Student Chapters take part in Minnesota Audubon cleanup

What would you be doing on a Saturday morning in November, when the temperature is 18 degrees Farenheit with snow flurries in the forecast?

If you’re a member of a student chapter of The Wildlife Society, you might be outdoors with a team of volunteers clearing trails.

That’s what’s they were doing on November 18 at the Agassiz Audubon Sanctuary near Warren, Minnesota. Students and Audubon volunteers worked on a project to clear brush to reduce fire hazard and remove buckthorn, an invasive shrub that suffocates native plants that provide food for wildlife.

“We had a great bunch of young people here,” said Audubon Society board member John Hess. “They made things happen, even in winter-like conditions. It was great to work and visit with the students.

Agassiz Audubon contacted the student chapters of The Wildlife Society at the University of Minnesota Crookston and the University of North Dakota back in October. The two student chapters recruited volunteers who spent the day working side by side with volunteers from Agassiz Audubon.

“I didn’t expect this to be fun, but it was,” said Hannah Cordes, a UMC student looking at a career as a conservation officer.

“It was a great experience,” said Steffanie Brewer, president of the Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society at UND. “We’ll come back again.”

Steffanie Brewer, president of the University of North Dakota Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society, joins Maddy Witt, left, president of the University of Minnesota Crookston Student Chapter, and Austin Tatter, right, a member of the University of Minnesota Crookston Student Chapter, in a brush-clearing project at the Agassiz Audubon Sanctuary near Warren, Minnesota.

Hunter Simonson piled logs on the frontloader.

Dave Peyton took a load to the burn pile down the road.

Kris Oja and Abby Ritman hauling out a downed tree.

Members of TWS student chapters from the University of Minnesota Crookston and the University of North Dakota helped clear brush in frigid temperatures at the Agassiz Audubon Sanctuary near Warren, Minnesota. Pictured are, from top left, UMC students Hunter Simonson, Kris Oja, Noah Roseen, Austin Tatter and Hannah Cordes; from bottom left, UMC student Abby Ritman, UND student Megan Monson, UND student Steffanie Brewer and UMC student Maddy Witt. ©Agassiz Audubon

Learn more about the Agassiz Audubon Society and what they’re up to here.