Enjoy a few poems inspired by research at the Ford Center and Research Forest.
What is a research forest?
A space to observe the natural environment. A place to modify key variables. A laboratory that lives and breathes without walls around it.
At Michigan Tech, we have 5,866 acres of research forest within 50 miles of campus. That means our researchers have a spacious, all-natural lab close at hand to study invasive species, climate change, silviculture, and wildlife behavior.
"Given our changing world, we work to address the challenges in natural resource sustainability through education and training, research, innovation, and outreach."
One particular site, the Ford Center and Research Forest in Alberta, Michigan, is a hub for faculty research, student research, and at 3,700 acres, is Michigan Tech’s biggest classroom. It’s part of the reason the University’s forestry program ranks in the top five in the nation; it’s where students from the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences (CFRES) come each year for the annual Fall Camp; it’s where they conduct senior design projects alongside faculty and industry partners. Overall, more than $2 million of federal and state funding has supported dozens of active research projects at the Ford Center.
A research forest—both organically beautiful and carefully measured— can be hard to capture in words. But there is a reason that nature has inspired haiku poems for hundreds of years. So, here are a few research-inspired haikus about some of the CFRES projects happening at the forest.
Bird Banding
nets like gossamer
snare the subjects for banding
released, again, wings
Lead Researchers
Jared Wolfe and Kristin Brzeski
What
Bird banding station; small, metal bands help ecologists track bird populations
Funding
USDA McIntire-Stennis, MTU start-up, MTU Ecosystem Science Center
Small Mammal Traps
milk cartons hold mice
like unbooked Air BnBs
weights and vitals, please.
Lead Researchers
Kristin Brzeski and Jared Wolfe
What
The smallest creatures reveal big impacts on forest ecosystems
Funding
USDA McIntire-Stennis, MTU start-up, MTU Ecosystem Science Center
Forest Road Surfaces
run off challenges
pumped and powered sprinklers mist
geogrid forest
Lead Researcher
>Matt Kelly
What
Controlling the rain is no easy feat, but necessary to study runoff
Funding
USDA-NRCS CIG, MTU start-up
Harvesting Forests
take only the top
can logging be like growing
broccoli at home?
Lead Researchers
Yvette Dickinson, Robert Froese, and Chris Webster
What
Whole-tree logging and modern silviculture to protect trees
Funding
NCASI, Weyerhaeuser Company, NHSEED, USDA McIntire-Stennis, USDA-NIFA, USFS, MTU start-up, MTU Ecosystem Science Center
Climate Oaks
brought from as far South
as deep West Virginia
acorns tell stories
Lead Researcher
What
Oaks from around the country could aid Upper Peninsula forest resiliency
Funding
Superior Ideas, USDA-NIFA, MTU start-up, MTU Ecosystem Science Center
Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
