At the end of last October, the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station was thrilled to welcome Kensington Woods, or K-Wood, Schools back for a second year of field-based ecological exploration. K-Woods, a charter school in Livingston, Michigan, prides itself on its small, supportive community and its STEAM-focused approach that shows students how creativity and science go hand in hand. That same blend of creativity and scientific curiosity is central to our work at KBS, making this partnership the perfect match. This year, however, we had something new to look forward to: along with returning biology
MiSTRIPS impacts farmers beyond their fields
The MiSTRIPS program is helping Michigan farmers boost soil health, support wildlife, and increase profit by integrating native prairie strips into working farmland, making a meaningful impact and fostering new relationships between land stewards and researchers. The MiSTRIPS program has supported 11 Michigan farmers in planting more than 50 acres of native prairie and prairie strips, creating meaningful change across agricultural communities and building strong connections between land stewards and scientists. Farmers from across the state have joined MiSTRIPS over the past five years,
MiSTRIPS program inspires local artists and strengthens community connections
Visiting artists and members of the KBS community have transformed the science of prairie strips into art that celebrates the beauty and resilience of agricultural landscapes. Rooted in sustainable agriculture and scientific discovery, MiSTRIPS has reached far beyond the original audience of farmers and agricultural conservation groups to cultivates creativity and community connection at KBS. While originally focused on increasing understanding and adoption of the conservation practice of prairie strips, MiSTRIPS now crosses disciplines and inspires artists to interpret the beauty and
8th Annual Underground Innovations to expand regenerative farmer networks in Michigan
Hickory Corners, MI - Registration is now open for the 8th annual Underground Innovations winter meeting for innovative farmers, agricultural and environmental professionals, and others. Presented by Michigan Agriculture Advancement (MiAA) with support from the Kellogg Biological Station Long Term Ecological Research Program (KBS LTER), this event will continue to build and support a community of curiously minded people who love to be inspired by innovation in other fields and apply it to their own contexts. Taking place February 4-5th in 2026, we will spend two days and one
MiSTRIPS program sparks new research and stronger community partnerships
Researchers at the KBS LTER have leveraged the MiSTRIPS partnership network to launch new grant-funded projects and field studies that may not have been possible without the program. The MiSTRIPS Program at the KBS LTER has become a springboard for new research, helping scientists secure grants and expand studies in sustainable agriculture. Its impact now reaches well beyond installing native prairie species in cropland. In addition to supporting farmers and adding 50 new acres of prairie across Michigan, MiSTRIPS sites also provide valuable field locations for researchers to
Elizabeth Schultheis awarded fellowship to tackle science misconceptions
Dr. Elizabeth Schultheis, co-Founder of Data Nuggets and Education and Outreach Coordinator at the W. K. Kellogg Biological Station's Long Term Ecological Research Program, has been named a 2025 Sound Science Fellow by the National Center for Science Education (NCSE). This prestigious fellowship, aimed at advancing the teaching of evolution, climate change, and accurate scientific education, will provide six scholars with unique opportunities to engage in deep exploration and collaboration, building upon NCSE’s mission to ensure accurate and evidence-based science education in K-12 s
Graduate research from the KBS LTER highlights the role of drought in altering plant-environment interactions
Through an experiment that simulates future climate change conditions within the KBS LTER, researchers found that drought strongly affects the chemical compounds released by goldenrod, suggesting that climate change could significantly influence how ecosystems function. Though you might not be able to see it with the naked eye, plants are constantly interacting with their environment. One way they do this is through the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – chemical signals that help them communicate and react to both living and non-living factors around them. These VOCs form the
Graduate student joins Artist-in-Residence program through KBS Outreach Fellowship
Morgan Clark is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Janzen Lab at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station. She studies behavioral ecology, working to understand how individual animals exhibit consistent variation in behavior and how these behavior types may influence their interactions with one another and their environment. As a kid, I fell in love with art in an after-school program called “Bright Futures”. Each day after school, for a specific segment of the year, I would have the opportunity to learn about art across various media from local artists and instructors. I carried this with
MiSTRIPS celebrates five years of success in sustainable agriculture with prairie strips
Since its launch in July 2021, the MiSTRIPS Program at the Kellogg Biological Station Long Term Ecological Research Program - KBS LTER - has established over 50 acres of prairie in agricultural lands across Michigan that have helped to improve water quality, increase wildlife diversity, and build soil health. Research at the KBS LTER aims to inform farmers’ ability to increase food and energy production while maintaining ecosystem services and farm profitability. The main experiment at the LTER has been running for over 30 years and reflects conventional and aspirational practices at the t
Graduate research from the KBS LTER reveals how nematodes contribute to soil food web stability in droughts
Using the Rainfall Exclusion Experiment (REX) within the KBS LTER, researchers found that nematode communities are more stable in early successional landscapes than agricultural ones during drought. This study highlights the importance of plant diversity for resilient soil ecosystems under environmental change. As farmers adopt new strategies to cope with increasingly extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and droughts, understanding the mechanisms behind resiliency in agricultural systems is critical. While it’s well-established that drought harms crop production, less is known about h
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