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Katrina Folwell ’04 (Gilbertsville, Pa.) is spending her summer studying all creatures great and small. Folwell, biology major and environmental science minor, is turning the Merrill Creek Reservoir in Warren County, N.J., into her laboratory.
A Trustee Scholarship recipient, Folwell is collaborating with Nancy M. Waters, associate professor of biology, in examining the diversity and the quality of wildlife found within the privately owned reservoir.
Folwell, who professes a love for fieldwork, says one of her projects has been to track the bluebird population, the success of their offspring and their competing with swallows for nesting space. This data, she says, will be shared with a special monitoring program at Cornell University.
“We also are capturing and monitoring bog turtles,” says Folwell, a member of the varsity fencing team. “We humanely capture the fist-sized turtles and notch their shell with a special code so in the future we can track the population and its movements. We’ve actually caught more than we had expected, which is a good sign for the bog turtles at the reservoir.”
“We are also monitoring Monarch butterfly larvae,” she adds. “We are looking for eggs from when the butterflies migrate north. We’ve not been as successful in locating them, perhaps because New Jersey is too far east.”
The student-faculty collaboration is part of the EXCEL Scholars Program, in which students assist faculty with research while earning a stipend. Many of the more than 160 students who participate each year go on to publish papers in scholarly journals and/or present their research at conferences.
An award-winning teacher, Waters has conducted research with numerous Lafayette students, many of whom have shared their work through co-authored articles in leading scientific journals and conference presentations.
An independent spirit, Folwell says she enjoys the variety of wildlife studies in which she is engaged as well as the freedom to work on her own. “Professor Waters is great in that she lets me experience things for myself. One advantage of the EXCEL program is that I get to see if this is what I want to do with the rest of my life. Having the chance to perform independent research on my own in the field is priceless. I get to use techniques learned in the classroom and apply them in the wild.”
Folwell, who has served Waters as a teaching assistant, says the professor has supported her throughout her academic career.
“I’ve known her since freshman year and she has provided me with numerous opportunities to develop my interest in studying the ecology. There’s a personal relationship that I share that I wouldn’t find in a larger school.”
“Every day is a field trip for Katie,” says Waters. “Through the EXCEL program she is getting to do things very few people get to explore. Later this summer she will be learning how to electric-shock fish so we can cut them open and examine their stomach contents to see if there is a balance in their food supply.”
“Katie is getting to experience new techniques in the field. Her work this summer puts her in a position to discover a wide array of ecological opportunities and give her wide access to hands-on research,” adds Waters. “She is getting to do graduate-level work while still an undergraduate.”
Ironically, Folwell outranks her professor when it comes to access at the reservoir.
“Because Merrill Creek is owned by a utility,” says Waters with a laugh, “and because of terrorist threats, you need a special pass to access the reservoir. Katie qualifies for that, but I don’t, should there be a high-level alert. Here’s a case of the student surpassing the professor!”
Folwell, who in addition to fencing plays flute in the pep band and belongs to the substance-free Haven program, prefers “not being behind a desk. I’ve never had such a good time, such an exciting time as this summer. I hope I can continue on with environmental studies and get my master’s degree. My studies at Lafayette have only confirmed my ambitions to study the outdoors while outdoors.”