少女福利

The Natural Area has become a crucial part of the Saint Michael鈥檚 College campus, serving as a place for education, recreation, and research.聽

The 340-acre conservation and educational reserve has become a hub for hands-on learning and discovery through academic departments and the College鈥檚 Institute for the Environment. For Lydia Altman 鈥�27, a Biology major with Chemistry and Environmental Studies minors, the area has become essential to her own research and has helped her more clearly visualize her future professional goals.聽

This summer, Altman is taking a closer look at this undeveloped land to research one of the most prevalent organisms there: trees. Additionally, she has been examining the invasive species in the area, namely Buckthorn, which she has found is quite pervasive in newer forest patches.

Lydia Altman ’27 measures a tree in Saint Michael’s College’s Natural Area as part of a grant-funded summer research project in summer 2026. (Photo by Rylee Anderson ’27)

Comparing old growth to new growth听听

Working with Biology Professor Declan McCabe, Altman is studying the diversity of the trees in the Natural Area, specifically comparing old-growth forest patches with younger patches. Using a map from 1937, she can determine which forest patches existed when the map was drafted and which are more recent.聽

Tree core sampling further helps to determine the age of the trees, and Altman and McCabe have found that some were around for decades even before 1937.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got one tree that鈥檚 170 years old based on tree cores we鈥檝e taken,鈥� McCabe said.

The newer-growth forests were primarily farmland when the map was created, and much of it was still farmed for years after. The new-growth forests consist largely of large cottonwood trees, which, according to McCabe, 鈥済row fast, but also fall down fast,鈥� compared with the oak trees found in older-growth forests.聽

Lydia Altman ’27 uses transect tape to determine the span of the plot she’ll examine in the Natural Area at Saint Michael’s College. (Photo by Rylee Anderson ’27)

Altman has spent much of her summer collecting data in different plots of the Natural Area.聽

鈥淚 go out there, pick a patch, lay out a transect tape of 50 meters, and then within 2 meters of it, I鈥檓 documenting every single tree species, measuring the diameter of the tree, and recording that all,鈥� Altman explained.

Research matchmaking

The research being conducted by Altman was just one of many projects McCabe has on his wish list for the Natural Area. Similarly, this research stood out to Altman as work that could make a difference.聽

鈥淪omething that really drew me to the project is that there is a lot of deforestation going on with our old-growth forests across the country, and I鈥檓 hoping it shows data for the importance of these forests,鈥� Altman said. 鈥淲hy should we protect them鈥�why are they important to have? Even on a small-scale like campus.鈥�

McCabe said these research projects require some 鈥渕atchmaking鈥� and must be of interest to both him and the students he works with. In the future, he would like to monitor spring ephemerals in these same forest patches, as well as study insects, but this particular project was the right match for Altman.

鈥淭here鈥檚 some research that I need to do on my own, and there鈥檚 things that if I had the time, I would do them,鈥� McCabe said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e good questions, but without student help, I鈥檓 probably never going to get to them.鈥�

Biology major Lydia Altman ’27 pauses for a photo in the Saint Michael’s College Natural Area, where she is conducting grant-funded research into old- and new-growth forests. (Photo by Rylee Anderson ’27)

Invasive Buckthorn discoveries

The research grant has allowed Altman to expand on the work she has done in the classroom and labs in a new, more independent manner. While McCabe is mentoring her, she navigates the forest, collects data, and makes discoveries almost entirely on her own.聽

鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 good experience, particularly what I鈥檓 doing,鈥� Altman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 practicing those skills, and I feel more confident just navigating the Natural Area and outdoors in general. Research is a good way to apply the things you鈥檙e learning in class in a more in-depth setting. It鈥檚 going to help me when I鈥檓 starting out in my career.鈥�

The trees aren’t the only point of interest, though, as Altman pays close attention to the abundance of Buckthorn, an invasive shrub common in the area that many groups aim to remove. She鈥檚 even been able to connect her own observations with previously conducted research.

鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely more invasive Buckthorn in the newer-forested areas,鈥� Altman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of exciting because there鈥檚 a lot of research on that, but some contradicting it. I鈥檓 seeing a pattern that is a theory out there.鈥�

Lydia Altman ’27 touches a plant she believes to be the invasive species, Buckthorn, which has been found in various parts of the Saint Michael’s College Natural Area. Natural Area managers and students have been working to remove the invasive plant. (Photo by Rylee Anderson ’27)

McCabe says Altman has 鈥渃onvincingly demonstrated鈥� that there are more invasives in the younger patches, and that these findings can be helpful for work being done in the Natural Area.聽

鈥淲e鈥檙e in the process of trying to control invasive species right now,鈥� McCabe said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to try to determine what type of community would better resist these species. As we start replanting after these invasives are removed, we try to emulate what we鈥檙e seeing in the old growth forest.鈥�

Real-world resume booster

In the fall, Altman will have the opportunity to present her findings at the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Conference, which is held annually at the University of Vermont.

鈥淔or anyone at St. Mike鈥檚, you want to get real-world experience,鈥� McCabe said. 鈥淵ou want to come out with not just a degree; you want to come out with experience that says 鈥業鈥檝e done something.鈥� In Lydia鈥檚 case, she鈥檒l have a poster presentation at a conference at UVM.鈥�

Altman, who would like to continue similar research and fieldwork post-grad, is getting exactly the real-world experience McCabe is talking about and has already made important findings that could impact the broader science community.聽

鈥淥ne critical thing about St. Mike鈥檚 is that there are no grad students doing this work,鈥� McCabe said. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 research happening, it is undergraduate student research. We鈥檙e very proud of that. We鈥檙e very excited to have as many students as possible involved in it.鈥澛