Teamwork

December 11, 2024

Support from student assistants is critical to conducting our research. It also bolsters the next generation of leaders.

A tented booth at a neighborhood street event that two UMN students are working at. A Center for Changing Landscapes banner hangs in front. — NRMS graduate student Giovanni Delgado-Ortiz (second from left) tables for the Center for Changing Landscapes in 2023 to capture people's beliefs, stories, and values about water. Photo by Meredith Keller.

Did you know that the Department of Forest Resources hires an impressive number of student research assistants every semester, helping to nurture the next generation of scientists while also supporting and conducting impactful research? This semester alone, we have 25 graduate students and 30 undergraduate students working directly with our faculty and researchers to investigate a broad array of questions.

We checked in with four of our current research assistants to learn what research projects they’re involved with, how those fit in with their studies, and what they’ve gained from the experience.

Here’s what they have to say.

Basil Nadolski

Basil Nadolski. Photo by Lauren Thompson.

Basil Nadolski is a senior, who is expected to graduate this semester with a B.S. in Forest and Natural Resource Management (FNRM) on the Forest Ecosystem Management and Conservation (FEMC) track. For the past three years, he's worked as a lab technician for Professor Marcella Windmuller-Campione's Silva Lab Group. He’s also spent the past two summers conducting field work, first helping with a regeneration survey at the site of the 2021 Greenwood Fire in the Superior National Forest with Windmuller-Campione and, last summer, working for Associate Professor John Zobel as a field crew lead to complete a carbon inventory for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.

Why did you choose to be involved in these research projects?

With the Leech Lake carbon inventory project, I was interested in gaining experience collaborating with a Native nation in natural science research. I was also drawn to the fact that the data collected for this project will hopefully be used by the Leech Lake Tribe to enroll parcels of land in carbon markets.

The larger goal of this project is to reduce cost and time barriers to carbon market entry for landowners by using field-based inventories in conjunction with remotely sensed forest inventories to leverage their combined benefits. It’s been very rewarding to know that the work that my crew put in is currently beneficial to the Leech Lake Tribe and will continue to benefit landowners as the project progresses.

What have you learned or gained from being on the research teams?

In leading a field crew last summer, I experienced the benefits of bringing together people with different experiences, and I also saw how it can be difficult to manage and work cohesively with people with different needs, wants, and backgrounds. Because field work already comes with a variety of mental and physical challenges, overcoming those obstacles and personal differences can require some effort. I’ve realized the importance of connecting with my coworkers and learning their strengths, as well as the areas where they might need support, to be able to make sure that everyone can bring their individual experiences and expertise to the table. Our work is enriched by having a diverse team of people with different knowledge and experiences all working towards the same goals.

Being involved in research at different levels, through field work over the summers and as a general lab technician during the school year, has also taught me how the pieces of a project fit together. I’ve gotten to work in different areas of the state with countless other students, researchers, faculty, and foresters from collaborating agencies. My experiences have taught me that it takes a community effort to put together a research project, and everyone involved at each stage plays an important role in working towards our collective end goals.

Reier Erickson

Reier Erickson. Photo courtesy of Reier Erickson.

Reier Erickson is a returning undergraduate student, who’s come back to school to pursue his degree in FNRM focused on Parks and Protected Area Management. He works with Professor Ingrid Schneider on a Sea Grant research project investigating Black and African American participation in water-based leisure on the north shore. In addition, Erickson received a UMN Undergraduate Research Opportunity Project (UROP) to pursue this project. The program pairs students with faculty mentors to work on research. Erickson’s UROP project explores discrimination as a constraint to Black and African American participation in water-based leisure on the North Shore. He is expected to graduate in spring 2026.

Why did you choose to be involved in this research project?

I was interested in exploring research as a way to affect change. I originally came back to school to become a state or national park manager because I wanted to help Black and brown people, specifically kids, see themselves both reflected in park employees and belonging in the park.

I was familiar with Dr. Schneider’s work beforehand, so when I realized she was a part of the Department of Forest Resources, I immediately reached out just to meet her. I asked if she had any opportunities for me to help in her research. She pointed me to the UROP opportunity and let me know that if I was interested in coming up with my own project or joining her Sea Grant work, she could be my advisor. I jumped at the chance.

The course of my entire education experience has been changed by this opportunity. I am now working on this research project, have been selected as a 2025 McNair Scholar, and am planning to proceed with a masters and PhD program with the aim of changing policy through research. I want to make sure that the wilderness in Minnesota, and the nation, are accessible to everyone.

What have you learned or gained from being on the research team?

I I am an incredibly shy, insular person. Working with a team has helped me get over my shyness. It’s also helped me learn to collaborate and lean on others. If I am unable to be present for interviews, I have to rely on someone else on the team to be present and take notes. Or I can focus on a historical context piece and someone else on the team can focus on community outreach. It’s not always easy to ask for help or depend on support, but being on a team makes it not only important, but necessary.

Nick Parrott

Nick Parrott, who is pursuing his masters degree in Natural Resources Science and Management (NRSM), is expected to graduate this spring. He’s on the Forests: Biology, Ecology, Conservation, and Management track and works with Professor Windmuller-Campione on two projects: Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) and Beavers, Trees, and Climate-Increasing Floodplain Forest Resilience.

