The Restoration Ecology program at Defiance College is unique among undergraduate programs in the United States. Restoration Ecology is the art and science of restoring and repairing damaged or destroyed ecosystems.

With the worldwide destruction of rain forests, wetlands, old growth forests, prairies, streams, rivers and oceans, there are many opportunities for restoration ecologists now and in the future in private business, conservation organizations, and with governmental agencies.

Training in Restoration Ecology gives students an opportunity to prove themselves, and in the process, become accustomed to working in a career situation that demands application of special academic skills. Students graduate with a global perspective on ecological restoration and are well-prepared for a wide variety of career options in this field.

Sample Four-Year Course Plan

Students serve an internship to acquire additional field experience. An undergraduate restoration research projects serves as the senior capstone experience. Undergraduate research may be completed at the 200-acre Thoreau Wildlife Sanctuary located within two miles of campus. Research may include: establishment of relic prairie plants and wildflowers, study of bird migration, development of wetlands, woodlot development, study of meadow species establishment, reforestation, amphibian recovery, and butterfly population restoration. Students also have the opportunity to take yearly field trips. Past recent trips have been to Yellowstone National Park and the Tetons in Wyoming as well as the rain forests of Belize.

Professors
Dr. Spiro Mavroidis