Fall 2012 Issue - Colby-Sawyer College

Photos: Michael Seamans
On a warm and bright
morning last October, 12
Colby-Sawyer students
and two professors prepared
to set off for a
four-day journey into the
high peaks of the Presidential
Range in the White
Mountains National
Forest. Dressed in layers,
they strapped on backpacks
stuffed with sleeping
bags, warm jackets, food
and other supplies and hit
the Tuckerman’s Ravine
Trail for an ascent into the
alpine zone.
The students—mostly
junior and senior biology,
environmental studies
and environmental science
majors—were part of
Associate Professor of
Natural Sciences Laura
Alexander’s Alpine Flora
Communities course.
In the previous month they
had learned about the
fragile ecosystems that
inhabit high-altitude alpine
regions, where plants are
buffeted by high winds,
heavy snow and extreme
cold. Field guides close
at hand, the students were
anxious to find and identify
these plant communities
in the wild and experience
the environment to which
these species have
adapted.
The course includes
a few day hikes and this
longer expedition marked
the addition of a new
Alpine Communities Field
Studies Program. It is the
fourth field study program
to be added to the
curriculum, after Desert
Communities (in Arizona),
Marine Communities (on
Martha’s Vineyard) and
River Communities (in the
Colorado River Basin).
The hike began at about
a 2,000-foot elevation and
quickly turned rocky and
steep. Professor Alexander
kept the group focused
by making frequent stops
to point out plant communities
along the trail and
reminded students to keep
an eye on how species
appeared and disappeared
with changes in elevation.
She prodded them with
questions: When did the
hardwood forest transition
to a spruce fir forest?
Which plant communities
should we be seeing
now? What are the major
impacts on the flora in
this area?
The next day, the group
climbed up Tuckerman’s
Ravine on the way to
Lakes in the Clouds and
Mt. Monroe. The trail
grew narrower and more
arduous, but the views
were stunning. When the
group took a break, Harvey
Pine, assistant professor
of Natural Sciences,
explained the geological
origins of the amphitheater
that surrounded them.
Like an impassioned
preacher, he raised his
arms and voice as he
described how hundreds
Fall 2012
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