We are continuing our series of videos introducing you to the Temple Ambler Field Station Research Interns as they share insights into their research and their experiences on campus.

For Morgan Day, a senior in Natural Sciences with a concentration in Biology in the College of Science and Technology, deciding on her major was a relatively simple choice.

"I always wanted to be outside and see the beauty in nature," she said. "I think the thing that drew me into my major was that I saw there were a lot of things that were wrong with the environment, and I wanted to be able to do something about that."

According to Day, she discovered the possibilities that the Field Station offers through Field Station Graduate Field Research Technician Keri Kern, who spent several years as a research intern herself.

"Keri was president of Temple's SEEDS (Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability) chapter and I was the vice president," she said. "She introduced me to all that Temple Ambler and the Field Station has to offer and I was very drawn to everything that the Field Station was doing."

According to Day, many of the Field Station research interns worked collaborating to collect seeds in the Temple Forest Observatory, during the fall semester. For her personal project, she said, "I am trying to see if there is a correlation between the growth of our marked trees within the TFO and Robbins Park and seeing if there is a presence of stranglers affecting that growth."

"The goal of this research is to try to see if other trees are growing more or less and trying to determine the end result," she said. "I think there are many benefits to hands-on learning like this — you can only get so much information and knowledge from inside of a classroom. Being able to actually interact with things with your hands provides you with greater understanding of what you are researching."

Students gain advanced training by engaging in hands-on research internships that bring alive the excitement of science through an inquiry-based experience. Student interns work alongside researchers in the field to support ongoing projects and can develop investigations of their own.

Students interested in becoming a Field Station Research Intern, should reach out to the Temple Ambler Field Station at fieldstation@temple.edu with their name, why they are interested in working with the Field Station, current transcripts, and current resume.

Learn more about the Temple Ambler Field Station at https://ambler.temple.edu/fieldstation.

Learn more about the College of Science and Technology at https://cst.temple.edu.

Learn more about Temple University Ambler at https://amber.temple.edu.