research team mentors

Research focus for summer 2025

There are two main focal areas for Team Humans for summer 2025.

1. Support for present Humans at Tyson

Team Humans tackles the many logistical challenges and behind-the-scenes supports necessary for the summer field season to run smoothly for both program participants and mentoring researchers. We strive to cultivate a sense of belonging, often responding to individual needs and adjusting for accommodations on the fly. Constant attention to inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility is an important part of our work.

Our team plays a large role in the development, coordination, and assessment of community activities. We facilitate the weekly colloquium and the on-boarding of high school TERAs into their research teams. We support community events (weekly visiting environmental professionals and environmental mini-conference in July) and we plan and execute the end of field season Tyson Summer Research Symposium (serious fun) and Tyson Olympics (silly fun).

PLEASE NOTE: The Team Humans fellows are expected to drive Tyson vehicles for daily transportation from the WashU Danforth Campus to Tyson and back. A Missouri Class E license (or other state’s equivalent license), clean driving record, and years of driving experience is required.

This summer we expect fellows to be directly involved in gauging and improving community morale and in the development, pilot testing, and evaluation of new educational modules for the weekly colloquium.

2. Understanding of past Humans at Tyson

The Tyson History Project is an initiative to preserve, interpret, and communicate the complex history of Tyson Research Center, both prior to and since Washington University’s establishment of the 2000-acre environmental field station in 1963. We are using historical documents and artifacts to develop a more thorough understanding of how the Tyson Valley tract has been used over time.

A small interdisciplinary team of WashU faculty, staff, and students has been working together to retell the history of the Tyson landscape with particular attention given to the harm caused to humans and the land. Four primary eras have emerged from our initial archival recovery process started in 2023:

1. Prehistoric settlement and quarrying activities of Indigenous peoples

2. White settler colonialism including land ownership, enslavement, and natural resource extraction

3. US military ownership for ordnance storage during World War II and the Korean War

4. Past and present WashU research and education activities as part of Tyson’s field station operations

This summer we expect fellows to participate in research and writing activities that will contribute content to the Tyson Timeline, an ArcGIS StoryMap that will provide the general public access to a documented history of Tyson.

Skills
techniques
methods

You will develop a wide variety of transferable skills as part of Team Humans:

• Planning, management, and execution of transportation logistics

• Community building, morale management, and peer advocacy

• Lesson planning and educational materials development

• Assessment and evaluation using exit slips, interviews, and observation

• Planning, coordination, and facilitation of large group events

• Archival process for safe storage, organization, and accessibility of historical materials

• Interpretation and synthesis of historical materials

• Writing for publicly accessible communication

• Use of ArcGIS StoryMap and related technologies

Much of the computer-based work will be performed using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google products (Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms), WashU Box, and Slack.