Kellogg Biological Station Long-term Ecological Research Program

01/28/2025

Don’t miss these MiSTRIPS farmers at Underground Innovations!

Meet our 2025 Underground Innovations speakers, Mike and Lona Bronkema!

Mike and Lona are first-generation farmers and bought Shady Side Farm in 1992 from a retiring farmer. Mike continued to work in construction for four more years while raising chickens, corn, and soybeans during the evenings and weekends. In 1996, they expanded their chicken operation, and Mike quit his day job. They continued raising chickens until 2014 while slowly changing their farming practices and diversifying their farm products. They now grow heritage grains, heirloom beans (18 varieties), lamb and beef, and sell directly to consumers at farmers markets, their farm store, and online. They have been certified organic since 2010 and are now also certified by the Real Organic Project. Now that they are approaching retirement, they are exploring farm transitions. 

Underground Innovations is February 4-5, 2025 at the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth, MI.

12/18/2024

12/18/2024

Position Summary Questions regarding this position may be directed to the Search Committee Co-Chairs, Dr. Richard Kobe ([email protected]) and Dr. Andrea Case ([email protected]). The position will remain open until filled. Review of applications begins on January 21, 2025. Michigan State University seeks...

12/18/2024

Always a fun night when you get to dig into soil health and prairie strips research, plus sample some tasty wine! Thank you to The Ottawa County Conservation District and Tanglewood Winery for hosting us at the Conservation on Tap Speaker Series! Kathryn Docherty from Western Michigan University and Elizabeth Schultheis from the Kellogg Biological Station Long-term Ecological Research Program talked about the MiSTRIPS program and the benefits of incorporating prairie strips into agricultural lands in Michigan!

12/06/2024

Did you know prairie strips benefit habitats and can save farmers money? A new tool from the Kellogg Biological Station Long-term Ecological Research Program shows they can reduce costs when planted in areas with crop yields below 50% of the statewide average.

Join us on December 17th at Tanglewood Winery for our first Conservation on Tap session to learn about the MiStrips program and prairie strip research! Reserve your seat at: ottawacd.org/events/conservation-on-tap-prairie-strips/

12/02/2024

We're excited to announce our 3rd Annual Conservation on Tap Speaker Series! This year's Conservation on Tap will be hosted down in Holland at two locations. The first one will be hosted at Tanglewood Winery on December 17th. For this first speaker series, Kathryn Docherty and Elizabeth Schultheis from the Kellogg Biological Station Long-term Ecological Research Program will be talking about the MiStrips program and the benefits of incorporating prairie strips into agricultural lands. Register to save your spot here: ottawacd.org/events/conservation-on-tap-prairie-strips/

12/02/2024

At the 2024 Tri-Societies Meeting in San Antonio, KBS LTER graduate student, Rachel Drobnak won 2nd place for both of her posters in their respective sessions (ASA Soil Health + ASA Education & Extension)! Rachel's work focused on two projects relating to prairie strips - details below. Congrats Rachel!!

“Prairie strip partial budget: Predicting the cost of converting cropland to prairie,” shared collaborative work led by Rachel through MiSTRIPS to produce a publicly available and adjustable budget for prairie strip implementation. The team used a partial-style budget approach framed around corn, soybean, and wheat cropping systems in the Midwest region, and included the cost of installing a prairie, the lost income from taking land out of production, and the potential incentive payments from government assistance programs. Findings show that prairie strips could save farmers money if planted in areas where crops yield below 50% of the statewide average.

“Exploring changes in nitrogen cycling under prairie strip management,” shared soil carbon and nitrogen data from prairie strips in the KBS LTER. The main objective of this study was to examine the impact of prairie strips on multiple pools of N and their regulation. Initial results suggest that four-year-old prairie strips (1) have lower levels of inorganic nitrate-N compared to adjacent cropland and (2) higher levels of mineralizable carbon.

11/08/2024

New paper by KBS LTER graduate student, Cindy Fiser, out in Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment. It delves into Cindy's follow-up of a 25 year-old study of Carabid ground beetles at the LTER, and details the massive shift in community structure and overall abundance of Carabids during that period. Really great work, and a perfect example of the kind of research enabled by the LTER program!

https://www-sciencedirect-com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/science/article/pii/S0167880924004559

10/30/2024

New research - led by Moriah Young and Kara Dobson, from MSU’s Department of Integrative Biology and the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, or EEB, Program - out in Ecology! 7 year study in the KBS LTER found warming causes plants to grow earlier, but only when insects are present - without accounting for this biotic interaction, we cannot fully understand how climate change will impact plants.

A paper on a multi-year research project partially conducted at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station was recently published in the journal Ecology.

09/28/2024

Check out our RET, Gabe!

Happening this Wednesday from 5-6pm ET! You won't want to miss the panel discussion with these amazing teachers, as they share insights, resources, and innovations for taking teaching and learning outdoors into the schoolyard and beyond!

Register for this free webinar using the QR code or link the comments, and submit a question or two for the panelists!

MEET OUR PANELISTS:
Gabe Knowles is an elementary teacher who has participated in a number of place-based education opportunities during his career. Most recently, Gabe finished a RET fellowship with Michigan State University researchers focused on monarch butterfly ecology and conservation. Gabe has used these experiences to grow as a place-based educator and immerse students in authentic and current cross-cutting issues in environmental science and ecology.

Liz Thomson is a middle school science teacher with Alcona Community Schools, and was recently named the Michigan Science Teachers Association's 2024 Michigan Teacher of Promise. Liz was recognized for her exceptional dedication, innovative teaching strategies, and unwavering commitment to inspiring her students' love for science. Liz engages students in her science classes in a variety of place-based education projects and initiatives throughout the school year.

Melissa Hronkin teaches elementary visual arts in Houghton, Michigan, seeing over 650 students per week. Houghton is located in Michigan's Western Upper Peninsula on the shores of Lake Superior, where Melissa has been teaching art for 26 years. Melissa has incorporated place-based learning and local food systems into her teaching through a variety of projects, such as by installing an observation beehive in her classroom, collaborating with local farmers and the school food service director to promote culinary education and community outreach, and working on indoor and outdoor gardens and murals.

Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative
Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative
West Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative
SEMIS Coalition
Discovering PLACE
Groundswell Stewardship Initiative

09/04/2024

Today MiSTRIPS is at the Blueberry Field Day at the Trevor Nichols Research Center in Fennville, MI. The event aims to update blueberry growers on MSU research to improve blueberry production in the state. With Kathryn Docherty and her lab, KBS LTER will be sharing benefits of including native prairies in berry farm ecosystems! 🫐

07/12/2024