Reed College Canyon
Curriculum
The canyon has always been a prominent part of the Reed campus, and in recent years it has become a prominent feature of the curriculum as well. Several faculty members have used the canyon in their teaching and in their own research. Reed students have also begun to venture into the canyon in search of topics for their senior thesis research. And students from the Environmental Middle School have been studying macroinvertebrates in the lower canyon to monitor the water quality. As the restoration project proceeds, there will be likely be an ongoing research effort to monitor the changes in the canyon over time.
Faculty Research and Teaching | Natural Science 110 | Senior Thesis Projects | Middle School Students
Faculty Research and Teaching
The canyon is a valuable academic resource and many members of the Reed faculty use the canyon in their teaching and research. We asked a few professors to describe how they use the canyon, and we've put their responses on-line.
Natural Science 110
In 1994 and 1995, the Natural Science 110 classes at Reed studied some of the chemical, physical, and biological features of the Reed Canyon. Students measured the nitrate and phosphate concentrations of the water, as well as the temperature, dissolved oxygen levels, and pH. The resulting reports are available on-line:
Canyon Research Report, 1995
Canyon Research Report, 1994
Senior Thesis Projects
For most of the past century, the Reed College Canyon has overlooked by all but a handful of seniors looking for a thesis topic. Between 1925 and 1990, only 14 students chose a topic that related in some way to the canyon. In recent years, however, there has been an upsurge in interest in the local ecosystem. Between 1990 and 2002, 13 students chose to incorporate the canyon into their senior thesis research. The titles and abstracts of all canyon-related theses are available on-line. The theses are available in the Reed College Library.
Middle School Students
Students from the Environmental Middle School in Portland are studying the canyon and doing research on water quality and macroinvertebrates. The image to the left shows a typical result sheet from one of their surveys (you can click on it for a close-up). Their surveys are based on the knowledge that different macroinvertebrates have differing sensitivities to pollution. By studying what macroinvertebrates are found in the canyon, the students are helping us monitor our water quality. (The indications, so far, tell us that the water quality is very high.)