How do these projects relate to your own research or scholarship?

My research involves floodplain forest management issues. The role of the ASCC project is to see how different silvicultural prescriptions will be effective in a changing climate. The goal is to determine if increased native species diversity (Resistance), native species progeny of southern genotypes (Resilience), novel species already adapted to a warmer climate (Transition), or no treatment at all will be most appropriate given current and future climatic conditions. At our site in Crosby Farm Regional Park in St. Paul, tree species with the potential to survive the dynamics of a riparian ecosystem with the added stressor of anthropogenic climate change were planted in 2020 based mostly on USDA hardiness zones, which are agricultural zones based on the survivability of a plant due to average annual extreme minimum winter temperature. For this experiment, I am quantifying growth and mortality data of those trees as well as understory vegetation composition.

I am also looking at forest structure and composition throughout the Mississippi National River & Recreation Area (MNRRA) in locations with potential beaver foraging and comparing those to adjacent areas that are unlikely to have beaver foraging. The goal is to determine the differences in riparian forest structure and composition that may be due to beaver activity.

What have you learned or gained from being on this research team at this stage of your career?

Science does not happen in a vacuum. The group dynamic of research begins before a project is even devised, by past researchers and current supervisors who laid the foundations for us to build upon. Once a plan is in motion, building a team of competent, focused, and, most importantly (in my opinion), personable people is key to future success. Competence and determination must be there, but I am always looking at how likely a person is to fit into a team dynamic, including superiors.

We can teach anyone to measure trees, but it is much more difficult to teach someone to be a decent person who performs work and receives or gives critique amicably. I try to view myself through the same lens and often find flaws I need to work on. Identifying my own weaknesses with the help of the team is an important part of my own professional development.

Giovanni Delgado-Ortiz

Giovanni Delgado-Ortiz. Photo courtesy of Giovanni Delgado-Ortiz.

While Giovanni Delgado-Ortiz is pursuing his masters degree in NRSM with a focus on Economics, Policy, Management, and Society, he’s working with the Center for Changing Landscapes (CCL), led by Professor Mae Davenport. There he serves as the primary student investigator for Boochji-apiitendaagwak (“the connections of all things must be valued and highly regarded” in Ojibwe). This collaborative project between CCL and Fond du Lac (FDL) environmental program staff seeks to identify the relationships FDL enrolled members and descendants have with wetlands. The findings from this study will assist FDL environmental program staff center community values, stories, and relationships in wetland restoration and management efforts. Delgado-Ortiz, who aims to graduate in spring 2026, will also base his masters thesis on the project.

How does the project relate to your own research or scholarship?

This project will allow me to assess and propose how the integration of cultural ecosystem services can inform environmental planning and policy, specifically for communities. Since this project is funded through an EPA Wetlands Development Grant, I am also hoping to explore how cultural ecosystem services can influence federal commitments to environmental justice and Tribal trust responsibility.

What have you learned or gained from being on this research team at this stage of your career?

Through the CCL, I have had the opportunity to work with multiple Native nations, natural resource managers, government agencies, and community activists. In this work and how I engage with my research team, I have come to recognize that I cannot be an expert at everything. I must rely on my team to tackle all types of challenges, and communicating this is important to establish healthy work relationships. Having this mindset allows me to find a pace in my work where I can enjoy what I do, while also recognizing my strengths and weaknesses as an environmental social scientist.

~ This article is part of the Fall 2024 Forest Scene newsletter (Issue 32). Access additional articles in the table of contents that follows the image description.

Image descriptions:

Image 1: A tented booth at a neighborhood street event. There are storefronts in the background. Two young men, one with medium-dark skin and one with dark skin, stand smiling behind the booth's table in maroon UMN golf-style shirts. A woman in a hijab stands to the left and an older woman in a tank top sits at the right with a touchpad. There is signage around the booth in multiple languages that reads, "Take our iPad survey and receive a $2 bill." In the center of the table are five large, clear cylinders with labels in front of them.
Image 2: A light-skinned young man wearing a black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up smiles with his mouth closed in front of green trees. He has light-brown hair, a septum piercing, and several hooped earrings on both ears.
Image 3: A man with a medium-dark skin, a closely shorn haircut, and stubble smiles in front of a window. He's wearing a textured plaid shirt.
Image 4: A man takes a selfie on a hike. There is a trail of people behind him and it appears as if he's leading the group. The group wears backpacks and walks on a wood-planked path with tall grasses on either side. The man taking the selfie is light-skinned with dark short dark hair and a closely-shorn beard. He's in the bottom right of the image looking up at the camera. Behind him is a woman making a silly face.
Image 5: A young man with medium-brown skin, dark hair, a moustache, and a short chin beard. Sunglasses sit atop his head and push his hair back. He's smiling broadly.

Cover of Forest Scene Issue 32, Fall 2024.

The Forest Scene newsletter is published biannually in the spring and fall, featuring stories, research briefs, and updates from the Department of Forest Resources.

Click the following links to read articles from the Fall 2024 edition of Forest Scene (Issue 32):