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stewardship for the earth. “This event highlights what an important project this is,” Stancil said. “We need to be more mindful of the ways we impact the environment. It’s the right thing to do.” The site of the Outdoor Learning Center used to be referred to as “The Jungle” due to the mass of invasive species, said senior Emma Kane, habitat volunteer coordinator. The efforts volunteers made to improve the natural habitat on the site will continue, and President Anderson said, adding this effort speaks to

was a keynote speaker Friday at PLU’s Natural Science Academic Festival, which ran through May 7. Before his address Friday evening, Fischer chatted informally over pizza with about 25 biology and chemistry majors who got a chance to ask Fischer everything from why he got into science (his father) to if he had any regrets about his career choice (no, he doesn’t. He considers his work just plain fun.) “The most interesting things happen when an experiment doesn’t work out they way you predicted it

the park’s free roaming area where they saw animals in all aspects of their natural lives. The early-morning ride, while a bit chilly, brought a close encounter with every animal in this area of the park, including deer, geese, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, moose, bison and a blue heron. Some of the animals, like the sheep, were spotted laying in an open meadow a few yards away, while others, like a shaggy mountain goat were almost close enough to touch from the tram. For many, this was their

PLU to compete in fun and exciting engineering competitions such as building stick bridges, creating prosthetic arms and designing and flying gliders. It’s a major event, filling both Olson Auditorium and Memorial Gymnasium, and about 25 PLU staff members—from the Division of Natural Sciences and other departments—volunteer each year, along with members of the community. Nobles calls it “the Olympics of MESA.”At the luncheon, MESA will award five scholarships worth a total of $10,000 to local high

community and the public during emergencies and natural disasters. “We are the first university to tie our outdoor speakers into the system,” said Greg Premo, director of Campus Safety. “Most universities use the emergency ‘Blue Phones’ for outdoor notification, but that route would have been very costly since we would have had to add a lot of new cabling, power and other installation costs.” The new Metis system, funded in part by a $15,000 grant from the Puget Sound Energy Foundation, provides greater

credit for: personalities, intelligence, language [and] feelings,” said Bergman, who’s working on a project titled “Speak, Parrot,” which details his conversations with the highly intelligent birds. “I love penguins because they are irresistible. I love them because they remind us so much of… US!” Bergman has a wondrous passion for the natural world and uses his mastery of the English language—and his camera—to capture it all. “I love to be in the company of wild animals, and [I] have used my writing

scholars and offer the seventh- and eighth-graders tips on what it takes to get to college. PLU produced a #ReachHigher White House video that showcases Mount Tahoma students. PLU has awarded two Tacoma students a new endowed scholarship, The Ostenson Leadership Award, focused on increasing the number of African Americans in the Natural Sciences at PLU. “PLU has worked on the grassroots level for many years in all of our high schools, and many of our middle and elementary schools, helping Tacoma

million grant from the National Science Foundation.The grant, which provides funding over the next three years, will help extend existing collaborations between the university’s Division of Natural Sciences, Education Department and partner districts Clover Park and Franklin Pierce to improve K-12 STEM teacher preparation and induction.  “The grant is a big deal for us,” said Ksenija Simic-Muller, PLU’s Chair of Mathematics and a leading force behind the university’s proposal. “It will allow us to

Einan about her impressive triple major. Einan came to PLU with the intent of being a history major and possibly an English minor. Still, she loved her English classes so much that her English minor quickly became a second major. Einan’s love of books made literature a natural fit.  “I’ve always been a book nerd. I read multiple books in a week,” says Einan. “I have piles of books at home. I go to the used bookstore all the time.”  Einan loves many books, making it impossible for her to choose a

Colleges of Professional Studies (education) and Natural Sciences (chemistry and mathematics).”  In 2021-22, Gardiner said that seven students were recruited to the NSF-funded Pathways to Culturally Sustaining STEM Teaching Program and awarded roughly $140,000 in forgivable loans.  Anderson feels like the program’s anti-racist, equity-focused, and student-focused instruction is essential. She hopes these conversations become the norm in classes beyond her program and she’s proud that PLU is leading the