When Caitlin Beckjord stepped onto campus for the first time as a UMBC student in fall 2019, she felt energized and prepared to succeed, thanks to a unique, new summer program on urban forestry.

Earlier in the summer, six Howard Community College (HCC) students, including Beckjord, participated in the Baltimore Forest Patches Summer Research Collaboration. This unique pilot project between UMBC and HCC is designed to expand research opportunities for community college students, provide important data on urban forests, and ease students’ transition to UMBC. It also serves to build and strengthen the kinds of relationships that were forged between UMBC and HCC faculty during the STEM Transfer Student Success Initiative (t-STEM).

During the provost-funded pilot, HCC students enrolled in research courses instructed by HCC faculty Will Gretes and Cheryl Campo. Then they participated in fieldwork under the mentorship of UMBC faculty and graduate students. Once they learned about research design and forest ecology in the classroom, they headed outdoors to work in patches of green space across Baltimore City. During their fieldwork, they participated in a practicum course through UMBC’s Shriver Center to help them reflect on their experience.

The students are encouraged to return to this forest project for multiple summers, developing more expertise and taking more responsibility each time. Those who transfer to UMBC come in already engaged in a research project and connected to members of the campus community. 

“It’s a great example of the relationships we’re building with the community colleges,” says Sarah Jewett, director of transfer innovations in research and practice. “What I love about this program is that it utilizes curricular infrastructure that’s in place at the community colleges, and networks and research expertise here at UMBC. We’re really drawing on the assets at both institutions to make this work.” In particular, Howard Community College’s Dean of Science, Engineering, and Technology Patti Turner was an instrumental partner who made the pilot possible and continues to collaborate with UMBC on a variety of projects. 

At home in the forest

The experience opened students’ eyes to the life of an urban forest. After learning about what species they might find, the students took inventory of the plants present and their abundance in forest patches across Baltimore City. Carol Frimpong, who is studying life science and computer science at HCC, became particularly interested in fungi and bacteria along the way.

“This introduced me to environmental microbiology,” she says. “I didn’t realize there was a subfield of microbiology that focuses on the environment. So I hope to go into more of that.” 

For Laura Wortman, the experience has changed her relationship with nature. “I feel like I know more about the forest,” she shares, “and I feel more at home there now that I know different trees and groundcovers.”

Matthew Baker, professor of geography and environmental systems (GES) at UMBC, mentored the students in the program. “Hearing these stories is the best part of my job,” he says. “Most professors get involved in the work that they do because they want to see others be inspired the way they were. It’s really rewarding to listen to students who have found something they enjoyed in this experience.”

Connections across campuses

The program created opportunities for faculty, graduate student mentors, and participating students to build meaningful relationships with one another. For Beatriz Shobe, who is in the GES Ph.D. program at UMBC, the program confirmed her interest in teaching and fieldwork. “I found that teaching in an interactive, hands-on way is a good skill to have that can be beneficial for both traditional classroom teaching as well as community outreach and engagement,” Shobe says.

Shobe’s teaching resonated with Wortman. “Just hearing Beatriz talk about her research was really interesting, because I’d never talked to someone in a casual context before about their research,” Wortman says. “She told us what had gone wrong with her research, and how that changed the entire trajectory of the project.” She explains, “I learned all this stuff that you wouldn’t hear from someone just presenting on their paper, and that was really enlightening.”

As a result of participating in the program, Wortman is now interested in transferring to UMBC to pursue a combined bachelor’s/master’s degree in GES.

Caitlin Beckjord ‘22, geography and environmental systems, already knew she was passionate about research when she joined the program, and it helped her make connections at UMBC. “Meeting with Dr. Baker and Dr. Jewett allowed me to ask questions about UMBC’s classes and opportunities, and get more in-depth campus tours where I was introduced to several other UMBC professors, students, and advisors,” she shares. 

This fall, Beckjord transferred to UMBC, and the experience continues to offer benefits. “Learning how to identify trees and ground cover and work with soils has put me at an advantage in my forest ecology class at UMBC,” she says. Beckjord also has a built-in community on campus; she connects with students and faculty she met during the program on a daily basis.

Commitment to conservation

In addition impacting the students and educators involved, this program also contributes to scientists’ understanding of urban forests, through the data the students collect. 

Baker has been working for the last seven years “to study urban forest patches and understand their composition, their structure, how they’re managed, and how these factors will affect their future,” he says. “We work to provide information to the public through Baltimore Green Space so that they can inform forest stewards and local community members,” such as private landowners whose property includes forest patches. “At the same time, we’ve been asking questions about urban forest patches in general, and developing techniques for studying them and mapping them in concert with the USDA Forest Service.”

