS) yet -- or even if you have -- Summer 2024 is a great time to get "out there" (it's only 5-10 minutes from the main campus) and take advantage of one of our "Talk & Walk" guided hikes.

We have five "Talk & Walk" events planned for Summer 2024, to be held from 7-9 pm on select Wednesday evenings. (Except for the program on fireflies, which runs 7:30-9:30). These usually take the form of an educational talk on some topic and a hike around the woodlands or wetlands to actually apply what's being discussed.

This summer's topics list is:

June 5: Lighting up the Shadows: The Secret Lives of Fireflies, Lightning Bugs, & Glow-worms
– Matthew Speights (7:30 – 9:30 pm)

June 19: Lichens of Northern Kentucky
– Kendall McDonald, Kentucky Nature Preserves

July 10: Latent connections between woody plants and amphibians at vernal pools
– Yingying Xi, NKU Biological Sciences

July 24: Exploring the world of ants
– Steve Yanoviak, U of L Biology

August 7: Algae.nku.edu: Discovering the wonderful algae at REFS
– Miriam Kannan, NKU Biological Sciences, Emeritus & Mark Nienaber

For the latest information and updates or to register, visit NKU's official REFS website: https://www.nku.edu/academics/artsci/about/centers/refs/register.html

Parking is available in front of the Field Station:
NKU Research and Education Field Station (NKU REFS)
99 Harrison Ct, Melbourne, KY 41059

And the fine print...
Class size: Limit of 20 people
Fee: Donating $10 to NKU REFS is encouraged
Please register via the REFS website at least 6 hours before the event.

Appropriate clothing/gear: The wetlands is an open field with chest-high vegetation in most areas, some of which is spiny. The trails are mowed or bare earth, but are often muddy. Mosquitoes, ticks, and poison ivy are all common residents of the area. The river bank also hosts stinging nettle. While we aim to keep the Talk & Walk hikes not-too-strenuous, proper clothing will allow for more flexibility and comfort while exploring the area. Wear clothing durable in the face of mud and bug spray. Long pants will provide protection from aggressive plants and can be tucked into socks to discourage ticks. Waterproof boots are suggested if you can't stand muddy socks, otherwise, a comfortable pair of sneakers with good treads and a spare pair of dry socks should do.

If you haven't visited NKU's Research & Education Field Station (REFS) yet -- or even if you have -- Summer 2023 is a great time to get "out there" (it's only 5-10 minutes from the main campus) and take advantage of one of our "Talk & Walk" guided hikes.

We have four "Talk & Walk" events planned for Summer 2023, to be held from 7-9 pm on select Wednesday evenings. These usually take the form of an educational talk on some topic and then a hike around the woodlands or wetlands to actually apply what was being discussed.

This summer's topics list is:

June 21: Observation, Identification, and Fun – An Introduction to Using iNaturalist – Maggie Whitson, NKU
July 5: Drawing From Nature – Amy Bogard, Freelance Artist
July 19: Building Bird-Feeders for our Feathered Friends – Richard Durtsche, NKU
August 2: What is a native bee? What is a solitary bee? Is that bee going to sting me? Explorations into the fascinating world of the bees that live among us – Jim Nedderman, NKU

For the latest information and updates or to register, visit NKU's official REFS website: https://inside.nku.edu/artsci/centers/refs/talk---walk.html

Parking is available in front of the Field Station:
NKU Research and Education Field Station (NKU REFS)
99 Harrison Ct, Melbourne, KY 41059

And the fine print...
Class size: Limit of 20 people
Fee: Donating $10 to NKU REFS is encouraged (NKU students welcome to attend for free)
Please register via the REFS website at least 6 hours before the event.

Appropriate clothing/gear: The wetlands is an open field with chest-high vegetation in most areas, some of which is spiny. The trails are mowed or bare earth, but are often muddy. Mosquitoes, ticks, and poison ivy are all common residents of the area. The river bank also hosts stinging nettle. While we aim to keep the Talk & Walk hikes not-too-strenuous, proper clothing will allow for more flexibility and comfort while exploring the area. Wear clothing durable in the face of mud and bug spray. Long pants will provide protection from aggressive plants and can be tucked into socks to discourage ticks. Waterproof boots are suggested if you can't stand muddy socks, otherwise, a comfortable pair of sneakers with good treads and a spare pair of dry socks should do.

Want a quick glimpse of fun finds from REFS? Check out the 650+ species seen so far at our project: St. Anne Woods and Wetlands: Flora & Fauna