College of Arts & Sciences
Education in the Arboretum
With over 100 species and 400 specimens, the Arboretum serves as an outdoor classroom.
More About the Arboretum
Arboretum offers unique research & educational opportunities
In 2015, Baker University received a $286,285 grant from the National Science Foundation for a three-year program called “Tardigrades and Wheel Chairs in the Canopy.” The Research Experience for Undergraduates program provided Baker students the opportunity to research and study tardigrades throughout Kansas’ canopy. The REU program also allowed students with ambulatory disabilities the opportunity to conduct field work.
During the first two years of the pilot for the program, William Miller, the director of research in biology, and his team produced eight peer-reviewed scientific paper, discovered and described three species that were new to science, as well as establishing new records for Kansas and North America. The team ascended more than 250 trees across Kansas, at times hanging over 75 feet above the ground. Baker’s team collected 1,400 samples and extracted more than 12,000 tardigrades. Following their research, the research team presented their data at the regional, national, and international level.
