Good morning!
We’ve passed through peak fall foliage along Douglas Lake at the University of Michigan Biological Station and are happy to share colorful photos with you throughout this newsletter.
As we usher in a quieter time of year up north in Pellston, the stark annual changes always make me appreciate anew these forests as our living classroom. It’s our role to understand the plight of these ecosystems and champion their future through our service as stewards.
This month, we’re celebrating one of our eco-heroes who works behind-the-scenes in the stockroom, providing the foundational support that allows researchers to focus on discovery.
Sherry Webster, the stockroom manager at UMBS, has given more than three decades of dedicated service to this research community and its mission to learn from the natural world, advance research and education, and inspire action.
Please join me in giving a hearty congratulations to Sherry on her retirement! Her last day was Oct. 17.
Our stockroom is a central meeting place to problem solve science design problems, and Sherry was at the heart of that.
UMBS Resident Biologist Adam Schubel says it best: “She was our most senior staff person, and to this day, she remembers particular equipment requests from researchers and faculty throughout her career. She organized, maintained, tracked, and consulted on thousands of research equipment items in the stockroom. In peak years, Sherry accommodated around 40 visits to the stockroom per day and over 3,000 visits per year. She probably attended over 90,000 visits by students, faculty, and researchers during her career.”
Sherry strengthened our sustainability efforts by helping researchers with equipment — not having to rebuy it, if forgotten, as one example.
She also played a pivotal role in a hallmark of our legacy of long-term data collection. Sherry did weekly sample collection and processing at what’s called our National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) site, located in the UVB-field. It’s part of a long-term project that monitors acid precipitation at more than 250 locations across the country including UMBS. For nearly 50 years, global researchers have used this network to track pollution, monitor deposition of airborne microplastics, explore how changing precipitation may change nutrient loads in lakes, and measure PFAS in rainwater. Sherry and Adam have been our boots on the ground.
Sherry’s retirement is bittersweet. She has helped so many students and researchers find success at the Biological Station. Her advice on how to use equipment, handle field sampling and respect the tools of the trade is an essential part of what we do. Her guidance has been critical for moving research projects forward.
Thank you, Sherry, for all the ways you have supported the UMBS community. We’ll miss you, but we’re so happy for you!
This month we’re also celebrating another living legend: 99-year-old Dr. Edith Hurst. From her treasured friendship with the first Black student to study at UMBS to the life-changing influence of professors along Douglas Lake in the 1940s, Edie’s story gives a personal perspective to the rich history of UMBS. (Her humor shines when talking about how classes traveled in the back of open-backed trucks with planks on both sides to serve as seats, and how they navigated on treks through the forest armed with paper maps and no cell phones.)
Edie’s message for the next generation of eco-heroes resonated with me: “Today students have such different needs, but some things don’t change. If you’re going to have a professional existence — especially dealing with anything alive — you need to experience the Bio Station.”
Some of those change-makers picking up the torch are our 2025-26 Student Ambassadors. Meet the five UMBS alumni who are current U-M undergraduate students in the UMBS news story. Anya Renzi and Micah Heerema shared their passion for UMBS in Ann Arbor a few weeks ago at Earthfest, a U-M gathering on the Diag that highlights care for people, place and planet. We are energized by the enormous interest in UMBS in Ann Arbor!
Prospective students can meet the UMBS Student Ambassadors, in-person, along with members of our staff at an Information Session in Ann Arbor on Nov. 11. They’ll be featuring the 2026 spring and summer term courses as well as Biological Station Undergraduate Research Fellowships that include a $5,500 stipend and research mentors. Please pass this opportunity along to students in your network.
And last, but not least, I want you to meet two-year-old Lando, one of our youngest residents at the campus along Douglas Lake this summer. The budding scientist (and adorable stealer of bikes!) joined us because his mom Sarah Hortig took two English courses. Read the inspirational story of how she returned to school and is following her dreams of becoming a professional writer with support from her family and the UMBS community.
As always, thank you for your continued support. Making a donation now (and annually!) will help us achieve our goal of offering year-round academic programming so we can increase the number of students we can serve for generations to come.
Read the full October 2025 Newsletter to view the photos of fall colors.
Sincerely,
Dr. Aimee Classen
UMBS Director
