Research

Offering access and opportunities for nature-based education to K–12 teachers and their students is the primary goal of the Litzsinger Road Ecology Center (LREC). The secondary goal of the LREC is to restore and recreate functional ecosystems throughout its 39 acres, to act as the classroom for its educational programming. In order to better understand these ecosystems and how successful the LREC’s restoration efforts are, research partners and staff continue to conduct extensive scientific studies on the ecology of the site.

To better understand the ecological connections here, as well as the impacts humans have on our surrounding urban ecosystems and watersheds, the LREC is also making an effort to open up access of our restored habitats to local university students wishing to use our location as a field site for their research, furthering our education driven mission. With over 30 years of prairie reconstruction and woodland restoration, the grounds of the LREC are a unique place to do research.

To additionally help support research on site, the Litzsinger Road Ecology Center offers two to three research grants each year, for undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students, as well as professional researchers conducting their research on site at the LREC, on any topic related to ecology, conservation, or environmental science.