We know that in-depth scientific exploration doesn’t only happen in a lab, and a group of our Spider scholars just upped the ante on their summer research. Honestly, what better way to absorb as much information as possible than to take a class in one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems?

A group of 22 students from Richmond and Wake Forest traveled to Australia’s Outback and Great Barrier Reef along with their professors for joint classes on biology, geography and conservation. They studied different ecosystems in the Great Barrier Reef, visited two different types of rain forests, and managed to fit in time to travel over the mountains into the Outback.

“As a field of study course, it offered students the opportunity to learn about and practice applying the scientific method in some of the most biodiverse and most threatened ecosystems on the planet, like the Great Barrier Reef,” UR professor Todd Lookingbill said.

Lookingbill’s group included Spiders specializing in environmental studies and biology – and business, too.

We’re proud UR is a place that enables undergrads to conduct research around the globe. We know these students had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!