Summer Classes

Find out more about the summer classes offered at Central Michigan University's Biological Station on Beaver Island. To explore travel and housing options, and costs for attending courses at the station, please go to the CMUBS home page to find additional information through the sidebar.

Classes available at the CMU Biological Station - Summer 2024

* Classes and schedule subject to change.
** Listed in order of course dates

HON 321 

• Sculpture, Collage and the Natural Environment - May 5-11, 2024 - Taught by Lavana Shurtliff - 3 credits
  
• Helping and Hiking on Beaver Island - May 5-11, 2024 - Taught by Mark Francek - 3 credits
• Island Identity and Environment - May 5-11, 2024 - Taught by Maureen Eke - 3 credits

BIO 597ZK - Freshwater Algae

• June 3-8, 2024
• Taught by Hunter Carrick
  
• 3 credits
  
• Also available as a workshop
• This course will examine the taxonomy and ecology of freshwater algae in the Great Lakes region. We will take a system-level approach towards describing and identifying characteristic algal assemblages that inhabit ecosystems in and around the Beaver Island Archipelago. Students will conduct habitat assessments for freshwater ecosystems that exhibit a range in size and biological complexity (beach pool, bog, fen, marsh, inland lakes, and the Great Lakes).

ENS 313Z - Intro Ecosystems Structure and Function

• June 3-8, 2024
• Taught by Amanda Suchy
  
• 3 credits
• This course will introduce the biological, chemical, and physical controls on how ecosystems look (structure) and do what they do (function). It will include discussions of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and cover topics such as energy, carbon and nutrient flow through ecosystems, biodiversity effects on ecosystem functions, and the role of disturbance on ecosystem functions.

BIO 597ZI - Forensic Entomology - The Real CSI

• June 17-22, 2024
• Taught by Richard Merritt and Martin Berg
  
• 2 credits
  
• Also available as a workshop
• This course will explore the various ways insects can and have been used as evidence in a court of law and how they can assist in solving crimes. Objectives are to finish this course with a better knowledge of: 1) how insects and related arthropods are used during legal investigations; 2) why and when insects can become valuable evidence in a court of law; 3) how to recognize major insects of forensic importance; 4) understanding insect basic biology, succession, and their role in decomposition; and 5) how insects are used to determine the time between death and corpse discovery in murder investigations. The course will involve students collecting insects from decaying pigs in the field and cover actual cases and viewing videos involved in forensic entomology.
  

BIO 530Z - Stream and River Ecology

• June 24-29, 2024
• Taught by Gary Lamberti and Tiffany Schriever
  
• 3 credits
  
• Also available as a workshop
• This course will explore interrelations between organisms and their flowing water environment, emphasizing links between biotic communities and the productivity, diversity, and biogeochemistry of stream and river ecosystems.

BIO 213Z - Foundations of Ecology

• June 24 - July 12, 2024
• Taught by Kevin Pangle
  
• 4 credits
• Study of the relationship between organisms and their environment.

BIO 520Z - Great Lakes Mollusks

• July 8-12, 2024 - July 8-9 at CMUBS
• Taught by Dave Zanatta
  
• 2 credits
  
• Also available as a workshop
• An examination of the ecology, life history, taxonomy, evolution, and conservation status of freshwater mollusks (bivalves and gastropods) from the Great Lakes region.

CHM 211ZQR - Quantitative Analysis

• July 15-26, 2024 at CMUBS
• Taught by Dale LeCaptain
  
• 4 credits
• Lecture online prior
• The lecture is on-line June 10 through July 12 and July 29 through August 1. The lab is a face-to-face field experience emphasizing environmental analytical chemistry at the Central Michigan University Biological Station July 15 through July 26 on Beaver Island.

CHM 515Z - Environmental Chemistry of the Great Lakes

• July 22-26, 2024 at CMUBS
• Taught by Dale LeCaptain
• 2 credits
  
• Lecture online prior
• This hands-on field and laboratory course applies analytical chemistry to analyze air, water, and soil samples collected from Michigan freshwater ecosystems. Course will meet online asynchronous July 8-18; course will meet face to face on Beaver Island M-F 8:30AM-5:30PM July 19, 22-26.

BIO 100Z - Field Biology

• July 22-27, 2024
• Taught by Bradley Swanson
  
• 3 credits
• Open to High School students
• Introduction to field studies and data analyses. Emphasis on relationships between organisms and their environment. Does not count towards any Biology Major.

ENS 101QRZ - Earth and You: Introduction to Environmental Science

• July 22-27, 2024
• Instructor TBA
• 3 credits
• UP Credit (II.B) for CMU students
• Open to High School Students
• Explore environmental systems through examination of major issues facing humanity today. Topics include water availability and quality, climate change, sustainable resource management, pollution, and biodiversity. Satisfies University Program Group II laboratory requirement. Quantitative Reasoning. (University Program Group II-B: Quantitative and Mathematical Sciences)

MUS 597AZ - Nature Inspired Composition

• August 1-10, 2024
• Taught by Jay Batzner
  
• 3 credits
  
• Also available as a workshop
• Students will study the music, philosophies, and techniques of composers inspired by direct contact with nature. Note: Portable audio recording device (a smartphone is sufficient) is required.

CHM 371Z - Chemistry of Natural Waters

• August 5-9, 2024
• Taught by Sharyl Majorski
  
• 2 credits
  
• Also available as a workshop
• This course is designed as a general-education investigation of the importance of water to the existence of life on Earth. We will examine a variety of interactions between humans and water, including both human impacts on water resources and the impact of water resources on human society. Topics will include water chemistry, water law, water diversions, water pollution, and challenges to water sustainability. Lectures will focus on basic water chemistry and current practices used in water monitoring programs with laboratory activities based on water quality analysis methods and reporting.

JRN 597EZ - Nature Photography

• August 5-10, 2024
• Taught by Steve Jessmore
  
• 3 credits
  
• Also available as a workshop
• Nature photography on Beaver Island including field trips.

ART 397AZ - Nature Inspired Art

• August 12-16, 2024
• Taught by Denise Fanning
  
• 2 credits
  
• Also available as a workshop
• A studio course in nature focusing on the relationship between the natural environment and the creative process. Traditional and non- traditional skills and techniques will be explored in the development of independent work in response to the natural world. 

ENG 513AZ - Creative Writing in Nature

• August 12-16, 2024
• Taught by Robert Fanning
  
• 2 credits
  
• Also available as a workshop
• Inspired by hikes on the fields and beaches and woods of Beaver Island, as well as reading and analysis of eco-poetry and possibly some selections of non-fiction nature-writing, students in this course will write poetry that both celebrates the natural world and interrogates our role as human beings and artists in it.