The Edwin S. George Reserve (ESGR) is a 5.2 km^2 chunk of land just north of Ann Arbor (MI), and owned by the University of Michigan (UM). The property was purchased in 1927 by Colonel Edwin S. George, fenced as a game reserve, and given over to UM in 1930. It consists of About 23% of it is wetlands, with most of that being bogs and swamps (you can see some in the lower pic).

For more than a decade and a half, a team of researchers including Earl Werner, Dave Skelly, Mike Benard, Kelly Yurewicz, Rick Relyea, and many others has conducted a survey of aquatic community composition in the 38 ponds and wetlands on the property. I have been privileged to assist with this survey.

Honestly, I can't image a more scenic place to work, particularly during autumn. As with most North American temperate forests, the place explodes into a beautiful landscape of colors as all of the leaves prepare to fall.

Dirt trails weave through the entire property; the roads are wide enough for a pickup truck, and bumpy enough that only a pickup truck should try to handle them. Don't get stuck in the mud. And don't hit the deer, turkey, raccoons, and other wildlife that share the property.

My research questions how the diversity and quality of terrestrial resources impact aquatic community structure and function. To answer this question, you need to know two things:



1) Aquatic structure and function

2) The diversity and quality of terrestrial resources

Brain surgery, I know.

In nature, these things are difficult and time consuming to measure. Fortunately, the team of researchers running the survey already answered #1 for me. This cut my work in half. In 2010, I was awarded with a UM field station grant to answer #2.

So I set up leaf litter collection bins around 20 of the 38 ponds that have similar canopy cover and are of similar size. The bins were very scientific, as you can see in the pictures above. On the bottom, there is a mesh screen to collect the litter that blew in. I set up 4 bins around each pond and came back 5 times during the year to collect the litter that fell/blew in.
Very scientific.

I'm thinking of patenting the bins. Rubbermaid and I are currently in a heated dispute.

Anyway, here are lessons learned:
1) There are a lot of thorns in this world. Avoid them.
2) Driving a manual pickup truck on muddy dirt roads is the most fun a man can have.
3) Getting a manual pickup truck stuck on muddy dirt roads is the most embarrassing thing that can happen to a man.
4) The world is most definitely green (It's an ecology joke. If you don't get it, consider yourself normal).
5) Cable ties have an incredible number of uses

When I went to each bin, I stuffed the leaves into bags. This was A LOT of bags (20 ponds x 4 bins x Blow-in and Fall-in collections...)

Try stuffing all those litter bags into a Toyota Camry, along with an assistant, two sets of luggage, and field equipment. You would think leaf litter does not take up much room. You would be wrong.



I could NOT have done this work without friends. On the left is Kara Branby and on the right is Chris Hensley. Seriously, I'm not sure how I could have pulled this off without them. I'm also not sure how they put up with me... from losing keys to nearly drowning... yeah...



Conditions on the reserve are not always for the faint of heart. This page would not be complete without a tribute to Burt Pond. I have a series of alternative names for this pond.

1) Hell, Michigan
2) Think-before-you-step
3) Smells-like-ass
4) The Colonel's Cesspool



Why do I have such affection for this pond, do you ask? Well, let me first say that it is a cesspool of sorts. The Colonel's house is a short walk uphill and his waste is a fast drain downhill. So, the place is a veritable cesspool. Very muddy, very deceitful. It's extraordinarily productive (probably from all the nutrients in the poop) and thick mats of algae cover it. There is also a lot of mud at the bottom. Walk on land and you fall in. Walk in the water and you get stuck. Struggle to get out the mud, and you realize how much mud is like quicksand when you are in waders.

Chris got stuck. Then I got stuck. Twice.



The ESGR is located right near a small little town called Hell (which is along Darwin Rd, by the way). There isn't much to the town except for a bar, an ice cream shop, a gift store, and a mini-golf course. And let me tell you - Halloween there is a real let-down.

There are several theories for the name. One is the hell-like conditions associated with the area (mosquitoes, swamps, etc). I prefer the one where there was a Shell gas station in the town, and the 'S' had fallen off awhile ago.



I would say it's fun to explore the town, but it's not really much. Although to it's credit, the bar is fantastic. They have great food and great beer. Just don't stay too long.



If you would like to get married in hell, they have a church. I hope that you have a small wedding party, because I don't think the place can fit more than 20 people. I don't really get it, though. Yes, I understand that it would be so cool to tell your friends that you got married in hell.

Person 1: "We got married in hell"

Person 2: "Haha"

Person 1: "No, really! We got married in hell. Michigan, that is."

Person 2: "Oh. That's cool."

Person 1: "Where did you get married?"

Person 2: "On a beach in the Caribbean."

Person 1: "You win."