Student Engagement Grants

Each year the Lakeshore Nature Preserve awards several Student Engagement Grants of up to $1000 each to facilitate the use of the Preserve as a resource for education among UW undergraduates. Any student, faculty, or staff member at the UW-Madison may apply. Groups of individuals may submit a proposal as a team. Every individual or team must have at least one faculty or staff member, who is expected to play an active role in overseeing the project.

This funding opportunity is made possible by the Academic Endowment Fund of the Preserve, established by former UW faculty member Robert M. Goodman and the late Professor Henry Hart. To contribute to the Academic Fund to create more opportunities for undergraduates to engage in learning in the Preserve, please contact the Preserve Director at lakeshorepreserve@fpm.wisc.edu or 608-265-9275.

VIEW THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Two students--one holding a clipboard and one holding a camera--documenting pollinators in Biocore Prairie.
Students documenting pollinators in Biocore Prairie. Photo by Emily Greinwald.

Deadlines

The request for proposals goes out in the fall of the year.

  • March 1: proposals due.
  • April 1: awards announced.
  • October 31: grant funds should be expended and a report submitted to the Preserve Director.

For more information please contact:

Brad Herrick
Director, Lakeshore Nature Preserve
608-265-9275
bradley.herrick@wisc.edu

Past Awards

2024

Exploring Nature’s Classroom: Adventure Learning in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Cindy Kuhrasch (Distinguished Teaching Faculty, Kinesiology)

Digging Deep: Exploring Soil Health in Eagle Heights Community Garden
Student: Macy McKeehen (Environmental Science)
Advisors: Anna Stevenson (PhD student and Research Assistant, Soil Science), Alfred Hartemink (Professor and Chair, Soil Science)

Nurturing in Nature: Deepening Roots and Reaching Heights
Prisma Ruacho (Asst Director, Multicultural Student Center)

Environmental Assessment Fellowship and The Interactive Effects of Invasive Species and White-tailed Deer on Forest Understory Diversity and Tree Regeneration
Disturbance Ecology Lab I students
Advisor: George Meindl (Assoc Teaching Professor, Forest & Wildlife Ecology)

Keep our Shoreline Clean: Earth Day Trash Dash and Consistent Conservancy
Students: Molly O’Connor (Outing Club President), Wesley Blashka (Outing Club Treasurer), Grace Parker (Outing Club Ambassador Liaison)
Advisor: Pete Buscaino (Hoofer Club Advisor)

Collaborative Landscape Indexing Practicum (LEAFCLIP)
Philip Townsend Lab (Forest & Wildlife Ecology)

2023

Bird watching educational series: Expanding Bird Observation and Accessibility through Scope Spotting
Audubon Society, UW-Madison (ASUM)
Advisor: Anna Pidgeon (Professor, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology

Community Science Series: Insect education, engagement, and contribution to science
Celeste Huff (MS student in Agroecology and Entomology and Insect Ambassadors Co-coordinator)
Advisor: Dr Shawn Steffan (Department of Entomology)

Flowering Phenology in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Student: Ronan Montgomery-Taylor (Botany, Honors Biology Certificate)
Advisor: Seth McGee (Instructor, Biocore)

Assessing the accessibility of Lakeshore Nature Preserve for individuals with mobility issues using GPS monitoring and GIS
Students: Brianna Stevens, Nina Johnson, Su Jung Bae (The Environmental Design Lab, Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture)
Advisors: Edward Boswell (Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture), and Samuel Dennis Jr and Emma Castiblanco(The Environmental Design Lab, Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture)

Nurturing in Nature: A playing, growing, reflecting experience for BIPOC students
Prisma Ruacho (Asst Director, Multicultural Student Center)

2022

Bumble bee colony life stage and pollen quality as factors affecting visitation frequency
Student: Amanda Shalit (Botany, Conservation Biology, Environmental Studies)
Co-Advisors: Ellen Damschen (Professor, Department of Integrated Biology) and Stephanie McFarlane (PhD Candidate, Department of Botany)

Environmental Writing and Place: Stories of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Noreen McAuliffe (Lecturer, Department of English and Academic Program Specialist, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies)

Hoofer Ambassadors All Out!
Students: Isabel Peterson (Officer of Diversity and Inclusion in Hoofers, President); Kayla Dutton (Hoofers Ambassadors Finance Chair); Isabelle Paulsen (Hoofers Ambassadors Programming Chair)
Advisor: David Elsmo (Outdoor UW Director and Hoofer Club Advisor)

Tree Swallow Nest Box Project: Encouraging Environmental Awareness and Conservation
Audubon Society, UW-Madison (ASUM)
Advisor: Anna Pidgeon (Professor, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology)

2021

Wild and Domestic Canid activity in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Student: Ali Thompson (Zoology and Psychology)
Co-Advisors: Morgan Farmer (PhD student, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology) and David Drake (Extension Wildlife Specialist and Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology)

The Efficacy of Porous Pavement within the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Student: Cole Koffron (UW-Madison)
Co-Advisors: Nick Balster (Professor, Department of Soil Science) and Anita Thompson (Professor, Biological System Engineering, Nelson Institute, Environmental Chemistry and Technology)

Isolation and Characterization of Protective Pollen Actinobacteria
Student: Claire Reichardt (UW-Madison)
Co-Advisors: Caitlin Carlson (Research Specialist, Currie Lab, Department of Bacteriology) and Daniel S May, PhD (Postdoctoral Research Associate, Currie Lab, Department of Bacteriology)

