Providing undergraduate students with exposure to and experience in field research is one of Blandy Experimental Farm’s most important goals. Each summer, undergraduate and graduate students, and university faculty gather for a program of focused study on a diversity of research projects in an environment that few other institutions can offer.

Since 1992, Blandy has provided Undergraduate Research Fellowships to hundreds of students interested in ecology and evolution. This year, five fellowships funded by Blandy Experimental Farm, the Foundation of the State Arboretum of Virginia, Kathy Clark, and the late Jim Wyatt, were awarded to five exceptional undergraduate students: Camille Ingram, Hannah Russell, Blake Molenaar, Liz Cramer, and Caroline Speidel. Each fellowship award includes a weekly stipend and a budget for research supplies and activities.

Through the course of the summer, students interact with professors, graduate students, and stakeholders with the primary goal of developing skills in formulating testable hypotheses about important ecological and evolutionary questions and developing and executing novel research projects to address those hypotheses. The format of the program encourages students to develop skills in experimental design, data collection, analysis, and critical reading of primary scientific literature. Students also learn to prepare and communicate scientific information to other scientists and members of the general public.

Five faculty mentors supported our undergraduates through one-on-one mentorship this summer: David Carr, T’ai Roulston, and Mary McKenna of UVA, Rebecca Forker of George Mason University, and Nia Johnson, a postdoctoral researcher from Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden, who happens to be Blandy Undergraduate Research Program Alumni herself. Alongside their mentors, each student identified a novel research question related to their mentor’s area of expertise and designed a study to address this question. With faculty support, the students formalized their ideas into written proposals, which they presented to the research community for feedback.

Following the proposal process, students begin their original and independent field research. During the program, students meet routinely with their advisors to discuss project progress, and to gain skills in data analysis and interpretation.

At the end of the summer, each student gives a 15-minute oral presentation on their projects as part of the traditional summer "Research Forum" attended by all resident researchers and guests. The Forum is also used as an opportunity for students to celebrate their success with members of our broader community, especially those active in the Foundation of the State Arboretum. This year we held our 37th Annual Summer Research Forum and enjoyed talks from our five undergraduate fellowship recipients, as well as five Blandy graduate students, Willow Lovecky, David Prudente, Preston Thompson, and Kim Union of UVA, and Geneva Waynick of William and Mary.

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Former Blandy students have gone on to share their Blandy research through poster sessions, conference presentations, and publications. Many have continued their education beyond undergrad, pursuing graduate degrees and careers in STEM, and several have returned to Blandy as graduate students, mentors, and staff members.