MANSFIELD, PA—Mansfield University Geoscience students Matthew Oldroyd and Clayton Schucker, both of Troy, PA, have been awarded a Mill Cove Excellence in Science and Education Grant of $300 to gather data related to Mill Cove Creek in Tioga County.
Once the weather warms, Oldroyd and Schucker, under the guidance of Assistant Professor Linda Kennedy, will gather data pertinent to the physical characteristics of the approximately one kilometer reach of Mill Creek, located within the Mill Creek Environmental Area. They will make a survey of a longitudinal channel profile, select a minimum of three reference sites, determine the location of reference sites using GPS, establish a permanent datum at each reference site, and survey the channel cross-section of all reference sites.
The establishment of permanent reference sites will allow present and future MU students to re-visit and record stream data over the long-term including, but not limited to, the characterization of channel bed material, measurement of suspended sediment yield, measurement of stream discharge, determination of aquatic habitat conditions and the characterization of riparian conditions.
This research is not part of a class, but is being conducted entirely as a co-curricular activity. Results will be delivered to the public when the students present their poster at a meet of the Mill Cove Environmental Center Board of Directors and at the 2015 Mansfield University Showcase of Student Research on Earth Day, April 22.
“Mill Cove is excited to fund this project that has such potential for repeat use by classes and other science students. Lilace Guignard, Board member and director of education and outreach for the Institute of Science and the Environment at Mansfield University, said. “The information will also be useful to the Mill Cove Board as we make resource management and development decisions. We want to get the word out to all MU students that this grant is available.”
The Mill Cove Excellence in Science and Education Grant was created to encourage and facilitate knowledge of and use of the Mill Cove Environmental Area by MU students. Any individual or group of students enrolled at Mansfield that wish to do research or plan events and activities that use and promote the Mill Cove site can apply. This includes environmental education or outdoor recreation projects and events, as well as scientific research.
Students can apply for the Mill Cove Excellence in Science and Education Grant any time and the Mill Cove Board will respond within two months. Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated on a competitive basis and grants will be awarded to those projects that best fit the intent and mission of Mill Cove. This grant is only available to MU students.
Although there is no set limit to awards, grants will generally fall into the $300 to $500 range, and can include a single event, series of events or projects with a duration of up to two years. Availability of funds will depend on the number of grants received in a given period of time.
The 250-acre Mill Cove Environmental Area is leased to Mill Cove, Inc. by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and is about nine miles from the MU campus. It includes sweeping views, lush vegetation, a thriving trout stream and abundant wildlife. Mill Cove borders two million acres of public land, including Pennsylvania WILDS, State Game Lands and the Tioga Reservoir. e and the priorities and finances of Mill Cove, Inc.
For more information on Mill Cove, go to millcovearea.org
For grant guidelines and application information, go to mansfield.edu/ise/mill-cove-grant
For information on the Institute of Science and the Environment, go to mansfield.edu/ise or email ise@mansfield.edu