Beginning Birding Educational Series: Using Birdwatching to Encourage Environmental Awareness and Action
Audubon Society, UW-Madison (ASUM)
Advisor: Anna Pidgeon (Professor, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology)

Student-led Composting at Eagle Heights
Student: Ava Padilla (Botany and Environmental Studies)
Advisor: Tom Bryan (GreenHouse Learning Community Program Coordinator)

2019

Measuring Patterns of Seasonal Diversity of Yeasts in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Student: Rachel Schneider (UW-Madison)
Co-Advisors: John Wolters (Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Project Mentor) and Chris Todd Hittinger (Asst Professor, Department of Genetics)

Forming Connections Using Sweet Potatoes
Student: Savannah Holt (UW-Madison, GreenHouse resident)
Co-Advisors: Malachi Persche (Research Fellow, USDA Dairy Forage Research Center) and Tom Bryan (GreenHouse Learning Community Program Coordinator, UW Housing)

2018

Examining Flowering Times of Native Plants in the Biocore Prairie
Students: Alder Levin (Biochemistry and History of Science, Medicine, and Technology), Olympia Mathiaparanam (Biology and Psychology)
Advisor: Seth McGee (Instructor, Biocore)

Writing in the Preserve: Understanding how Nature Impacts Student Writing and Wellbeing
Kassia Krzus-Shaw (Ph.D student, Composition and Rhetoric, English Department)

Lakeshore Nature Preserve Hike and Learn Series: Engaging Diverse Students
Students: Sanober Mirza, Brooke Nelson, Austin Gladden, Yeline Del Carmen (UW-Madison)
Advisor: Cathy Middlecamp (Community Environmental Scholars Program)

Effect of invasive ‘jumping’ earthworms on tree functioning in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Student: Kevin Hobbins (Department of Botany)
Co-Advisors: Kimberly O’Keefe (Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Botany) and Katherine McCulloh (Asst Professor, Department of Botany)

2017

Soil as the Missing Link in Prairie Restoration and Ecological Education
Student: Krista Marshall (UW-Madison)
Co-Advisors: Nick Balster (Assoc Professor Department of Soil Science) and Janet Batzli (Assoc Director Biocore)
Presentation to Preserve Committee

Measuring Patterns of Seasonal Diversity of Yeasts in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Student: Rachel Schneider (UW-Madison)
Advisor: Chris Todd Hittinger (Asst Professor, Department of Genetics)
Presentation to Preserve Committee

Urban Canid Use of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve and Beyond
David Drake (Extension Wildlife Specialist and Professor Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology)

Wild and Domestic Carnivores in our Midst; First-year Undergraduate Service-Learning and Interdisciplinary Research in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Adrian Treves (Assoc Professor, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies)
Presentation to Preserve Committee

2016

Exploring the Wisconsin Prairie Ecosystem: Studying Cold Tolerance of Forbs
Student: Emily Nettesheim (Department of Zoology)
Advisor: Ellen Damschen (Asst Professor Department of Zoology)
Presentation to Preserve Committee

Survival and Habitat Use of Eastern Gray Squirrels in an Urban Preserve
Jonathan N. Pauli (Asst Professor, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology)
Presentation to Preserve Committee

Estimating survival, dispersal, and habitat use of Common Yellowthroats and Song Sparrows in Biocore Prairie at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Matt Hayes (Faculty Associate Department of Zoology and Co-Director of the Biocore Prairie Bird Observatory)
Mara McDonald Emerita Department of Genetics and Co-Director of the Biocore Prairie Bird Observatory)

Exploring Seasonal Yeast Biodiversity in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Student: Martin Jarzyna (UW-Madison)
Advisor: Chris Todd Hittinger (Asst Professor, Department of Genetics)
Presentation to Preserve Committee

Urban Canid Use of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
David Drake (Extension Wildlife Specialist and Professor Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology)

2015

Survival and Habitat Use of Eastern Gray Squirrels in an Urban Preserve
Jonathan N. Pauli (Asst Professor, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology)

The impact of road salt on the water chemistry of the Class of 1918 Marsh
Student: Greta Helmueller (UW-Madison)
Advisor: John J. Magnuson (Emeritus Professor Departments of Zoology and Limnology)
Presentation to Preserve Committee

Native Pollinator Conservation Program
Student: Emily Greinwald (Departments of Zoology and Conservation Biology, UW-Madison)
Advisor: Susan Carpenter (Wisconsin Native Plant Gardener, UW Arboretum)
Presentation to Preserve Committee

Propagation Bed for Fruit Cloning
Will Waller (Eagle Heights Community Gardens field staff)
Lynn Hummel (Research Program Manager UW Agricultural Research Stations and Greenhouses)

2014

Coyote and red fox use of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
David Drake (Extension Wildlife Specialist and Assoc Professor Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology)
Presentation to Preserve Committee

Survival and Habitat Use of Eastern Gray Squirrels in an Urban Preserve
Jonathan N. Pauli (Asst Professor, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology)
R. Scott Lutz (Assoc Professor, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology)

Design Development and Baseline Measures for Longitudinal Climate Change Study in the Biocore Prairie
Emma Geiduschek (Sophomore, Biology, UW-Madison)
Co-Advisors: Ellen Damschen (Asst Professor, Department of Zoology) and Janet Batzli (Assoc Director, Biocore)
Presentation to Preserve Committee