This work is important because urban green space and cohabitation of humans with wildlife are critical to modern environmental conservation. Sometimes the research manifests as big findings about the makeup of urban woods and how to preserve or restore them. At other times, the results are more personal. 

As they were gathering important scientific data and learning about research methods, the students in this program also enjoyed the chance to connect with nature in their daily lives. Growing evidence suggests this kind of experience is critical for our physical and mental health, and for growing the next generation’s commitment to conservation.

“I often go on walks, and there is this one beautiful tree I always sit under, but I never knew what it was before this summer,” Frimpong shares. “But then I looked at it recently and I realized it was a red maple.” She’s also learned the names of local birds and, with her new interest in fungi, mushrooms. Growing thoughtful, she shares, “It’s good to know them by name.”

Banner image: A scene from Patapsco Valley State Park in Baltimore County. Photo by Matthew Beziat, used under CC BY-NC 2.0.

All other photos are courtesy of Caitlin Beckjord.

Open to All Students (undergraduate and graduate)

Jobs--full-time, part-time, internships and graduate admissions

BEYA STEM Conference - February 13-15, 2020
STEM Career Fair - Friday, February 14 and Saturday, February 15, 2020 (10 am - 4 pm)

Washington Marriott Wardman Park

2660 Woodley Road NW
Washington DC, 20008

The BEYA STEM Conference sponsored by Career Communications Group (CCG) will be held February 13-15, 2020 as part of this large annual conference, representatives from several major corporations and universities will be on hand to meet with students pursuing careers in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields as well as Business, Finance, and Marketing.  Why should you attend?

• FREE Career Fair
• Career exhibits
• 50 + seminars and workshops
• On the spot job offers
• Networking with recruiters
• Job readiness certification for college students.

The Career Fair portion of the conference on Friday and Saturday, is free of charge for UMBC students and alumni with an active UMBC email address. All students are welcome to attend. Dress to impress and bring plenty of updated resumes!

Registration is required.

To register, go to:  https://careers2.umbc.edu/calendar/fairs/beya2020.php

Deadline to pre-register is Feb. 10 (Career Fair) and Jan. 28 for the entire Conference

Contact Diane Crump-Fogle (crump@umbc.edu) or Chrisi Giannakaris (chrisig@umbc.edu) of the UMBC Career Center for additional information.

Free Shuttle Bus

There will be a free shuttle bus to transport students to and from the career fair on Friday or on Saturday. If you will need transportation, be sure to complete the shuttle bus registration form at the bottom of the registration page: https://careers2.umbc.edu/calendar/fairs/beyabus2020.php. Please note that the free shuttle bus is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.  In order to serve the most students, you may select only one day to ride the shuttle. The free shuttle will run only on Friday and Saturday between 8:15 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Transportation to and from other conference events (such as the BEYA Gala held Saturday evening) is on your own.

For a list of some of the employers, see:  List of Employers

 Added Bonus – Job Matching Program

 If you would like CCG to share your résumé with potential employers in order to help you identify employment opportunities, email your résumé directly to: aturner@ccgmag.com with subject line "Resume" (one resume attachment per email); resumes can come from any email address.

 
*If you require special accommodations for this event due to a disability, please notify us at least two weeks prior to the event. Requests received after that time cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to make the proper arrangements. Please email careers@umbc.edu with your specific request - be sure to include title, date, and time of the event.

• If you are sick, stay home and in bed and rest. Avoid crowded places like dining halls, classrooms, restaurants, and the RAC or other fitness centers to prevent spreading illness to others
• Take fever-reducing medications like acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil), or naproxen (Aleve) if you do have a fever (temperature over 100°F). Please check your temperature using a working thermometer. If your fever persists for more than 48 hours in spite of taking these medications, please seek medical care (UHS hours Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., (410) 455-2542).
  
• Drink lots of fluids.
  
• If you have been diagnosed with the flu and develop shortness of breath or severe fatigue, call your healthcare provider or go to an emergency room.

• Wash your hands frequently and/or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizing stations are located around campus.
  
• Avoid contact with those who are ill, if possible.
  
• Clean high-touch surfaces in your room and/or office with antibacterial cleaner (bleach wipes are very good).
  
• Cough into your sleeve or a tissue, not directly into your hands, and wash your hands immediately.
  
• Avoid touching your face both when you are ill and when healthy. This spreads germs!
• Avoid sharing food, utensils, cups, and water bottles.
• It may still be helpful to get a flu shot. UHS provided more than 700 flu shots this season and while we do not have any more shots, vaccines may be available at local pharmacies or from your primary care doctor.