PELLSTON, Mich. — Launching the experience of a lifetime, more than 70 students moved into the University of Michigan Biological Station on Tuesday, May 20, to start classes for the 2025 spring term.

“I'm excited to be outside so much,” said Nick Holcum, who will be a senior at the University of Michigan in the fall. “It's really comfortable weather, and it's going to be nice to get hands-on experience instead of staying in a classroom the whole semester.”

This isn’t new terrain for Mira Hughes. The 21-year-old is returning for her second season at UMBS and celebrated by dancing with a broom outside her cabin along Douglas Lake.

“I had so many good memories from last year — such a good experience,” said Hughes, a double major at U-M in Program in the Environment (PitE) and the Stamps School of Art and Design.

This time Hughes is a CLEAR Fellow and will stay through early August. She is taking a course at the field research station while simultaneously interning at the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, an environmental nonprofit based in Petoskey.

The fellowship provides tuition support, room, board, research fees and supplies at UMBS to students doing applied aquatic research along with public outreach and education — directly involving students in the northern Michigan community.

“I think I stumbled across the perfect thing,” Hughes said.

Dane Rutz, who is pre-med and an upcoming junior studying biology at U-M, said he chose to take spring courses at the remote, historic field research station located about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge because it seemed like a “soulful experience.”

“It sounded so cool from when I first heard about it,” Rutz said. “You get to research really cool things with other like-minded people. I want to explore a lot. I want to see everything it has to offer.”

Nick Holcum, who will be a senior at the University of Michigan in the fall, unpacks his belongings from the trunk of a car during spring term move-in day at UMBS Tuesday, May 20.

“Nature is our living laboratory here at the Biological Station,” said Dr. Aimée Classen, UMBS director and a professor in the U-M Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. “We are thrilled to welcome this engaging cohort of students in our second century of operations. This is the beginning of a transformational experience that will connect them for the rest of their lives to this welcoming, curious community nestled among 10,000 forested acres surrounded by lakes, rivers and bogs.”

The U-M Biological Station — the largest of U-M's campuses — is one of the nation's largest and longest continuously operating field research stations.

Founded in 1909, the Biological Station supports long-term research and education. It is where students and scientists from across the globe live and work as a community to learn from the place.

For Rutz, the first impression lived up to his expectations.

“It’s awesome, beautiful,” Rutz said. “I love the nature, I love the history inside the cabin, and the people seem really cool.”

Spring term ends June 19. UMBS will welcome a second cohort of students for the four-week summer term, which runs July 1-31. The application deadline for summer term courses is May 30. Go to the UMBS website to review courses and apply.

The University of Michigan Biological Station serves as a gathering place to learn from the natural world, advance research and education, and inspire action. We leverage over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.

Subscribe  to the UMBS monthly e-newsletter and follow the field station on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter).

Destiny Peterson, right, a UMBS student, was dropped off for the spring term by her grandparents Karen and Brian on Tuesday, May 20.
Dr. Aimée Classen, UMBS director and a professor in the U-M Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, welcomed students taking courses during the 2025 spring term on Tuesday, May 20, in Gates Lecture Hall.
Mikel Vaughan-Coston, right, a senior at U-M studying ecology and evolutionary biology, talked with Dr. Paul Moore, a UMBS course instructor and researcher, after the first seminar in the 2025 UMBS Summer Lecture Series on Wednesday, May 21.
UMBS faculty, researchers, graduate students, undergraduate students and staff enjoyed ice cream at the Chatterbox along Douglas Lake after the first seminar in the 2025 UMBS Summer Lecture Series on Wednesday, May 21.