:: Note from the Director
Dr. David Benson There is no prettier spot in Indiana than the Marian College EcoLab. The wildflowers around the main pond are absolutely spectacular: cardinal flowers, lobelias, tall coneflowers, sneezeweeds, monkey flowers, and obedient plants in colors of red, yellow, pink, and blue. You have got to see it to believe it.

Please feel free to check out the wildflower explosion on your own, or join me for a wildflower walk on Sunday, September 21, at 12:30 p.m., starting at the St. Francis Colonnade just east of Allison Mansion. Alternatively, you can join Jody Nicholson, our outreach ecologist, on one of our volunteer conservation work days at 9 a.m. on September 20, October 18, and November 15. Meet at the St. Francis Colonnade.

Or, bring your class, scout troop, or other group on a staff-led field trip. Each group will participate in the restoration project by planting native plants, collecting and sowing seeds, or removing non-natives. Groups will also learn about wetlands, beavers, and native Indiana vegetation. See www.marian.edu/wetland for details and to sign up, or e-mail Michelle Priddy, the EcoLab’s environmental education coordinator, at mpriddy@marian.edu.

:: It’s Been A Good Year So Far
photo by Paul D'Andrea In early 2008, we learned that our third proposal to the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust resulted in a gift of $550,000. Then, a few weeks later, we found out that The Glick Fund, a fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation, matched this magnanimous gift. What an incredible turn of events!

How these investments will be used to further the mission of the Marian College EcoLab:

Nina Mason Pulliam Nature Center
A portion of the basement of Allison Mansion that is currently a non-functional pool, storage, and shower area will be converted into a nature center for use with K-12 groups.

This will provide an indoor staging and learning location for EcoLab field trips; it will be a place where students and visitors can have lunch, reflect, and learn in comfort. It will also provide office space for EcoLab and the Life Science Education Center at Marian College staff.

Nina Mason Pulliam Shelter
A shelter will be integrated into the central portion of the EcoLab to provide an outdoor staging area for groups visiting the site. The shelter will allow groups to assemble for direction or reflection while surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells of the EcoLab.

I'm particularly excited that my “all outdoors, all the time” ecology course will have a location for students to assemble and sit down. The shelter will also contain a bathroom.

Environmental Education
One full-time environmental educator position will be funded for the next three years. This will allow Michelle Priddy, our expert in environmental education at the Life Science Education Center at Marian College, to focus on reaching a larger audience with EcoLab field trips and involving more of the public in the ecological restoration projects.

Environmental Restoration
To further our mission to involve people in restoration, we will hire an outreach ecologist with a special talent for training both adults and children to participate in the project.

Technology
Have you ever wanted to see what it looks like to live in a beaver lodge, how beavers use their canals at night, or the progress of our nestling owls? Or, have you wondered how garlic mustard affects light, temperature, and humidity for plants and animals living under its leaves?

Soon these questions and more will be answered through information collected by a series of webcams and wireless sensors that will be situated throughout the EcoLab. This technology will enhance opportunities for Marian College students and K-12 classes to monitor and research aspects of the EcoLab on the web in real time.

Student Interns
We will continue to provide paid hands-on experience for Marian College students through active involvement in restoration, environmental education, and technology of the EcoLab.

Stairs
We will provide some much-needed safety improvements on the steep stairs behind Allison Mansion leading to the EcoLab.

Transportation for School Groups
With financial help from the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society, we will provide assistance for school groups to visit the EcoLab. We want to remove as many barriers to student participation in environmental restoration and education as possible.

Our great thanks go out to all who have so generously invested themselves in the mission of the Marian College EcoLab.