Archbold continues to attract college classes with its excellent facilities and unique Florida scrub ecosystems, and with a wide array of other habitats in the region. These classes travel from many colleges/universities in Florida and the eastern United States and Archbold provides housing, meals, laboratory facilities, and a library. During 1999-00, 41 college classes visited Archbold (see Appendix I) to study a variety of ecological topics. A list of all college classes and faculty visiting Archbold during 1995-00 is now on the Station’s Web site <http://www.archbold-station.org/abs/education/colinfo.html>. In 2000, Hilary Swain obtained a National Science Foundation award for renovation of the Station’s general laboratory classroom and storage areas. Work began in late 2000 and will be finished in early-2001, providing visiting classes, scientists, and graduate students with a multi-user classroom (with a storage area for K-12 displays and equipment) and a multi-purpose laboratory and wet lab (see <http://www.archbold-stationm.org//abs/education/class-lab.htm> for details).

Some college classes visit Archbold for a day or an overnight visit. Belinda Lambert of St. Petersburg College brought her Field Identification of Florida Biota class to tour the facilities and hike in the Florida scrub. The students identify characteristics of the ecosystem and become familiar with common plants and animals found in the scrub. Gerald Johnston from Broward Community College came for the day to look for gopher frogs with his General Zoology class and Alyson Flournoy of University of Florida brought her Advanced Environmental Law class to talk with scientists about scrub ecology and habitat conservation planning.

For the past 8 years Philip Stoddard of Florida International University has brought the lab section of his Animal Behavior class to Archbold for weekend visits. Students investigate acorn harvest and caching by Florida scrub-jays. (Students are always amazed at how good the jays are at hiding and finding acorns.) Unlike their university base in Miami, bats are common in local flatwoods, and students can observe their foraging behavior and record their echolocation signals. The FIU students also make extensive use of the library. In their course evaluations, many students call the Archbold trip the high point of their undergraduate experience. Dr. Stoddard states that he is indebted to the staff of Archbold for making this opportunity available year after year.

Yet other classes stay at Archbold for 1-2 weeks, often during their winter or spring break (see photo, this page). In 2000, Jim Leebens-Mack of Colgate University stayed 2 weeks with his Evolutionary Ecology class. This course focuses on field methods used to study species interactions in terrestrial ecosystems. Students conduct short-term field investigations on ecological aspects of Florida scrub, ranging from pollination biology to herbivore host specialization, to learn how to design field experiments. The students also visit the Smoky Mountains, Florida Panhandle, and coastal South Carolina on their trip.

Following a 7-week intensive lab-based course in Introductory Entomology, Olle Pellmyr’s class from Vanderbilt University spent week 8 (March 2000) at Archbold putting their newfound knowledge to practical use. They survey insect fauna in various habitats and visit MacArthur Agro-ecology Research Center to sample in an agricultural landscape. The students use several survey methods such as light trapping, baiting, vegetation sweeping, and pitfall trapping. The students also do individual field projects and prepare oral presentations and written reports on their research upon returning to Vanderbilt.

During 1999-00, Hilary Swain and Mark Deyrup hosted three teaching enhancement workshops for 16 Florida faculty members, some of whom have brought classes to Archbold. This program, Project FIRST, is described in more detail in "Conferences and Workshops."