College of Arts and Sciences Newsroom

By Elisabeth Watson ’26

This summer, University of Dayton biologist Chelse Prather took a group of students on a six-day backpacking trip through Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains as part of a new environmental biology lab to learn ecological principles in Appalachian ecosystems.

None of the six students had ever backpacked before. They faced many challenges during the trip — including being “tick-bombed” and “bluff-charged” by a black bear.

“The bear encounter was really exciting and of course a little nerve-wracking,” said Stephanie Murray, Prather’s teaching assistant and a third-year biology doctoral student from Pittsburgh. “I was proud our group responded appropriately — no one ran from the bear, we stood our ground and made noise, armed with our bear spray and air horns. We successfully spooked the bear and came out with an awesome story for an environmental biologist to tell. The bear was beautiful, and we were lucky to have had a safe look at it.”

The students hiked 50 miles of the trail in late June and early July, covering four to 12 miles per day. They discussed environmental concepts, observed real-life examples and took field notes along their journey. To prepare for the trek, the students had meetings during the 2024 spring semester and did a 20-mile practice hike in Germantown, near Dayton.

The experiential learning opportunity was inspired by Prather’s own experiences as an undergraduate student.

“It's been my dream for a long time to teach this ecology of Appalachia course, to pass those skills on to other students and to take them to an iconic place like the Appalachian trail,” said Prather, associate professor of biology and environmental biology coordinator.

The goal for the students was not to take samples or do research, but to learn how to do fieldwork and apply their knowledge in that environment. 

“I was privileged enough during my undergrad experience to be able to do some ecological research and be a part of this field course and I know that my experience and comfort level in the field gave me an edge over other students when applying to graduate programs,” Murray said.

In addition to hiking with their classmates, the students also got to know other hikers on the trail and sometimes shared shelters with them overnight.

“On the Appalachian Trail, there are people who spend months hiking and it was fascinating to listen to the stories these people had to share,” said Skylar Shannon, a senior environmental biology major from Miamisburg, Ohio.

They also encountered a swarm of baby ticks.

“One day we were hiking through a lot of clearings where ticks will hang out and when we got to the campsite that night one of the students said they found a tiny tick on them,” Prather said. “And then they found another one and another one — some of the students were covered in baby ticks. This is called ‘tick-bombing,’ where you go through a bunch of newly hatched ticks and they all jump on you at the same time”

The students then had to create a makeshift shower using creek water so they could strip down to wash the ticks off themselves.

Near the end of the trip, the students wrote reflections on what they had learned.

“I think the most rewarding part of the trip was that I now have that knowledge and feel confident to do a similar trip,” said Penelope Fisher, a junior environmental biology major from Dayton. “The trip inspired me greatly and I now want to complete the entire Appalachian trail. I also now have long-lasting experience doing field research in the wild, which is one of the main reasons I signed up for the trip.”

Prather has hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail many times, but this was the first time she has done this trip with students through UD. She hopes to lead similar environmental biology labs in the future in other regions of the 2,190-mile trail.

Despite the physical and mental demands of the trip, Prather said the most rewarding part was being able to see her students’ excitement, especially at places like Dragon’s Tooth, a rock monolith that offers beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

“This is why I did it — to give students this experience,” she said. “Having those moments where the students were so excited to be there, and learning that they can do hard things, to be able to give them that experience was the most rewarding part.”