Charlie Billau went sledding at UMBS Saturday, Dec. 14, as his dad looked on. The 7-year-old is the son of Chrissy Billau, who leads marketing and communications at the field station along Douglas Lake.

PELLSTON, Mich. — A group of University of Michigan Biological Station staff, retired employees and their families gathered on Friday, Dec. 13, in the redesigned dormitory lounge along Douglas Lake for a potluck meal to celebrate the holiday season.

The time together at the research and teaching campus in northern Michigan Dec. 12-14 was a mix of work and play.

Scroll through the photo gallery below.

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Students: Explore 2025 field-based courses and scholarships at the U-M Biological Station and apply for the four-week spring and summer terms on the UMBS Courses website. Applications are open for the spring term, which is from May 20 through June 19, and the summer 2025 term, which is from July 1 through July 31. The priority application deadline is March 15, 2025. Student research fellowships are also available. See the UMBS Student Research Opportunities website for details.

Researchers: Submit new research proposals or renewals and fellowship applications on the UMBS Research Application website. The deadline for research and fellowships during the 2025 field season is Feb. 1, 2025.

Stephanie Schubel, left, wife of UMBS Resident Biologist Adam Schubel and University of Minnesota field lead and head bander for the Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team, and 15-year-old Elliott Reynolds-Tallant, son of UMBS Data Manager and Research Specialist Jason Tallant, led a group cross-country skiing on UMBS trails Friday, Dec. 13.
Dr. Aimée Classen, director of UMBS and professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan, dug in the snow on Friday, Dec. 13, to remove a resin strip that had been inserted into the soil in October as part of a tracer study targeting nitrogen uptake by trees in the winter.
Icicles outside the dormitory lounge at UMBS on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024
A group of University of Michigan Biological Station staff, retired employees and their families gathered in the redesigned dormitory lounge along Douglas Lake on Friday, Dec. 13, for a potluck meal to celebrate the holiday season.
From left, Sahar Abdelmalik, mother of UMBS Operations Specialist Jumanah Saadeh; Kim Reynolds, wife of UMBS Data Manager and Research Specialist Jason Tallant; and Jason Tallant.
Charlie Billau is the son of Chrissy Billau, who leads marketing and communications at UMBS.
Karin Rand, left, a UMBS researcher and manager of the Classen Lab, enjoyed a meal with the children of UMBS Data Manager and Research Specialist Jason Tallant: From left, Rose, Addy and Elliott Reynolds-Tallant.
Karin Rand, a UMBS researcher and manager of the Classen Research Lab, held up a resin strip on Friday, Dec. 13, that had been inserted into the soil in October as part of a tracer study targeting nitrogen uptake by trees in the winter.
Moonset at 7:25 a.m. over Grapevine Point at the University of Michigan Biological Station along Douglas Lake on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024.
Charlie Billau went sledding down A Street at UMBS on Saturday, Dec. 14.
He also declared himself “King of the Mountain” along State Street at the field research station.
From front to back, Elliott Reynolds-Tallant, Kim Reynolds, Addy Reynolds-Tallant and Stephanie Schubel went cross-country skiing on UMBS trails Friday, Dec. 13.
The public is invited throughout the winter to use UMBS ski trails, which are groomed, at the University of Michigan Biological Station.
The moon appeared during a break in the clouds at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at UMBS.