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Natural Resources Practicum

Published April 2008
Story Source: Christine Tew

During their academic career at MU, students have the opportunity to prepare for situations with a run through, or several. Professors and tutors create practice tests before exam day, and the career services office facilitates mock interviews for job hunters. And in the natural resources practicum course, graduating seniors get a dress rehearsal.

The 83 students split into five teams to survey, inventory and plan the future of a conservation area owned by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Their coursework will be evaluated by University faculty and industry professionals.

"They have to operate within MDC rules, regulations and guidelines," said instructor Crystal Frey. "It's as if MDC had hired them as consultants to develop a five-year management plan for the property."

This spring, the students are working on the 657-acre Hart Creek Conservation Area, northwest of Hartsburg on the KATY Trail. This is the third year the practicum course has focused on property managed by MDC, Frey said.

Developing a plan for the site has been a challenge, said senior Anna Kopp. Students visited the area several times, both as a class and in small groups.

"The first time the whole class went out there we split into our disciplines," Kopp said. "We didn't really know what we were looking for or what we should be looking at for the project."

Kopp, who studied parks, recreation and tourism, has worked with 15 other students from forestry, fisheries and wildlife management to develop a five-year management plan for the conservation area. The teamwork was difficult at first, she said, because "nobody is starting on the same page."

"It's the first time for most of the students to be working on a project with others that have been taught different disciplines and view issues differently," Kopp said. "It's an experience that I wish was encouraged earlier in our college career."

The teamwork aspect is an important part of the course, according to instructor Frey. "The class is supposed to synthesize the education — the knowledge, skills and competencies they have acquired during their three or three and a half years of undergraduate study."

In the past, students have written management plans for the Thomas S. Baskett Wildlife Area east of Ashland, the Lick Creek Conservation Area in northern Boone County and the University of Missouri Bradford Research and Extension Center.

The five student groups presented their management plans to MU faculty and MDC field staff at 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 23 in the Agriculture Building on the MU campus in Columbia.

For more information, please contact the MU School of Natural Resources at 573-882-6446.