This project is funding the purchase of field and laboratory equipment to support environmental education at the university. The equipment forms the core of the Environmental Instrumentation Lab (EIL) for use by undergraduates in integrated Environmental Geology and Biology courses and for B.S. Thesis research in both departments. The EIL provides hands-on experience with the sophisticated analytical tools commonly used in environmental investigations. Undergraduate students learn both abiotic and biotic analytical field and laboratory methods. These tools are used in the characterization, assessment, and restoration/management aspects of particular sites. Results from these investigations are synthesized to provide the basis for long-term monitoring of the sites studied, thus providing a real-world approach to environmental investigations that require ecosystem level analyses.
